I got out to my first judging assignment since the first surgery in April. Nita Nee Kennel Club in PA. in mid-July. A small club made up of very hard working folks who put on a really wonderful show. Met the show chair, Carol Brown, for the first time and we really hit it off. I enjoyed her company very much. Jim drove me up to State College, PA - he wasn't about to let me out of his sight yet. We absolutely fell in love with State College. It is the home of Penn State - home of the Nittany Lions. We took the first afternoon to drive over to Bellefonte, PA to take photos of some of the absolutely lovely Victorian homes for which the town is well known. I've really been enjoying this part of our travels as we search for new ideas for my counted cross stitch designs for our company, Pegasus Originals, Inc. (Go to http://www.pegasusor.com/ to see my designs.)
Jim had a couple of days of very pleasant hiking and I had a wonderful time doing what I love best - judging dogs. Thankfully, I had a very light load the first day as it was very warm and an outside show. Even though the show wasn't a large one, there were some really lovely dogs there. I put a young English Setter to group one and had several dogs that I didn't place in the ribbons that I was quite taken with. My second place was a lovely Brittany, third was typey and sound Field Spaniel and fourth a really beautiful English Cocker. The next day, I was honored to judge a Brittany Specialty and was quite pleased with my top placing dogs. This is a breed I have been a great fan of for over 35 years. I actually had Brittanys before I had Pembroke Welsh Corgis! I've always had both herding a sporting dogs with a few toy breeds thrown in just for fun. Herding dogs I showed in conformation and obedience and Sporting dogs I showed in conformation and hunted. I got turned on to Brittanys because the dog you use in the field is the same dog you take to the shows. There has been no "split" between the show and field in Brittanys. My very first AKC registered dog was toy Poodle I bought with money I'd worked all summer to accumulate when I was 16. I guess I've just not met a dog I didn't like - even when some of them didn't much like me!
I got to stick around to the very end of the second Nita Nee KC show as I was doing BIS. I had a phenomenal line-up: a Vizsla that was as talented as she was correct for the breed (she did some really cute tricks to entertain those ringside), a really lovely Basenji, a stunning Alaskan Malamute who didn't let the heat get him down, a feminine Kerry Blue who showed her heart out, a Lhasa Apso shown to perfection, a young and very typey Pembroke Welsh Corgi bitch and a beautiful, graceful and feminine Italian Greyhound who eventually went home with the red, white and blue rosette. What was really interesting was that the majority of the dogs in the best in show line-up were females! And gorgeous girls, at that. I remember when it was nearly impossible to do much with a bitch special and I'm certainly glad that bias is now gone.
My first foray out into the world of judging all by myself is coming up this weekend. I'm flying to Memphis KC to judge sweeps at the Toy Group show on Friday and do the two all breed shows on Saturday and Sunday. More to come after those shows. Jim is staying home this time.
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