MAKE NO MISTAKE! IT’S ‘ANGEL’S PUP OF THE YEAR TITLE !!
 Rarely can there have been such an up and down weekend for an exhibitor as that experienced by Ashling Connolly and her Ashmair Bichon Frise Team on the Easter Weekend. It was a magnificent start to the weekend for the team at the Combined Canine Club International Easter Classic show at the National Show Centre on Easter Saturday when CH Ashmair The Butler Did It was Seamus Oates’ choice for Best in Show in some pretty hot competition. So with ‘Mikey’ having had great success on Saturday, the Pup of the Year event beckoned for Ashling and her team at the Moran’s Red Cow Hotel on Easter Sunday where there was a full house in attendance to see all of the 2007 qualifiers compete at one of the highlights of the canine year in Ireland. With the preliminary judging starting at 4pm those who were there early got to see the three chosen judges for this section put the latest crop of stars from the Irish show scene through their paces. Judging this section were Ireland’s Cathy Delmar, Joanne Sewell from Australia and Fernando Rodriguez from Portugal. The good sized blue carpeted ring in the ballroom of the hotel may not have suited the bigger exhibits which had qualified but nonetheless it looked superb and was well decorated with sponsor and supporter logos in strong evidence around the fencing. Ring size and space is always a worry for the bigger breeds at these types of canine final functions but the committee had done their utmost to make the arena more acceptable for them.
With the excitement building for the guests and exhibitors each of the qualifiers were presented with their prizes and retired to the holding room for the dogs where they awaited their fate and their elimination or calling forward for the final 8 in the Combined Canine Club Pup of the Year competition 2007. Making the final cut of 8 where the Whippet, Vivienne Coulter’s Collooney Mountain Dew, the Toy Poodle owned by Mary Coghlan and Sally Burns Aeden Special Design for Valentine, Lee and Jean Clarke’s Dobermann Pinscher Tuwos Emily, Sean and Cathy Lydon’s Tibetan Terrier Tripitaka The French Connection, Pat Lacey’s Siberian Husky Suraliam Stardust of Boxchon, Hugh and Angela Jordan’s Kerry Blue Terrier Irisblu Hot ‘N’ Bothered and Laura Huston’s Cocker Spaniel Hustonia Diablo.
There was then confusion over the identity of the last qualifier to be added to the list of 8 as the number of the Standard Poodle of Mary and Sally Burns Valentine Silent Whisper was called out but was described by compere John Walsh as the Bichon Frise.
Ashling Connolly’s Bichon Frise Warmingham Angel at My Side was number 6 in the event and with the obvious mix up, advice was sought and it was announced that it was the Poodle which had been chosen to carry on.
At this stage concerns were raised by various interested parties which resulted in a recheck of the scores during the start of the meal and which subsequently brought the compere John Walsh back to the podium to announce that there had indeed been a mistake and that the Bichon Frise ‘Angel at My Side’ was a qualifier for the final 8.
At this stage of course this was a significant decision for the results at the end of the evening. It was decided to allow the Standard Poodle to take part in what was now to become ‘last 9’ finalists challenge.
So onward we went to the end game of the event after the meal and each of the remaining challengers were introduced into the ring for the judge Miroslav Zidar from Slovenia to examine. Irish Kennel Club President Sean Delmar had selected from five envelopes, Mr Zidar’s name, as the judge for the final section earlier in the evening’s proceedings.
Each challenger was examined in numerical order and alone and then all 9 returned to the ring for Miroslav to fill in his judge’s sheet with the results everybody was anxiously awaiting. |
