It was back to Auckland Chihuahua Club today for their annual specialty show to defend Team Kitaco's Reserve Best in Show title (won by Fifi last year), which Benny (El-Toro Rey Spencer at Kitaco) achieved in spectacular fashion, given he also took Best of Breed and Best Intermediate of Breed in the Ladies Kennel Assoction All Breeds Show running alongside the ACC show. He was a tuckered out little Chihuahua by the time they got to the In-Show judging, but he strutted his stuff gamely (against a cute little bitch who'd only done the one show) and gave it his all, despite the "are we done yet?" look he was giving Tracey in the line-up at the end of the day.
Under the careful eye ofThai judge, Chakkapan Chantarasmee, Spenny took Best of Breed, Best Intermediate of Breed, Best Intermediate in Show and Reserve Best in Show in a very strong field which again included the recent import from the fabulous Misty Meadows kennels in Italy and the lovely North Island dog who has taken a couple of Best in All-Breeds Shows. So proud of this sparky little guy who is maturing into a fabulous example of his breed.
Delilah decided she could have more fun finding inventive ways to watch the show than being in it, so after having the "judges are friends not food" discussion with her, we decided to let her just enjoy the day from the sidelines. Kyrie showed exceptionally well, but it was a strong field and for the same reason we didn't enter Narci, we suspected Kyrie's size and still-to-mature-coat would not appeal to his aesthetic. It is the nature of dog showing that judges have preferences, and this one (we'd researched him before entering) likes small and fluffy, so the results were pretty much what we expected in the long coats. C'est la vie.
Little baby, Theo (Kitaco's Dragon Embers), also did us proud. Not destined for a career in the ring, we wanted to support the ACC by entering as many dogs as possible. As he lives in Auckland now, he came along with his new mummy, Sarah, and did a great job filling in the team spot normally occupied by his daddy, Narci. He gave an excellent account of himself considering this was his first time in the ring, taking Baby Puppy Dog in the ACC Show and looked like he was having a ball.
Congratulations to all the winners, and especially to the Armit Kennels who cleaned up in both the North and the South Islands this weekend. It was great to be surrounded by so many decent and honest competitiors and overall good sports (for a change) showing such excellent examples of the breed. The competition is much stronger in the North Island (such beautiful dogs up here!) and a win is always so much more gratifying when you know you're going up against the best of the best, while a loss is no shame when you know the judging was fair and a worthy dog took the prize. Can't thank ACC committee enough for putting on such a wonderful show and the North Island exhibitors for being so welcoming and delightful to be with.
Highlight of the weekend, however, wasn't just Benny winning the Reserve Best in Show. Tracey was also in Auckland to collect two fabulous new members of Team Kitaco - brother and sister long coats, Toby (El-Toro Tobias at Teddee) and Dolly (El-Toro Liv-N-Doll at Teddee).
We are so thrilled that Cheryl and Peter from Teddee Kennels offered them to us and we can't wait to get them home and welcomed into our pack (and get some better photos!!). So delighted, too, to be able to add these bloodlines from the wonderful El-Toro kennels into our long coat breeding program. These lovely pups are out of NZ CH El-Toro Kingpin who has produced 6 NZ Champions so far and a number of Australian Champions as well, and come from the same kennel as our little star, Benny.
Another show tomorrow, but given Tracey's Fybromyalgia is catching up her after with the big day she had today, a nice quite "let's not win anything so we can go home early" kinda day tomorrow would be very helpful!