100 years ago, back in January 2020, before anyone had heard of COVID-19 or had any inkling of all the craziness this year would bring, we optomistically booked our flights to Auckland for the National Dog Show in October. Booking flights so far in advance meant we got super cheap fares with the one caveat that they could not be rebooked or cancelled.
Fast forward a few months and we have lockdowns, social distancing, an ongoing pandemic, the Nationals have been cancelled and we are stuck with our non-refundable tickets. So when we realised the Kumeu and AEC shows were still going ahead on the same weekend, it was a no-brainer, really...
And what a great decision heading up to Auckland for the biggest shows since lockdown turned out to be!
Our little star of stars this weekend was Kitaco Smashed Avacado (Ava). In her very first weekend of Championship shows, at 7 months old, in a huge field which included last year's National Best of Breed winner, our little Ava took 2 Best Bitch awards, 2 Bitch Challenge Ceritificates, a Reserve Best Bitch, a Reserve of Best of Breed, a Best of Breed and then topped it off with a Best Puppy of Group.
There aren't words for how proud we are of this fabulous little pup. Despite gale force winds, long flights, and a strange environment, she didn't falter for a moment. She loves being the centre of attention and was not even the slightest bit intimidated walking out for the Best Puppy in Show line-up with all those big dogs.
Ava is the daughter of our outstanding Greek Champion, Narci, (GR CH, GR JNR CH. CACIB, NZ CH Mystic Legion Narcissus (Imp Greece)) and an absolute chip off the old block with her father's fabulous construction and wonderful termperament packed into a smaller and even cuter package.
Not to be outdone by her kennel mate, Lady, our rare and beautiful Russian Toy, took 4 Best of Breeds and 4 Best Bitch Challenge Certificates which means she has now qualified for her NZ Championship title. Dogs NZ confirmation pending, Lady will now be known as AUS CH, NZ CH Nightwood Tsarina of Alucard (IMP AUST). Handled this weekend by Tracey, Lady is co-owned by Tracey Tonkin and our good friend, the lovely and stylish, Amba Waghorn.
On the Pom front, Ivy (Tribble Sign of the TImes) took Reserve of Breed. Best Bitch and Best Baby Puppy of Breed in both the Kumeu shows. On Sunday, Ivy had a rest and her sister Autumn, owned by Michelle Jordaan, repeated her sister's excellent performance and also took Reserve of Breed , Best Bitch and Best Baby Puppy of Breed in both the AEC shows. Ivy will be staying in the North Island for the next few months now, so she can get to some speciality shows in we don't have in the South Island.
A special shout out and endless thanks to Trish Tribble of Tribble Poms for her generous help over the weekend, loaning us all the gear we couldn't bring on the plane, including her car and giving us a place to stay, Thanks too, to Fleur Collings and Lavinia Goodwin for coming along as our rent-a-crowd and a special thank you to Stephen Meredith for being an excellent Show Manager.
Thanks also to Kumeu and AEC committee’s for a great weekend of shows. We had a fabulous time, we are thrilled with our results and can't wait to do it all again next weekend in Dunedin.
