What a fabulous weekend Team Kitaco had at the CKA and CTDS shows over the long weekend. The hits just kept on coming, with all our team doing brilliantly, but especially Ben, who was just on fire and ended the weekend with a Reserve Best in Show!
Friday was Show 1 for the Canterbury Kennel Association. Ava took Reserve of Breed and Best NZ of Breed, Ben took Best Dog and just for a lark, we entered Wendy, who won Open of Breed, despite this being only her 2nd real show,
Little Mojo did us proud too, and took Reserve Best of Breed and Best Baby Puppy of Breed in the Smooth Coats, which is pretty good for 5 months old.
Friday belonged to Alice, however, where our darling girl who took Best Neuter of Breed and then Best Neuter of Group to win her Neuter title. She will henceforth (Dogs NZ approval pending) be known as NZ CH & NZ Neut CH, Kitaco Jappy Jalapeño. Alice is our very first Kitaco Neuter Champion so it was a pretty special moment for us*.
So with a new Champion title under our belt, we arrived on Saturday for the CKA Show 2. Shows have been way down on entries lately, so it was great to see such a large number of dogs entered, especially in the Toy Group.
Happy to report that Team Kitaco rose to the occassion. Under NZ Judge, Wendy Hicks, Ben took Best of Bred (Judge called him Mr Sassy!), Best Dog and Best Junior of Breed, Ava took Reserve Best of Breed (judge dubbed her "the Princess"), Best Bitch and Best NZ Bred of Breed, Wendy took Best Open of Breed and Alice took Best Neuter of Breed. Mojo took another Reserve Best of Breed in the Smooth Coats and we were pretty happy all around with those results.
We weren't really expecting anything in the Group lineup. It was a large field with some seriously stiff competition, including the Best in Show winner from the day before. However, after awarding the Cavalier the Best of Group, the judge walked over to Tracey and Ben and announced, "I'll have the Chihuahua" awarding our little Ben the Reserve Best of Group!
And, as if that wasn't enough, Alice took the Neuter Group again!
Well, we went home on Saturday, floating on cloud 9, thinking nothing could top such a wonderful day and to get ready for the Canterbury Toy Dog Society Championship Show the following day.
On Sunday, under Australian Judge, Karen Paul, Ben (who the judge described as "the cheeky one") took Best of Bred, Best Dog and Best Junior of Breed, Ava took Reserve Best of Breed, Best Bitch and Best NZ Bred of Breed and Narci took Best Veteran of Breed. We scratched Wendy, who chose Sunday to come into season (awkward) and there was no Neuter Class, so Alice and Nikita had to sit this one out.
Little Mojo found his groove too, and took Best of Breed and Best Baby Puppy of Breed in the Smooth Coats!
On to the In-Show awards. Ben strutted out amid a lineup filled with the top Toy Group dogs in the South Island, Best in Show winners, frequent Group winners and, ahem, Mojo, LOL. The judge awarded Best in Show to the King Charles Spaniel and then called out the Chihuahua for a lap of honour before handing Tracey the Reserve Best in Show award for Ben.
As if the Reserve of Group the day before wasn't a thrill, to win Reserve Best in Show under an overseas judge was just stunning.
What can we say about Ben? This little guy, who we struggled to keep alive as a puppy, is so filled with life, boundless energy and supreme self-confidence that it's hard to explain the effect he has on people. He is so full of himself and so sure the entire show has been just staged so people can adore him, it's hysterical. He makes people laugh the way he strutts aroud the ring. Judges are just new friends coming over to give him a pat. He barely weighs 1.65 KG and strides around like he's ten feet tall. He'll take on an Irish Woulfhound if it looks at him sideways and has been known to jump off the table and into a judge's arms for a cuddle. And when he catches a judge's eye, it's like he's cast a spell on them and they simply can't resist his charms.
Ben won the Supreme Puppy Personality Plate earlier this year and it's easy to see why. He has won All-Breeds Reserve of Groups before too, and even a Best Puppy in Show, but in much smaller events, so to have more than one judge, both local and international, in two different shows, award him so highly, against such a large, quality field, the future looks very bright as our little firecracker nears the end of the Junior Class and begins to fully mature,
Thanks so much to CKA and the CTDS for their well run shows, the wonderful judges for their excellent judging, Deb and Haley, our Team Kitaco assistant handlers and puppy wranglers, and of course, our darling Ben for being, well, Ben.
*Nkita is also a Neuter Champion but she is an Eldvino, not a Kitaco
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