I
tfinallyhappened!Wehavebeenwaitingforthisspecial
competitiontogetofftheground,forquitesometime,
anditfinallyhappenedatthe2014Nationals.Heather
Helmerandherdedicatedcommittee(HelenIngher,
JeffreyPepper,PattiRitter,JulieShannon,JohnRitterand
photographerChrisFlessner)aretobecreditedwithgetting
thisspectaculareventupandrunning.Notonlydidshe
planthefirstcatalog,dessertbuffetstylesetting,tablelay-
out,hiringjudges/ringstewards,compilationofstatistics,
ticketsales,rules,etc.butshemadeitaspectacular,
showcaseeventforourbreed.Everyoneattendingdressed
insemi-formalorbusinessattireinkeepingwiththisspecial
partyatmosphere,whichincludedchampagneintwisted
blue-stemmedlogoflutes,anddecadentpastriesavailableat
variousdessertstationsallevening.Onestationincludeda
“fountain”ofchocolatetodipyourfruit,pretzelsandcake.
Shethoughtofeverydetail!
Okay,let’snotforgettheTop20PBGVs!Heatherprepared
aspecialTop20catalogthatincluded,foreachentry,a
photoandpedigreewithbreeder/ownerdetailsandcontact
information.Threejudgeswereselectedfromthedogfancy.
TheywerecarefullykeptasecretuntilthatThursday
evening.Thoseselectedjudgeswere,ErnestoLara,esteemed
AKC-registeredhandler;CoreyBenedict,presidentofthe
GrandBassetGriffonVendeenClubofAmericaandaPBGV
breeder/ownerformanyyears,andDebraThornton,
respectedAKCjudge.Threeringstewardswereassignedto
assistthosejudgeswithrecordkeepingandwithfollowing
aprescribedtimeframe:JeffreyPepper,BarbaraPepperand
SueSmyth.
Top20dogsinattendancewerecalledoneatatimeinto
theringattheballroomintheRadissonConferenceCenter.
Handlersshowcasedtheirentrybymovingthemaroundthe
ringtoassistwithsidegaitassessment.Next,eachjudge
assessedeachentry’sstructureviaahands-onevaluation.
Thiswasconductedonseparategroomingtableslocatedat
eachjudge’s“station”atthefar
endofthering.Afterallthree
hands-onexaminations,the
threejudgesmetandobserved
eachindividualdogmoving
downandback,inastraight
line,fromthebottomofthe
ringtothetopandback.
Atthispoint,eachjudge
retiredtohisorhertable,
alsoequippedwithaglassof
champagne(wasthatclassy
orwhat!)torecordnumerical
scores(from1to10)onone
sheetperentry,whichincluded
assessmentsin10categories:
generalappearance,size/
proportion/substance,
head,neck/topline/body/,
forequarters/angulation/legs/
feet/,hindquarters/overall
balanceinangulation,coatqualityandpresentation,color,
gait/overallmovement,temperament.
Eachdogenteredintheinvitationalcompetitionreceived
alovelyTop20rosettewithitsnameonit!
Aseachentrywasbeingjudgedwithintheshowring,
thoseclubmembers,judgesvisitingtoattendjudges’
education,owners,breeders,etc.,satattables,atefabulous
dessertsfromahugearrayofofferings,andrecordedtheir
“PeoplesChoice”vote.
Everyoneattendinghadawonderfultime!Noonewent
awayhungry.Itwasnotonlyalovelysocialevent(itisvery
importanttohaveoccasionslikethesetomeetandgreet
eachotheratournational,indifferentpartsofthecountry;
makenewfriendsandtocatchupwiththoseofold),butit
alsoisapremiereducationalevent.Breeders/ownersinevery
breedneedtoattendthesetypesofeventstoparticipatein
aninformaleducationshowcasingthoseattributes,within
ourbreed,thatwearetryingtoachieve,structurally,
everytimeweplanabreeding.Substance,attitude,coat,
movement,topline,fronts,rears,etc.,areassessedand
discussedattheseevents.Futurebreedingsareplanned.
Youcanvisitwithasire/damofinterest,locatedacrossthe
country,seethepedigreeinmotion,
discusstimingofbreedingswiththe
owner,etc.Itiseasilyoneofthemost
importanteventstobeaddedtoa
nationalvenue!
Attheconclusionofthering
judging,thejudgingformswere
collected.The“PopularVote”forms
werealsocollectedfromtheattendees
sittingateachdesserttable.These
formsweretabulatedseparately,bya
specialcommittee,tobeannounced
afterdinnerSaturdaynight.Noone
wantedtoleave.Wesataroundand
talkedaboutPBGVsforhours.What
awonderfulevening!
Andtheunanimousresultofboth
votes,announcedafterthedinner
Saturdaynight,wasGCHCHM&M’s
FearTheBeard!
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28
www.pbgv.org
Summer2014
ISaberTails
I2014PBGVCANationalWeekRecaps
PhotobyBobCohen
TheFirstAnnualTop20Invitational
bySueSmyth
NineTop20dogsattendedthisinvitationalevent:
GCHCHM&M’sRawhideRamrodMovin’Out
GCHCHJaren’sPutaGirlInIt
GCHCHMirepoix’sFiggyPudding
GCHCHCelestialCJ’sAll’sWellThatEndsWell
GCHCHTetuComedieFrancaisDeBordeaux
GCHCHJusStrikeItRich
GCHCHHicottonCan’tStopRockin
GCHCHM&M’sFearTheBeard
GCHCHGebeba’sTicToc
(GCHCHCelestial’sExtremeMakeoverwasFEO)