Dilwyn village show!
The mecca for want to be cowboys and vintage car enthusiasts. The theme this year was The Wild West and there was a lot of entertainment provided by some very dodgy looking country and western fans.
Rocky and Reba took to the crowds like veteran show dogs, you really couldn't tell that it was the first time Reba had been anywhere so public as she was so well behaved and didn't over react when the cowboys had their fast draw competition with their very authentic replica cap guns.
Neither could you tell that Rocky was going to be a show dog as he tried his best to get his clean coat covered in cow dung deposited by the previous inhabitants of the field.
Both dogs gained lots of praise and patting from people who had never seen the breed before, you have to admit they are a striking looking dog the tricolour contrasts so well.
One bonus of the show was meeting the man who inspired me to get a horse, Doug, who runs heavy horse logging, a very nice man with lots of time for complete numpties like me who can only just tell one end of a horse from another.
We gathered at the show ring, eyeing up the opposition. There was a huge Pyrenean Mountain Dog, we thought the Bernese was a big dog but he was massive. I nearly asked the judges to check it wasn't two dwarfs in a pantomime costume. Finally we were called to our class, Working and Pastoral, quite a big group. We did our bit, Rocky performed well standing patiently while the Judge prodded and squeezed various bits of him. He also ran round the ring well on a lead, this was his first time out on a lead as we have no use for them out on the hill. Our time in the spotlight over we stood and waited for the Judging to finish. The Judge started waving at me, I waved back, the second Judge called me, Rocky had won! First time and a First! Second was a Husky, third a Rottweiler and fourth a Puli. The dwarf imposter's masquerading as a Pyrenean didn't get placed.
We left the ring, only to go straight back in to try our hand and paws at the Open Class, there were all sorts in this one and he was bored now, at one point I thought he was going to fall asleep. He got placed in this one as well, a third. fantastic effort from Rocky, the young upstart from the hill took his standing ovation from the crowd, a fairy tale story. Unfortunately by entering the open class and only getting a third the kennel club rules mean that he was excluded from best of show. If we were serious players we would have known this and would have withdrew so we would be eligible. As it was the KC Judge thanked us for our sportsmandog behaviour by staying in a class we entered. We know for next time though!
We let a friends daughter enter him in the junior class, by now he was tired and very fed up so she did a really good job keeping him in the ring, even when he slipped his collar she managed to get him back and finish the circuit.
Back at Rock HQ I went for a walk with our new prize winner and took Faith and Poppy. Ben was out on the hill somewhere training, carrying his kit and pushing himself to do an eight mile circuit in an hour and forty minutes. Not wanting to show him up I decided to give him a head start and meet him on the ridge. I couldn't find him so I set off back down the track. My radio crackled into life, Tracey was asking me where I was, just off five way track I replied, she was by Mad Keith's shack on her way round, the opposite way I had walked. Great! I set off to meet her, a very nice surprise. A bigger surprise was that she had got William with her, his first time around the hill. He was puffing a bit but seemed to be enjoying the new views. We carried on around back up to five ways, that's where we saw Ben. Given the choice between running back to the Rock or walking with us, the dogs and the horse he took the sensible option and we all chatted about the day, life, the universe and the meaning of life for the next mile.
Living where we do inspires conversations like that.
The mecca for want to be cowboys and vintage car enthusiasts. The theme this year was The Wild West and there was a lot of entertainment provided by some very dodgy looking country and western fans.
Rocky and Reba took to the crowds like veteran show dogs, you really couldn't tell that it was the first time Reba had been anywhere so public as she was so well behaved and didn't over react when the cowboys had their fast draw competition with their very authentic replica cap guns.
Neither could you tell that Rocky was going to be a show dog as he tried his best to get his clean coat covered in cow dung deposited by the previous inhabitants of the field.
Both dogs gained lots of praise and patting from people who had never seen the breed before, you have to admit they are a striking looking dog the tricolour contrasts so well.
One bonus of the show was meeting the man who inspired me to get a horse, Doug, who runs heavy horse logging, a very nice man with lots of time for complete numpties like me who can only just tell one end of a horse from another.
We gathered at the show ring, eyeing up the opposition. There was a huge Pyrenean Mountain Dog, we thought the Bernese was a big dog but he was massive. I nearly asked the judges to check it wasn't two dwarfs in a pantomime costume. Finally we were called to our class, Working and Pastoral, quite a big group. We did our bit, Rocky performed well standing patiently while the Judge prodded and squeezed various bits of him. He also ran round the ring well on a lead, this was his first time out on a lead as we have no use for them out on the hill. Our time in the spotlight over we stood and waited for the Judging to finish. The Judge started waving at me, I waved back, the second Judge called me, Rocky had won! First time and a First! Second was a Husky, third a Rottweiler and fourth a Puli. The dwarf imposter's masquerading as a Pyrenean didn't get placed.
We left the ring, only to go straight back in to try our hand and paws at the Open Class, there were all sorts in this one and he was bored now, at one point I thought he was going to fall asleep. He got placed in this one as well, a third. fantastic effort from Rocky, the young upstart from the hill took his standing ovation from the crowd, a fairy tale story. Unfortunately by entering the open class and only getting a third the kennel club rules mean that he was excluded from best of show. If we were serious players we would have known this and would have withdrew so we would be eligible. As it was the KC Judge thanked us for our sportsmandog behaviour by staying in a class we entered. We know for next time though!
We let a friends daughter enter him in the junior class, by now he was tired and very fed up so she did a really good job keeping him in the ring, even when he slipped his collar she managed to get him back and finish the circuit.
Back at Rock HQ I went for a walk with our new prize winner and took Faith and Poppy. Ben was out on the hill somewhere training, carrying his kit and pushing himself to do an eight mile circuit in an hour and forty minutes. Not wanting to show him up I decided to give him a head start and meet him on the ridge. I couldn't find him so I set off back down the track. My radio crackled into life, Tracey was asking me where I was, just off five way track I replied, she was by Mad Keith's shack on her way round, the opposite way I had walked. Great! I set off to meet her, a very nice surprise. A bigger surprise was that she had got William with her, his first time around the hill. He was puffing a bit but seemed to be enjoying the new views. We carried on around back up to five ways, that's where we saw Ben. Given the choice between running back to the Rock or walking with us, the dogs and the horse he took the sensible option and we all chatted about the day, life, the universe and the meaning of life for the next mile.
Living where we do inspires conversations like that.
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