7 minute read
Spring Fair Report
FEATURE
DOGS NSW ROYAL CANIN 2022 International Spring Fair DogShow
WORDS: Christina Rafton Chair Spring Fair Committee
26 -28 August 2022
For four days at the end of August, all the stars aligned and the weather gods were kind. It was with trepidation that the Spring Fair Committee sought possible alternate venues after most of Sydney had been flooded in the month prior to the show. Lure Coursing and Herding, despite every effort to hire an area that could hold those events, had to be cancelled, whilst Agility had to be moved to Luddenham Showground. Although a great option had been sourced at Kenthurst, not that far from the complex, there was a collective sigh of relief when it was announced that the ‘show will go on’ at Orchard Hills.
It was doubted that entries would match those of prior Spring Fair shows, after all, entries at the shows held since Covid were far fewer across most events. However, against all odds, the breed entries for the three days exceeded the previous 2019 show by 96, with a total of 3,606 entries in all the ‘breed events’ over three days!
It is no wonder there was a ‘party’ atmosphere throughout the grounds! For far too long there had been cancelled shows in NSW and we could now meet and celebrate once again with interstate and long-distance friends all together.
A full, international judging panel presided over the events: Mrs Liviga Zizevske (Lithuania), Mrs Marilyn O’Neill (Canada), Mr Michael Faulkner (USA), Dr Antonio Ortiz (Mexico), Mr Phred Wong (Thailand), Mr Johan Juslin Ahola (Finland), Mrs Mariko Harase (Japan) and Mr Derrick Seow (Malaysia), who remarkably, was available at short notice to replace Mr Igoris Ziveskis (Lithuania), who was unable to attend. The first three of these judges were officiating at some of their first assignments in Australia, the first two having been sub-contracted from Lilydale Kennel Club in Victoria: thank you David Barclay and Brenda Harper.
Friday was the FCI CACIB Show and, after sorting out a minor hiccup, a separate Neuter Championship Show was held during the luncheon break. Saturday saw the first FCI A20 Show in NSW, and, not to be outdone, Sunday was a Crufts Qualifier.
All of the Sweepstakes classes across the 3 days were held during the luncheon break, allowing for the show to run without delays or interruptions. Thank you to those judges who gave of their time and expertise to officiate whilst not being able to enter or show themselves on that day: Mrs Louise Van Der Weide, Mr Hugh Gent, Mrs Lynda Brandt, Mrs Sue Bownds, Mrs Sylvia Gartner, Mr Robert Lucas, Mrs Helen Beasley, Mrs Pat Hall; while Mrs Pauline Hartwell judged the ‘Dual Title’ Sweepstakes. This event had been gleaned from a breed and group club that held similar events at their shows: the Saluki Club NSW and the Gun Dog Society. It is believed that this may be the first time this event has been on offer at an All Breeds Level.
Saturday was a full-on day! The Opening Ceremony was held during the lunch break with DOGS NSW President, Mrs Lyn Brand, welcoming all to the events and introducing Mr Hugh Gent, President of Dogs Australia. Hugh included a short reminisce back to the first Spring Fair show in 1975 and also presented the award of Distinguished Service to Ms Vicki Etherington OAM. Mr & Mrs Ron and Mary Williams, who were unable to attend the event on the day, were awarded Distinguished Service Awards at the Grafton Dog Obedience Club event on 10 September by Northern Region Director, Rosemary Privett.
Saturday also saw ‘Lady and Gentleman’ handlers undergo a scrutiny of their talents by Mr Stephen Farnham who chose Ms Nikki Lane (NSW) and Mr Dominic Finlay (QLD). These winners then competed against all three classes of Junior winners in Ring 1, which included the 7 to under 10 yrs winner under Mr William Mackender: Miss Imogen Steer (VIC), 13 to under 19yr winner under Ms Nikki Zullo:, Miss Aimee Meagher (NSW); the ultimate winner was Mrs Doona Borg’s 10 to under 13yrs winner: Miss Samantha Page (QLD), who took the ‘Best Overall Handler’ under Mr Michael Faulkner (USA).
A Sausage Sizzle and drinks were served in Ring 1 over all three days, just prior to the General Specials. Perhaps the Lucky Exhibitor prize of $100 per day, having been drawn before the judging, enticed exhibitors to stay, but it could not explain them staying to the very end. Some exhibitors, having camped on the grounds for the weekend, even partied on after the lights went out!
There were some innovative features at the show - from Spring Fair banners down the drive to the carparks to paw prints on the walkway leading to the entrance of the General Specials ring, to the gold ballads with red velvet covers ushering in the top winners each day. The international flavour continued with cut-outs of famous Australian stars, the most popular being Dame Edna next to a podium that has invoked international interest. Cate Blanchett was even taken home for a dinner but managed to re-appear for the
Our great thanks to the representatives of our major sponsor, Royal Canin, who could not have done more to help and assist throughout the four days. We thank them also for their knowledge and participation. We could not have done it without you and the other main sponsors including Plush Puppy and Petcover. The trophy table was full to overflowing and our ‘Seriously Spectacular Raffle’ raised over $3,100!
Whilst not everybody was successful in the ring, there were prizes for a plethora of well-deserving persons over the three days for good sportsmanship, good manners, lucky stewards, etc. We didn’t want to leave anybody out!
18 Breed Specialties were held on the Thursday to kick off the proceedings - a huge thank you to the Clubs that joined us and utilised our judges to officiate, as well as some who had their show dates cancelled and opted to utilise the draw card of the four, major, winning events on offer. Not to be forgotten, the Junior Handler Finals (another casualty of ground closures) was held on the Sunday. Congratulations to Tracie Buckley and her committee for this successful event.
As mentioned, Agility sadly was not on our grounds on the Saturday. Lock, stock and barrel were transported, with the assistance of groundsmen Chris and Dave and manned by the intrepid team of the Agility Committee, who not only held the event but also managed a BBQ lunch when a food cart could not make it on the day! There were 86 handlers with 122 dogs from Main, Limited, Associate and Sporting Registers completing over 320 runs on the day under Ms Frankie Aston, Mrs Emi Hinago and Mr Dean Crossthwaite. Further coverage can be seen on page 30.
Obedience was held at the rear of the German Shepherd Ovals on the Orchard Hills grounds on Sunday, with a total of 79 entries from Main, Sporting and Associate Registers. CCD was judged by Ms Karen Eaton, CD was assessed by Mr John Spsiteri, CDX by both Mr Kyle Charnock and Ms Maryanne Fazekas, UD by Mrs Pauline Hartwell and UDX by Ms Jill Kaldor. Results can be viewed on page 33.
There were a team of nine photographers covering the shows and still we did not have enough: Barbara Killworth, Dana Russo, Jess Fynmore, Joanne Meadows, Karissa Piller, Noeleen Marmont, Sandra Patterson, Talia Kelly and Veronika Fojtova. Some went without lunch to cover the events and others were asked to come take more pictures whilst they were eating! To Anthony Khamis, Virginia Gagan-Wilson, the amazing ground staff and super-efficient office staff – we could not run the shows without your work.
Lastly, but most importantly, a show is only as good as the workers behind the scenes. To this end, thanks must go to Mr Tom Couchman as Office Secretariat, who, in conjunction with Jeremy Cook of ShowManager, trial-tested the online programs for all the various outputs of reports needed for the different allocations of breeds and groups: re: DA vs FCI. Thanks especially to one amazing committee: Mrs Tanya Scales, Mrs Lynda Brandt, Miss Nikki Zullo, Mrs Sue McFadden, Mr Brad Santos and Ms Rebecca Rafton.
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