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I attended the 2000 National in Pennsylvania with my judge travel buddies
Nan Green (Megan) and Bridget Smeeton (NZ =96 Breed judge). This was my
first National and WOW what an experience. I have been involved with Cardigans
for almost 10 years and I am a convent from a Pembroke household. Nan Green
converted my mum to Cardigans with the arrival of Ch. Cambrian Wedgewood
in 1989. We were hooked later obtaining Ch. Cambrian Beloved A.I., a daughter
of Am. Ch. Kennebec Ice Anchor. We have titled 10 Cardigans and have bred
two Cardigan litters under our Llandaff prefix. We are a small Cardigan
household and our dogs are involved in conformation showing, agility and
more recently in obedience and herding. The dogs have also made several
TV appearances.
I have never seen so many Cardigans in the one place before I attended
this National Show in the US. This may seem strange but in Australia a
total entry of 40 Cardigans is considered a wonderful entry. At the National
there were 37 entries in the puppy bitch class alone!! Another thing foreign
to me were dogs in the hotel, an act of treason here in Australia!'.!!.
I spent my time judging from the sidelines. The easiest way to judge!?.!!
It was a wonderful learning experience both at the show and listening to
the constructive discussions that followed.
The Megan was a real treat. So many outstanding examples of the breed
in all colours. I saw some very promising youngsters. Lovely bone and substance,
happy attitudes which coped with the air vent problem wonderfully well.
In general, the rear construction of the dogs was very good. There were
many dogs with lovely fronts but also many fronts that were too narrow
for my liking. There were some dogs with very impressive side gaits showing
the lovely extension in front and drive from behind. I particularly enjoyed
watching the dogs that gaited around freely on a loose lead. These dogs
were stand outs. It was very pleasing to see so many reds. In Australia
we have few. I had some concerns about feet because nice well padded feet
are an important feature in a Cardigan. Shoulder angulation was in general
very good but still some with a short upper arm. Heads were overall to
my liking, many dogs having lovely big round ears. The veteran classes
were great to see. Some of these lovely dogs certainly enjoyed strutting
their stuff. In Australia we also have a veteran class but veterans compete
in a separate class and do not compete for BOB. I was impressed to see
so many of the handlers having fun with their dogs in the show ring. These
canine-human couples were working as a team and were a pleasure to watch.
I also was fortunate to attend one of the agility events. Being an
active competitor with the dogs in Australia I noticed several differences.
We have 3 classes in which dogs compete, small, medium and large. All dogs
have the same course time. We have exclusion zones of a meter (3.3 feet)
around the table and weaving poles. If the handler steps into these zones
it is an automatic disqualification. In Australia the AA@ frame has been
towered as of January 1st 2001. This is better for dogs of all sizes. Previously
it was a very steep climb. The jumps in America are lower than ours and
I really like the idea of the 8 and 12 classes for small dogs.
The generous hospitality offered to us, made our stay truly enjoyable.
The silent auction and the dinners were very entertaining. The shopping
I got done certainly stimulated the American economy. Attending a Cardigan
National in the US must surely be a prerequisite for an apprenticeship
in Cardigans. I would like to thank Carolyn Huff for the invitation to
write this article and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts on
the dogs at the 2000 National.