Beginners

Many thanks to Peter and Lucie for the invite to come and judge for you. Julie and i had a fab time, with many laughs along the way. Thanks also to Judith Lerno and her family for having us stay with them over the weekend and to Martine Verhoeven for accompanying Judith to the airport to pick us up and interpret...if we come back we MUST try and learn a few words of Flemish first :))) Thanks also for the lovely lunch date on Sunday afternoon. It was all appreciated.

Big thanks the Gwen Griffeon for stepping in to steward for me, it was ncoe to see you again.

I found the standard to be much on par with the UK beginner classes, although the first two or three dogs really stood out. It was nice to see different breeds.

1st Sandra Buitendijk and her Mechelse Herder

An absolute powerhouse of a dog. Very, very nice heelwork. I could have watched him all day...and I think he could have gone on and on all day! A lovely dog. Congratulations.

2nd Leni Obbink and her W/S Absolutely Fabulous Josje

This TINY little collie completely took my eye. What she lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude. Just needs a little more tightening up on her turns and she'll fly through the classes. Brillaint. Well done.

3rd Daphne Geerling and her Aus Kelpie Yirr-ma Bashyr of the Two Chestnuts

Phew...big name! Nice set exercises and Heel on Lead from Daphne and Yirrma, but heel free needs some tightening up. A handsome lad who could do nicely. Well done.

4th Jannie V Heuven-Kuiper and her Mudi Csardas

I thought this little white dog was a collie with the curliest coat I'd every seen...turns out I was wrong :) A keen little girl who's mistakes were mostly made through enthusiasm. Not a bad fault to have, Jannie. Just odd marks lost on a variety of things. Keep up the good work.

5th Evy Fonvent and her B/C Yenka

Some nice stretches of heelwork from this young handler and her lovely dog. Most of mistakes were made through Yenka not giving full attention to Evy. Im sure they could do much better if this could be worked on. Sets were lovely. Well done.

6th Gerda V.D. Plujim and her Bernese Mountain dog Bobby

A lovely big `smiley` dog who tried hard in places. There was an especially nice stretch in heel free that made both me a Gwen go `oooh`. Again, lovley set exercises. Well done.

7th Judith Lerno and her B/C Tia van`t Vijuleum

Tia's a very pretty, lively little dog who is also totally deaf. Judith is doing great job with her, but more work is needed on focusing attention. Something I'm sure Judith will achieve. Well done.

We had two training rounds;

Wenda v. d. Riets Aus Kelpie Timo. A handsome lad, from Bianca v.d. Posts Kennel. Some nice handling from Wenda with some good responses from Timo. Well done.

And the dog that made me smile and sigh in equal amounts; Karin Spanhaak's Bouvier Neo. Some REALLY nice heel on lead from Neo, but there is an obvious problem with persuading him to present for recall and ret. A fly-by is much more to his liking :)) Keep working on him Karin..he's going to be SO worth it.

Class C

A big thanks to Hans Billius for stepping in to steward for me, and doing a great job. Also Paul v. Dijk for the great job on the scoreboard; keeping everything running smoothly.

I had some nice dogs to look at today, but unfortunately the gremlins struck in one way or another for a few teams. Those who rose to the top of the pile were;

1st Guus Scholtens Colliewood Velazquez Giovanni

Super sharp set exercises from Gio today and only a few bits and pieces in heelwork; mostly a slight loss of position on ab/turns. A much more settled performance than I've seen on their trips to the UK (not that I've seen every round, mind you :) ) and in the end resulted in a comfortable win. A pleasure to watch. Congratulations.

2nd Mia Bosschart and Mamamia's Tyke

A lovely boy who has done so much winning for Mia. Heelwork was on par with Gio, but there were bits and pieces lost in other exercises. Well done on another good performance Mia.

3rd Annelise v.d.Velde and Twinkle's Laddy Boy

I absoulutely adore watching this boy. Laddy holds a lovely, upright and tight position without crowding or leaning on. Cracking stuff. Unfortunately a missed position in DC cost them a win. Well done.

4th Lenie Kasteleijn and Colliwood La Layla

Another Colliewood doing well in Holland. Great sets from Layla, with only little bits and pieces in heelwork - apart from `that position`. Thanks for accepting my decision gracefully Lenie. At the end of the day, there wasn't really anything else I could do about it. There are lots more chances of red cards to come though. Well done

5th Steven Vannieuwenhuyse and Bytchek Esquire

Another dog who produced some lovely heelwork, only to fall by the way in DC. I can see why Steven and Bugsy are chosen for the Belgian team year after year. Lovely work, well done.

6th Sandra Pierson and Asko

This dog made me smile. With his greying face he reminded me of Ethan (apart from the ears) Lots of work to do, but he had fun working with you today. Well done.

7th Rick v. Veeren and Sealight Flash of Lightening

Flash likes to take over and show us how HE thinks it should be done :))))) You can't knock his enthusiasm Rick! LOL. Well done.

Finally, thanks to my mimpal Julie Rowlands for the company this weekend. Oh my word! you do make me larf!!