Top : At the Sunday finale , Best in Show was the Scottish Terrier GCh . G Round Town Queen Of Hearts Of Maryscot . Bottom : Reserve BIS on Sunday was the Pug GCh . P Hill Country ’ s Let ’ s Get Ready To Rumble . always surprises me that we ’ re allowed to hold dog shows there . Acres of lawn provide ample space , and the grass is so well kept and velvety soft that the most discerning handler couldn ’ t ask for a better surface to show dogs on . There are huge white-and-blue tents that offer shade from the sun , and there are palm trees swaying in the breeze , with mountain ranges providing a dramatic backdrop in the distance . There is even a halfway-decent food concession , which is more than you will find at most dog shows , with a designer coffee stand and a real bar where you can celebrate your wins or drown your sorrows , as the case may be .
Having sung the praises of these shows for years , I tried to find something to carp about , too . Parking can be quite far from the rings , but unloading works pretty smoothly . The judging panel has been the subject of some criticism in the past — probably due to the fact that many of the judges were provisional and therefore unknown quantities — but there seems to have been a recent policy change , and many of the country ’ s top names were active in the rings this year . ( Not everything has to be judged by the Westminster standard , of course , but it was interesting to note that at least half a dozen past Group judges from Westminster were on the panel .)
The only serious criticism I can come up with is something that I ’ m not sure the organizers can do much about , and that ’ s that Group and BIS judging always seems to take place after dark at a time when , as everyone who lives in the desert knows , the temperature has suddenly plunged to 30 or 40 degrees . It feels even colder when you ’ re bundled up in the dark at ringside ! There is probably good reason that Group judging doesn ’ t start earlier , but in at least a few cases it looked like the Groups could have . It ’ s not fair to those exhibitors who have cold-sensitive dogs , it ’ s not encouraging spectators to stick around to the bitter end , and it makes it very difficult to get good Best in Show photos when the light is failing .
The first day ’ s Best in Show was judged by Vincent Grosso , past show chair for the KC of Palm Springs . It must have been an emotional experience for him , as the shows were held in memory of his late wife , Kathy Grosso , who passed away last fall and who was also deeply involved in the club . Mr . Grosso ’ s choice for Best in Show was the Bichon Frisé GCh . P Belle Creek ’ s All I Care About Is Love , co-owned by Patricia Odette with co-breeders L . Van Keuren , L . Carlton and L . Letsche , and handled by Bill McFadden . The Bichon won a whole slew of Groups last year and ended the year by going Reserve BIS at the year ’ s largest show , the AKC National Championship in Orlando in December . The Reserve BIS award at this show was taken by the Akita , GCh . P Mojo ’ s Continuation Of A Myth .
There was an Owner-Handled BIS competition as well at the Saturday show . Judged by Lydia Coleman-Hutchinson , it
was won by the Shiba Inu GCh . B Kiralia ’ s Rising Above The Madness , owned and shown by Kimberly Quallio . Runner-up was the Newfoundland GCh . Castanewf Ark Angel Frreshstart , BN , CGC .
The Sunday finale was judged by Paula Nykiel , whose BIS winner , Scottish Terrier GCh . G Round Town Queen Of Hearts Of Maryscot , has been one of the top winners of all breeds for the last couple of years and has more than 30 all-breed BIS . She is owned and was co-bred by Amelia Musser and handled by Gabriel Rangel , who also showed the dam to BIS at Westminster seven years ago . Reserve BIS was the Pug GCh . P Hill Country ’ s Let ’ s Get Ready To Rumble , one of the top Toy dogs last year .
Largest Groups at the all-breed shows were Working ( 570 dogs entered ), Hounds ( 569 ) and Sporting ( 557 ), followed by Toys ( 401 ), Terriers ( 370 ), Non-Sporting ( 363 ) and Herding ( 291 ). Biggest breed entries on Saturday or Sunday came from Golden Retrievers ( 98 ), Labrador Retrievers ( 79 ), Rhodesian Ridgebacks ( 77 ), Boxers ( 71 ), French Bulldogs ( 69 ), Whippets ( 62 ), Samoyeds ( 60 ), Great Danes ( 57 ), Vizslas and Papillons ( both 56 ), Doberman Pinschers and Borzois ( both 54 ). Many breeds had larger entries at their specialties than at the allbreed shows .
Thanks to Vicki Holloway for providing photos of both Best in Show winners and Reserve BIS winners . DIR
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