The Pyrenean Mountain Dog Int . Ch . Chenespace Tarbesan was Best in Show at Oulu , and Reserve was the Finnish Hound Ch . Satumeren Madonna .
PHOTOS BY TEXTERRI
FINLAND
Summer Show at Oulu
by Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen
The second weekend of July was hectic for exhibitors in Finland . There were two international shows not very far from each other , at Oulu and Kokkola , with the Groups switched so that many could attend both . There were also international shows in Pärnu , Estonia , on Saturday and Sunday , plus several specialty shows on Friday . And surely there was something going on also in Sweden and Norway !
The showground at Oulu was muddy , thanks to the rain , but at least the weather cleared up before the show . My husband , Harri Lehkonen , chose the magnificent Pyrenean Mountain Dog Int . Ch . Chenespace Tarbesan for Best in Show . This 4-yearold dog is owned by the Salonen family , and this was his second BIS win in a big international show this year . He is a champion of five countries , including France and Italy . The Salonens value his win at the French National Specialty most of all , which is quite an achievement for a dog from abroad in the country of origin .
Reserve BIS was the Finnish Hound Ch . Satumeren Madonna , owned by Emma Mikkonen . This bitch has done a lot of winning in Finland , where this is one of our most popular breeds , but kept for hunting . Hunters usually don ’ t bother to show their hounds very much . Often the girls of the household will show them in the conformation ring while they are not being used for hunting . Madonna has traveled to a lot of shows , unlike many in her breed , and she is an Italian champion , European Junior Winner 2014 and Latvian Winner 2015 .
Third place was the Norwegian-bred Bichon Frisé Ch . Petit Ami ’ s Robin , owned by Elina Keinänen , who has had many top-winning Bichons . This youngster has only been
The second weekend of July was hectic for exhibitors in Finland .
shown a couple of times in Finland before this weekend , although he is already a Swedish champion . He is a son of the UK import Arthlorn The Power Of Dreams , but on the sire ’ s side there is quite a lot of American blood combined with Scandinavian lines .
Fourth place was the young Wirehaired Standard Dachshund Freckle-Face X-Files . He is owned and bred by the Lamperos , who have been successful with their Dachsies of different varieties for a long time . This yearling is a result of the interesting combination of different bloodlines . On the dam ’ s side there are several generations of their own breeding , but the grandsire is a Brazilian import , and the sire is a Ukrainian import with German background . Sometimes this kind of outcross breeding , combining different lines and types , brings excellent results when you know what you are doing and manage to get the best parts of each line . This youngster took his sixth CC at Oulu on Saturday , and at Kokkola on the following day he got his seventh , but as he wasn ’ t Best of Breed there , he came back to Oulu for the BIS final .
The other Group winners were the Australian Shepherd , Russian-born Seventy-Seven Blow Your Mind , owned by Saara Hovi . The Terrier Group winner was the Jack Russell Terrier Int . Ch . Jackobean La Scuola de Gelosi , owned and bred by Jenni Koutuaniemi . This dog has an amazing record of champion titles from 20 different countries , including some exotic ones , like El Salvador , Pakistan , Cyprus , San Marino , Azerbaijan , Taiwan and the Philippines !
The Spitz Group winner was the young Pomeranian Ch . Pipperoo My Treat , owned and bred by Mirja Lager , who has done very well this year with her Pomeranian team in the Breeder ’ s Groups contest . The Italian Spinone Int . Ch . Fragola Tempesta Dineve , owned by Pia and Juho Haarala , who also hunts , won her Group . Finally the best of the Sighthounds was the Irish Wolfhound Int . Ch . Riverwolf Elysé Rosé , owned by Riitta Lehto-Nivala .
NOVEMBER 2016 DOGS IN REVIEW 121