Judge Francesco
Cochetti chose
the black and
white American
Cocker Ch. Very
Vigie Huluberlulu
for Best in Show
at Kotka.
were the Longhaired Miniature Dachshund Ch. Smartdac Rising Phoenix; the Dalmatian Ch. Kiki Dee The Astonishing At
Lornlee, owned by the Bermingham family; and the Bichon
Frisé Ashmair Celtic Charm, owned by A. Connolly.
Finland
Wind and Rain at Kotka
T
by Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen
96
Texterri photo
he Kotka International Show, called the Roses of Kotka, was held in the middle of June. The venue is a
beautiful large seaside park. Unfortunately, this year
it was windy and rainy. The exhibitors had difficulty pitching
their tents and taking them down. The wind even blew down
some of the portable toilets. A man was inside one at the time,
but luckily he was heavy enough that the wind didn’t knock
down the one he was in!
Kotka lies on the southeastern coast, and on the same
weekend there was another show in Rovaniemi, almost 500
miles to the north, in the Arctic Circle. That distance is too
far for even the craziest exhibitors to take part in both. Also
there were shows in Estonia and northern Norway, and many
Finnish exhibitors like to try their luck over there. At Kotka
there were more than 2,000 dogs entered, which was a reasonably good figure. Because Kotka is situated near the eastern
border, there were quite a few Russian exhibitors and also
some from Sweden and Norway.
In spite of the weather, the atmosphere was warm and
friendly. We know that the show organizers can’t help the
weather; you just must be prepared and dress accordingly. On the second day, when the Group finals started, the
sun finally came out. The BIS judge, the popular Italian
all-rounder Francesco Cochetti, had all 10 finalists to
choose from.
It was no surprise that Mr. Cochetti chose the black and
white American Cocker Ch. Very Vigie Huluberlulu, who is
leading the top dog list. He is owned by Terhi Korhonen,
Heidi Kangas and Sanna Vartiainen, usually handled (and
on this day) by Sanna. She posted a photo of herself with
the dog on Facebook on Saturday after the show when they
were practically swimming toward the car in the wet parking
area. She must have done a lot of work Saturday night because on Sunday the dog was shining white and as beautiful
as always.
Reserve BIS was a visitor from Russia, the Jack Russell
Terrier Algrafs Archi Royal, owned by Irina Degtyar. The
Terrier Group was judged by Lynne Harwood from Australia,
where the breed has been recognized and shown for a long
time, much longer than in any European country, so she must
have seen many good ones down under. The Jack Russell is
one of the breeds of the Cochetti family, too, so both judges
surely have the expertise to value this specimen. Third was
the little Pomeranian Ch. Soulhill’s Nephrite, owned and bred
by Piia Nieminen. This bitch has done well in the breed rings
before, but this was her real breakthrough. Fourth was the
Afghan Hound Ch. Scaramis One Hot Minute, owned by Päivi
Uurtola-Kahri. He is a grandson of the famous veteran Int. Ch.
Agha Djari’s Urban Cowboy.
The Australian Shepherd Ch. Seventy Seven Blow Your
Mind, owned by Saara Hovi, won her Group. This bitch was
born in Russia and has been campaigned actively. She has
dominated the breed in Finland and has collected many Winner and Junior Winner titles from our neighboring countries.
The most successful Swedish exhibitor was Helena Berlinder Johansson, whose Bernese Mountain dog Ch. Werner
Wic Ronaldo won the large FCI Group 2. He has only visited
Finland once before, but this second visit was a real bullseye. Some Finnish breeders had already noticed him because
he has sired a litter in Finland, and one of his Swedish-born
offspring has been imported. He brings some fresh blood because his sire is an American import.
Another successful Russian exhibitor was Svetlana
Kharkovskaya, whose Smooth Miniature Tsertus U2 won
the Dachshund Group. I don’t think this dog has been
shown over here before, although many others from this
same breeder have done well. It isn’t often that a silver
Miniature Poodle wins the Group, but Ch. Sorbitol’s Go Go
Gaabo, owned by Marja Tulkki and Salla Valkoniemi, bred
by the latter, did. The Dalmatian Ch. Flight in Time Famous
Fiona, owned by Tiia Yli-Sassi, has been seen on the winner’s stand before. She is imported from Belarus but has
quite a lot of Scandinavian blood in her background. Then
there was the Bracco Italiano Fikret’s Enjoy The Boogie,
owned by Henna Rahunen. This dog has never been shown
before, although he has been in field trials several times.
But to go to your first conformation show and get a Group
win — that’s quite a start! We will probably see him more
often from now on. DIR
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8/16/16 7:37 AM