Champion of Champions

Story and photos by Yossi Guy

There are many problems in the dog world in Israel these days, due to the war. It influences all walks of life, including dog breeding and showing.

Due to the situation, all-breed shows have been cancelled. A few clubs have held small shows, mostly with a minimal number of dogs. There is some concern about security, but when it comes to show-goers, the ambition to win is still so strong. Another problem is that foreign judges are not eager to visit Israel.

Every year in December, the Israeli Kennel Club (IKC) holds its annual Champion of Champions competition, bringing together the top dogs of the year. In order to keep morale up, the IKC decided to move the Champions competition to January 24. In addition to the final competition that crowns the top dog, the IKC organizes specialty shows for puppy, junior and veteran dogs.

The four finalists — a Yorkie, white Toy Poodle, Pomeranian and Japanese Chin — provided a particularly beautiful picture of Israeli breeding.

Olga Devochkin.

Olga Devochkin owns and bred the fourth-place Japanese Chin, Delis Sakura ILA Samurai Dancing Sword. She rattles off his accomplishments: European Champion and RCC at Crufts in 2023, World Champion in 2021.

“When I think of shows at these times, I feel we are dealing with nonsense —something that will not help us keep the situation out of our minds,” she says. “Still, I must say I’m very happy with my dog’s achievements.”

“The Champion of Champions event is one of the opportunities to see the best dogs from each breed and thus obtain a good picture of the current level of dog breeding and trends,” noted Eytan Handel, one of the judges on the panel. “In Israel, just like the rest of the world, more and more people are turning to smaller breeds. They are easier to care for, and flying with them to overseas shows is easier.”

Almost half of the 90 contestants in the competition were from smaller breeds, and the overall quality was excellent, with impressive type and well-groomed coats.

Israeli Kennel Club president and judge Doron Rachlin.

IKC president Doron Rachlin said the Israeli Kennel Club was supposed to end its 2023 calendar year in October, “but the war demolished everything.” While the all-breed show planned for early 2024 had to be scrapped, the kennel club decided to proceed with the Champion of Champions event.

“Throughout the period we had one eye on the south and the other on the north with great concern, but were adamant about holding the events,” he continues. “The day went on in a nice and well-organized manner. We also added the ceremony in which we awarded honorary memberships that we postponed from October.

“All the 80-something dogs that took part in the Champions event deserved the Israeli championship title.

“The four dogs that reached the final stage were all on a very high level, with excellent build, coat, character and movement. Placing the final winners was difficult, so we went according to ‘minor details.’”

Elena Reznik entered Spanish Water Dogs, a rare breed in Israel, perhaps the first of their kind to take part in such a show. She also brought her young daughter, who took part in the junior-handling competition.

For Reznick, the most important thing was having Eva participate in her first show.

“Of course, you can say that we did not win the prize, but I look at the photo and of course understand that this is just the beginning,” she says. “I imagine already building and analyzing all the mistakes, and there is a lot of work ahead, but we have already won.”

While Eva wasn’t always interested in the shows, her mother gave her the space to arrive at that desire on her own. “I am personally convinced that you need to love working with a dog, you need to enjoy it and, of course, work a lot to achieve high results,” Reznick says. “I am grateful to the girls Yana Nevskaya and Gali Sokolovsky for accepting Eva into their team and believing in her, and I hope everything will work out for her.”

As for the winner of the show, it was the Yorkshire Terrier Int. Ch. Rigair Emerald Roy, the top Yorkie in Israel from 2018 through 2020. “It was a very special and emotional day for our team,” said his owner, Yanina Vilenchik.

“Since 2021, I have stopped showing him,” she explains. “My son, Jonathan, insisted we refrain from clipping Roy’s coat. We didn’t show him for three years. Last September he was enrolled in the club show in the veteran class. He ended up as Best Veteran and Best in Show.  We were quite amazed and glad when he was placed first in the Champion of Champions competition.”

Yanina Vilenchik.

Vilenchik, who entered the event at the last moment, found it to be well organized. “A pleasant atmosphere without excess pressure,” she says. “Everything flowed easily. An honorable judges’ panel that approached dogs and handlers with respect. They dedicated time for each and every one, everything in a pleasant manner.”

As for the future, Vilenchik hopes to be able to show overseas to gain Roy’s International Veteran championship. “With regard to breeding, I hope to continue with my dogs, just like the past 25 years. I love the terrier in the Yorkie — a huge dog in a small package. By the way, if everything remains peaceful in our country, I am planning an annual meeting with people who own dogs from me to celebrate my kennel’s 25th anniversary.”

Yochai Barak-Lifac.

The third judge, Yochai Barak-Lifac, summed up the event as “a sunny Saturday” that “surprised us all among the stormy winter days.”

It was a welcome return to normalcy in a country that has experienced far too little of that in the last several months.