I must admit, when I heard that there was to be 21,000 dogs at the World Show, my immediate thought was “Good god, chaos!” I am more than happy to report I could never have been more mistaken. Fact is, this was one of the best-organized shows I have ever attended ANYWHERE. The two great advantages the Polish Kennel Club had going for it, about which I was unfamiliar, was 1) that in 2000, the European Dog Show, which had 9,000 dogs, was held in Poznan. But more importantly is the professionalism and expertise of those who run the Poznan Fair itself. This place is one of the major trade fair sites in all of Europe. Its sprawling area contains at least 16 pavilions, each of which are at least the size of the main building at Eastern States in Springfield, Massachusetts. True, some pavilions were better than others in terms of heat, light and creature comforts, but all were at least basic, while others were way above average. Virtually none of the buildings were connected, so to go and find breeds meant, over the four days, a considerable amount of outdoor walking. With the weather changing hourly, this was trying at times but certainly doable.Fortunately, there was no really radically bad weather—had there been, that would have been another story altogether. Also, the main exhibit hall, where the large ring was situated, and all of the concessions located within it was as good a hall as they come. Of course, one of the great advantages to the set-up was the feeling that while watching any breed, you were at a club show or specialty. The outlying pavilions never got so crowded as to cause a crush, and if you watched Cockers, you could view a variety of other Spaniels at the same time. Spread out over a period of four days, for once at a large show, it was indeed usually possible to watch a breed you were interested in and a myriad of other breeds, too. For instance, in watching a large class of Charlies, we were able to take in Maltese, Russian something or others, Bichons, and Havanese, too.
About the dogs first. Well, overall the breeds with which we were familiar—you know, of course, how FCI recognizes breeds unheard of to so many of us in the States—I found the quality higher than usual. I don't know if this was due to more entries from other countries that normally do not attend these shows or what. But of the many known breeds to us, they seemed to be of a particularly highgrade. It took a great deal of eye adjustment to get used to all the tails in so many breeds. In Giant Schnauzers and Old English particularly, it was initially hard to accept, but once you watched them for a while, it sort of grew on you, as did those of the Rotties and Spaniels, too. This is primarily because they were straight tails, not squirrelly, as were many of the non-docked Terrier breeds. Of course, one of the biggest problems for me with any FCI Show is the critiquing of each and every dog. It is an interminable process that slows down judging. It makes for a boring time, although Imust admit, Rainer Vuorinen's technique, which is to do his critiques as he is going over the dog, made for an interesting lesson in breed judging. His hands told the story (similar to Mrs. Clark’s), and he both saved time and educated the exhibitor as well. Certainly, I learned more about Leonbergers by watching his hands and reactions than ever before. This was as unique an example of breed, as opposed to generic judging, that I have seen. He followed through with the same technique in Havanese as well. Whether everyone could do the critiques the way Rainer does may be questionable. I'm not too sure I would be up to coping with his practice, but I would sure like to try it out some time.
The two most upsetting things for me were, first, the reaction of the Italian contingencyin losing a class in Amstaffs. The booing was pre-arranged and planned — almost akin to some of the Delegates' ambushing of Petland. It was just uncalled for and a case of terrible sportsmanship.Unfortunately, there is a history with the breed insofar as sportsmanship at World Shows are concerned that not too many people can forget. Second, in the matter of Juniors, theAmerican representative is treated as a second-class citizen. Since we do not recognize FCI, our rep, sponsored by Pedigree (how long that will go on is questionable, too, since it was announced that Eukanuba is the new sponsor for FCI), must qualify all over again in the competition.To say the situation was unacceptable is to put it mildly.
As to the final result, let's first note that there was little representation from the States at the show. Nonetheless, American-owned and/or shown and even sired exhibits did quite well. Pat Keen-Fernandes placed as 3rd World Champion with her Maltese bitch—bred in Japan, owned in Thailand but totally American-shown. She had to beat out her litter brother for the ticket - he looked quite lovely, too. Then, in the largest of entries — over 450 — an American-bred-and-owned Frenchie won the breed, with his owner, Luca Carbone, handling him. The American Smooth Fox campaigned in the U.K. was Group 3 in Terriers. The Working Group was sired by Josh, whilst two lovely Standard Poodles, one of which was Group 2, were sired by Palade and Lake Cove, respectively. (See “Letters to the Editor” for an exhibit I missed.)
The BIS winner was an open dog from Italy. A Bracco Italiano, which was a showy and as sound an exhibit as you'll ever see. He brought the house down, as well he should have. Reserve Best was the Josh son. The final line-up was a strong as any you'll find anywhere in the world, with the Hungarian dogs, interestingly, winning the largest number of groups. Saw a Giant from Finland, Group 3 in Working—an open dog I would have happily taken home with me. Two or three nicely bred Wire Fox Terriers from Spain, a nice black-and-tanCharlie, too. American Cockers were surprisingly strong, as were the Pugs. One thing, though, the evenings could have been shortened considerably by having extraneous competitions—Progeny and Breeder groups—done way beforehand. Even starting judging at 9 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. could be an idea well worth exploring.
All in all, this was definitely one of the most satisfying of any World Show I have ever attended. Next year is set for Mexico City, and knowing the people involved there as well as I do, I'll bet you anything they'll try to surpass the Polish results. It will be a tough act to follow. Let's hope they succeed. In the meantime, the Polish Kennel Club was merely spectacular as organizers. Congratulations to all involved. •