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We left at 4:00 am the next morning for the Retriever-Club show in Luxembourg. Since we would be returning to Nuremberg after the show, we took our rental car and followed Ralf and Connie at lightning speed to the show site. There are quite a few differences between European shows and our AKC shows, and I'm sure there are variations from one European country to another. When we arrived at the show there were several tables set up at the entrance. At the first table Connie had to produce her dog's immunization records to be allowed on the show grounds. Next she checked in with some other official who (I think) double-checked that her dogs were entered and gave Conny some dog treats and small souvenirs. We were some of the first to arrive so that procedure didn't take very long. After we helped Conny set up a tent (in case it rained) I wandered off to check out the grounds and the dogs.
The first thing I noticed was the Golden Retrievers. Almost all of them were WHITE. Ralf said they were cream colored but they looked white to me. The darkest one I saw was a beige color. The second thing I noticed was that there was not a grooming table in sight, and no blow dryers. Although the Goldens and Flat-Coats were more obviously scissored than our dogs, there was none of the frantic last minute grooming going on like you see at American shows. Many of the dogs were staked out on the grass, and the owners ran a brush through their coats before they took them in the ring.
The Flat-Coat judge was Mrs. Saskia Rathenau of the Wagging Tails kennel in The Netherlands. Like the exhibitors she was casually dressed, another difference from our American shows where both judge and handler get quite dressed up for the show. There was a pop up tent in one corner of the ring providing shade over a table and several chairs. This is where the stewards sat. The dogs are shown on a loose lead, and free stacked with bait with the handler occasionally repositioning a rear leg. Almost all of the dogs seemed reluctant to have their teeth examined, most of them sitting for the procedure. After the judge went over the dogs she had them gait in a circle, followed by a down and back. Then she sat down at the table, and while the dog was free stacked in front of her she dictated a critique of the dog to one of the stewards. The critique includes a rating, excellent, very good, or good. After she completed her comments she'd get up and go over the next entrant.
There were thirty Flat-Coats entered, ten class dogs, two champion dogs, eighteen class bitches. The champion males are judged after the class dogs. There were only two dogs in the "Classe Honneur", one of them was absolutely stunning. I was not surprised to learn that he had won Best In Show at this event the previous year. He was rightly chosen Best Male, and then the judge took a short break.
When she returned seven Flatcoated Retriever - Femelles - Classe Jeune were brought in the ring. I looked over the dogs and quickly chose my first place winner, a pretty puppy with the unlikely name of "Unladylike de la Source d'Edesse. Ralf pointed some things about her he didn't like, but she was still the one I told him I'd want to take home. When I looked her up in the catalog, I saw that she was sired by Ch Cloud Dancer's Endless Gossip, who is now living in the states with Kellie Kanipe. I was quite delighted when the judge picked her for first place. Ralf said I was lucky. The next class was Conny and Coco along with two other bitches. I looked them over and told Ralf that Coco should easily win 1st place. I was delighted when Coco won the class, and really thrilled for my new friends when Coco was selected Best Female over a total of 17 bitches! At this point Mrs. Rathenau's judging assignment was completed, as Best of Breed (between Coco and the Best Male) would be decided by a different judge once all the retriever classes were done.
I met some very nice people that day at the show. When we first got
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