LITTLE SUMMARY OF 2009

Tommy
- LV CC, EE CC, BOS

Chester
- Estonian and Finnish Champion
- EE CC, FIN CC, CACIB, BOB, BIG2

Koby
- LV CC, EE CC, BOB, BIG1

Lotta
- Champion of Sweden and Portugal
- RUBISS at Portuguese Specialty

Freddy
- Champion of Portugal and Morocco
- 2xBIG1, BIG2, BIG3, multi CACIB and BOB

Big thank you to Tommy`s, Chester`s and Koby`s families for sharing "the show-hobby" with us! 2009 with it´s ups and downs was quite a successful for "our family" and i do hope that Fortuna will be with us in year 2010 too!

Tommy and Chester are spending Christmas holiday together

Freddy with his BIG award, the RC kibble we will donate to homeless dogs

I bought a new collar to Lotta (handmade/Brazil), isn`t she beautiful;)
 

When the alarm clock rang at 2:30am - in the middle of the night, i thought im not normal if i jump in the car now and drive more than 500 km to the dog show in Portugal, but exactly 6 hours later we were in Batalha, ready to go to the ring. Rrs were judged by mr Jean Blangino (France) , and he liked Freddy a lot, every his word started with “excellent”, oh it made me smile and so Freddy got his 16th cacib. Then it was Lotta`s turn, she showed really well and made me proud, but the judge said he prefers more feminine type, Lotta ended up as 2nd in ch class with rcacib. Without any doubts the judge gave BOB to Freddy, BOS was Chilolo Eko in the Wind, who is btw also australian, like Freddy, way to go Aussies!
Mr Luis Catalan (Portugal) judged the group finals, when 3rd and 2nd place were given out, the French handler beside me said, I think you`ll take the group win today, I looked at him with stupid face “what”. Few seconds later it was announced, the group win goes to rhodesain ridgeback, whohoo we run to the podium and then I had a black out or something, I don`t even remember did I say thank you to the judge, hopefully I still did:)
The car trip and long day took its toll on Freddy and his showing in the BIS finals wasn`t the same as in the morning, also his favorite treats were finished. But it´s ok, I was so enormously happy over the group win and of course my faithful friends Freddy and Lotta. There was a pro photographer who took the pics of finals, hopefully i`ll get the pictures later.

I know Freddy looks funny there, he wanted to say something to the dalmatian (congrats i guess), but I didn`t let;)) The show was held at the bull-fighting arena (coloseo), an unique experience, the day was great and so my Freddie-boy. Just pity the weather was bad, pouring rain, quite cold, the mountains were buried in clouds and the beautiful views (what i was expected to see) were invisible.

the picture was taken yesterday, +26 degrees, I think Lotta-Freddy may have forgotten what it feels to run in the snow or wear winter jackets....

November 14th - Freddy - CC, CACIB, BOB in Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz), judged by Mr Rui Oliveira (Portugal)
 

Freddy posing in our garden

Cadiz is straight by the ocean and after the show-ring we spent a great day there ...

Saturday - brothers Koby and Chester were present at the Riga International show judged by Greg Eva (RSA), Koby was exc3 in open males, unfortunately Chester wasn`t the judge`s type.

My own Freddy-boy showed off at the obligatory „punto-show” in Spain, where rrs were judged by Mr Stefan Stefik (Slovak). Freddy was 1st in tough open class and 2nd with RCC and RCACIB at best male competition, the CACIB winner was a handsome Shangani-dog, congrats Wolfgang!

Sunday in Riga – Koby was again in the battle and won the open class under mr Salvatore Tripoli (Italy) today, with exc1! Congrats dear Baiba and Koby, I´m very happy of you!

Mona - WS Aussie Secrets visited us in September and I visited Tommy and Chester in Tartu, thank you Erle for hospitality as usual. Pictures HERE

we`re back in Spain

Chester and Tommy

Kaur and Mona

Autumn in Pärnu

Mushroom-dog Freddy

Ch Goldenbeck Diana

Freddy 3 years and Diana 8 years

Our busy show weekend started at Baltic Winner, RRs were judged by Mrs Ludmilla Filantrova (SK). Unfortunately she was very strict with missing teeth and our Tommy got his first blue ribbon, the dog was excellent, but not his teeth. Chester did better and ended up with “excellent”, but no placement today.
After the ring I, Angela and Chester headed to Finland. Some months ago I noticed mr Lazlo Erdos (HU) will judge the breed in Heinola, a year ago Freddy went BOB under him and Chester BOS Junior, right, Freddy and Chester are different in type, but mr Erdos liked them both. So we entered Chester to Heinola and had high hopes for the show. Even Chester`s mom Lotta was with us, btw Lotta took her Fin CH title also in Heinola, well already 4 years ago.
The ring started at 9 am, and we were all sleepy, but luckily mr Erdos liked Che and our team Angela/Che went BM 2 with FIN CC what makes Chester a Champion of Finland, so we got what we were after;) Thank you Angela for a great trip and big congrats! Pictures HERE

Angela and Chester in Finland

Wonderful couple - Baiba and Koby after winning the Best of Breed title

Angela and Che after winning the Best of Breed title

Haapsalu CAC, judge mrs Lydia Erhart (Holland)
Tommy (WS AllGood Things from OZ) - exc1, BM1, CAC, BOS
I handled Tommy for the first time, yeah it was a challenge and fun, next time we`ll (hopefully) do better;)

Marupe 2xCAC and Specialty for group VI
Koby (Weistrand AllEyes on ActionMan) - BM3-4 placements with CQ from the CAC shows, BM2 with CAC from the Specialty
It was a real marathon show weekend for Koby and his family, 3 shows in 2 days, thank you for the great results and big congrats! PICTURES
 

I and Tommy (my mom has to improve her photography skills;))

Tommy with mom Lotta

handsome Tommy, 2 years already

Beautiful couple - Angela and Che

Freddy`s leg is ok again, he can swim and play ...

... and enjoy the boat trips every evening

Thank you Baiba and Reinis for coming, it was great to see you all, Koby is a sweet and handsome big boy, keep up the good work with him and I`m sure he`ll make your proud soon;) PICTURES
Later, Sanna came to visit us with Zico (Harjaselän Oljenkorsi) and Freddy`s little daughter Zara (African Breeze Fly Higher), we took some PICTURES
 

Lovely couple - Baiba and Koby showing in Pärnu

Freddy with his little daughter Zara

Elegant Lotta posing in Stockholm (the weather was a bit cold for our "Spanish-lady")
 

I and Marian travelled with our dogs Lotta, Freddy, Mimi and Rudolfo to Sweden, destination this time was Vännäs, 2 shows organized by the Västerbotten Kennelklubb.
On Saturday, the breed was judged by Zlatko Kraljic (Croatia), my dogs were too light for him and we got nothing, just sad the judge didn`t let us move, none of the circle, just 1 time up and down …well, it happens ...:) Only few dachshunds were entered and Marian got everything with Mimi and Rudolfo she was after, both CCs and S CH titles juhuuu!!! Marian, however, was not happy until the next day told me that she can not be happy when others (ie me) has gone badly, oh dear Marian….

We stayed overnight in a nice and cosy Best Western hotel, have to admit their lunch and breakfast buffees were just delicious.

The next show day was in pouring rain, the temperature was 9 degrees, heh summer! Our dachshunds reiterated their great performance! Then was my turn with ridgebacks, even though Freddy`s injured leg is already much better, I didn`t risk to show him on Sunday. The ring was very slippery, and I saw people and dogs slipping/falling there. There were 14 beautiful, strong boned and pro-handled females in open class. I did not have high expectations with Lotta, but as opposed to the previous day, the judge Mr Boo Lundstöm from Sweden wanted to see moving ridgebacks. We run at least 15-circles, despite the cold and rainy weather my darling Lotta flew, we were selected to final four, and more running, Lotta`s placement changed in each circle and soon we were first in open class. I felt myself running for the CC as Forrest Gump, run Forrest run ....Lotta won the CC and precious Swedish Champion title, to which we have been very close almost 4 years! Our final placement was Best Bitch 2, after a beautiful winner of champion class - RV Okalani (who went also BOB, congrats)! Thanks to all who supported us and were happy over us, a big thank you to friendly competitors, who supplied me (read Lotta) with dried liver (thx Jazmine) and meatballs (thx to a nice lady from Finland;)

And finally, thank you dear Marian, you are an excellent travel companion and a good friend! I am not going to talk about “adventurous” roadside restaurant we visited, cold and rainy night near Uppsala ect, we are the Iron "women" who fit together, such as sea and wind, or Campari and orange juice, or Dachshunds and Ridgebacks, or ....

3 boys from "our family" were entered and our amazingly great results are here:

Weistrand Adventure Apollo "Chester" - open exc1, BM2, CC, RCACIB (=CACIB) - new Estonian Champion!!!
Weistrand AllGood Things from Oz "Tommy" - open exc2, BM3
Amashutu Cool Aussie Boy "Freddy" - I didn`t show Freddy as he injured the ligaments in his left front foot while chasing rabbits on Tuesday evening, it takes time, but hopefully we´re "back in showbiz" after a month

The judge had a hard time to choose between Che and Tom, this time was Che the first in Open males and finally BM2 after the winner of Champion-class, Tom BM3, both winning over champion males from Finland and Russia. As our boys are maturing slowly, they both need more "time", who knows what will happen in the future .... It was great to see their good performance today, everything went very well for us (heh, except a little "action" organized by Tom after the ring, sry for that). I`m SO happy and proud of you Angela and Erle!
PICTURES HERE

Angela and Chester - exc1, BM2, CC, RCACIB (=CACIB)

Erle and Tommy - exc2, BM3

Back in Pärnu - Freddy streching after a long road trip

Lotta, fresh and beautiful after 5 days journey- like a real lady

Our Spanish home is very close to Africa, just 45 min to the port of Tarifa, then it takes about 45 min to cross the gulf of Gibraltar by ferry and you are in Tanger, Morocco. Yes, the distance is not so big, but arriving in Morocco you`re straight in the middle of different culture and people. Morocco is an Islamic country, so you have to be open and tolerant, to welcome anything new. And to be prepared that not everyone wants to see “white people” there …
About the show, first a big thank you to Amina, who is a wonderful person and helped me with everything, thank you! The show ground was excellent and judging professional, honestly!
It was pleasure to show my darling Freddie, he behaved great and showed his best performance – EXC1, CC, CACIB, BOB = new Champion of Morocco, and later in the finals BIG1!!! Pity, we had a ferry tickets back to Spain and couldn`t stay for the Best in Show, what was held on Sunday …

Pictures HERE

Lotta the Beauty

My computer is working again, thx Joey! A lot has been going on here lately. First of all, my dear rottie Diana turned 8 years on Sunday (April 12th), see you soon my darling, counting the days!

And some not dog-related news. As the WTA International Category tournament was held between 4th and 12th April at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain (just 19 km from our home), I could literally say the pro tennis came to our home;)  It was awesome to be able to see the pro-games in live, winner of the tournament was wonderful Jelena Jankovich (Serbia, WTA 4), our own girl Kaia Kanepi (WTA 21) ended up in the quarter finals on Friday. More in: http://www.andaluciatennis.com/?i=2

Semana Santa - Holy Week in Spain (this year April 5-12th), perhaps the most important event in the religious calendar, more so even than Christmas. Andalucía is famous for it`s Semana Santa processions, the procession is a traditional Catholic way to tell the story of Christ on the streets, for all people to see. Semana Santa in Spain is an experience that will move you, whether you are religious or not, there’s something to enjoy and you won't see anything like it anywhere else. Read more:  http://www.exploreseville.com/events/semana-santa.htm
And some pics of the Good Friday night procession in Estepona taken by me HERE

Saturday started by "online-conversation" (thank you Erle for keeping me always updated) from Rakvere (EE) - the judge was K. Butrimova (LT) and Angela-Chester did their best to charm the judge and get the CC for Che`s Est CH title, well ... unfortunately our lovely Che went BM3 this time, one step from the CC, next time then, just don`t give up Angela and Che.

Now about our own adventures, from Portugal again;) I didn`t have any high hopes for Freddy, as he is so different in type from local ridgebacks, and I was sure he might be too “exotic” for the Portuguese judge, so I betted more to Lotta this time. But Freddy did very well, he was third in champion males with excellent! And then Lotta, first she won champion females with excellent, after that I was already over the moon, as missing excellent for the PT CH title was achieved! And then after a little break was time for the best female competition - Lotta went Best Female of the Specialty, choosing between Lotta and the Best Male, the judge gave BISS title to the male and RUBISS to my Lotta-Potta. A very big win for our beautiful and elegant Lotta, who btw turns 6 years soon, she is definitely a true Ko-Iita girl !!! Needless to say, Lotta made me the most precious birthday gift;)

Freddy 3 years

Warm, sunny and successful weekend in Lisboa, we got everything we were after and even more. Freddy charmed the judges and went BOB on both days! Darling Lotta received the last CC needed for the PT CH title, now she is a champion of 12 different countries, has 22 titles, 22 CACIBs, 41 CACs – a remarkable collection;) Lotta has achieved so much during her show career, more than I ever thought, so my sweet girl can enjoy her fully deserved semi-retirement. Long walks on the beach, chasing seagulls and cats, or just sleeping next to me, this is what Lotta loves the most.

While we were in Lisboa, Weistrand AllEyes on ActionMan - Koby and Baiba had their first show in Daugavpils and did great – exc1 and BM3, but what`s most important, now we know that Koby loves showing. I`m so proud and happy of you Baiba and Koby, what a great start! I had a special connection with Koby (ex Action) during his first 8 weeks of life, not only because Koby looked so much like his mom Lotta, but there was something “special” in him, now I am SO happy to see Koby is loved and doing well. Million thanks to Baiba for giving Koby a wonderful home and Koby`s personal trainer and friend Kristine, you`re the best!  Hopefully I`ll get pictures later this week.
 

Beautiful puppy Zara
 

Koby 2 years
 

Lotta do loves strawberries, Freddy still thinking "is it eatable or not"
 

We started our show year in Porto, Portugal, like last year. There were 2 shows - CAC show on Saturday 24th and important CACIB – CC-QC show “what we`re calling as a point show” on Sunday 25th. You can`t finish the PT CH title unless you have at least 1 CC-QC, plus one “excellent” from the other CC-QC show, the tough thing is, there is only 2 CC-QC shows in a year.
Well, we got nothing on Saturday, Freddy was 2nd in his class and Lotta 4th … yeah the judging was weird and I`m not talking here about our results, there were some really beautiful dogs from Spain and France, who got nothing as well, pity.  But it seemed like all the luck was on our side on Sunday - Freddy needed just one CC-QC for the title and he did it - CC-QC and CACIB were ours. As Lotta needed only “excellent” from that show, she was entered in to champion class (no CCs in champion class) and she did it – excellent 1 and CACIB, CC-QC winner was a beautiful Molema Mua Rôo Practical Magic from Spain. Choosing between Lotta and Freddy, the judge gave Best of Breed to Freddy. What a happy day! Now Lotta needs just one more ordinary CC (from CAC or CACIB shows, so we keep trying) for the title and Freddy is a Champion of Portugal. Thank you Judge! Thank you Vanessa, for handling Lotta. Pictures HERE
 

Freddy
02.12.2007  Santarem - CC, CACIB, BOB
19.01.2008 Porto - CC, BOS
20.01.2008 Porto (CC-QC show) - excellent RCC-QC
19.12.2008 Batalha - CC, CACIB, BOB
25.01.2009 Porto (CC-QC show) - CC-QC, CACIB, BOB

Lotta
20.01.2008 Porto (CC-QC show) - CC-QC, CACIB, BOS
30.11.2008 Santarem - CC, CACIB, BOB
19.12.2008 Batalha - CC, CACIB, BOS
25.01.2009 Porto (CC-QC show) - excellent CACIB, BOS
hopefully the last CC is to come;)