First Show of 2015 tomorrow

2 hr drive to 3 counties showground for a canine society open show . Only going as the judge is the same lady that judged Tommy on his very first ever ever show . We entered 2 classes and came 2nd ( from 2 dogs ) in the 1st one as we were both terrible , 2nd class he placed 1st with his breeder holding the reins with a few more dogs ( 4-6 as I remember )

His arch ginger enemy that he lost out too will be showing tomorrow so be nice to see how he does , aside that its really good to get out of the house lol

Here's hoping you do well.

Wahay! Rock on Tommy!

Good luck, Dave - I love the 3 counties show ground, such beautiful views of the malvern hills. Bandit got a first place there at the Ladies Kennel Association (now defunct) show many years ago. It was a chilly, wet day & all the judging was done in the marquees except the Stafford's & BTs!! We're a hardy bunch!

P.S. which class(es) are you entered in for Crufts? I'm arranging to meet up with Tracey (zetstaff) to come & cheer you on.

lookig like we are going to enter Post Grad , dont know if you are aware but the KC have changed the stud band now so only a 1st place limit gets a SBN so from my view we go back to PG and win our way through the classes

and be lovely to see you both again xxx

Congratulations on Tommy's placing by the way.

Well done! When is the next post grad?

Thanks Caryll and Tracy next show is Sunday East Mids SBTC Limit Show , he's in Limit Class and then Manchester Champ Show Thursday , Limit Class again . Said I was cutting back but still seem to have 1 planned every weekend apart from 1 weekend early Feb when I am going to a show with no dog to support his breeder in his first judging appointment .

What show is he judging? I'm sure he will do a great job!

Congrats and good luck for the rest of the year

thankyou will keep the forum posted but promise not to bore you all

Caryll ,, Andy is judging Leigh Canine Society , if you remember this is the one Tommy got BOB for and then went on to get 3rd BIS ( with Andy at the reins for BIS ) . Its a nice show with a reasonable entry among the other breeds . Fingers crossed Andy has a few dogs to judge and think he will as there is a good community supporting new judges and trying to keep our classes on at shows . Unfortunately the classes seem to be staying but less and less specialist judges and I really dont get that since they dont get paid to do the job it doesnt make sense

I think he should get a good turn out - he's well respected, isn't he?

I've never really understood the way judges are appointed at shows. I can understand the smaller breeds getting all-rounders, but the breeds with plenty of entries usually have plenty of judges! Especially up & coming judges looking for a first or second appointment. There really is no need to use all-rounders for the Stafford classes unless it's an out of the way show that has no specialists close enough.

Time & again I've read critiques of a show where it's obvious that the judge has little in depth knowledge of the breed - in fact I've been at the other end of the lead when a so called all-rounder has judged staffords - it's often not a pretty sight, and means that the entries for that show next year will be reduced.

Shame, really, at a time when entries are falling!

We were just talking about this today and the general concensus is that all rounders are more feared by the people at the top end of the game . End of day .... perhaps... then the dogs will be judged against Breed Standard than preferences ( take that how you want ) So today I am going to enter under a Danish all rounder and give it a go . For this one I am referring to an "All rounder" that has been brought in to judge Staffords and not just cover a group ........ wish us luck
Tommy did a grand job today and got 2nd Limit dog ( 1st place a beauty that I know well and got an RCC 2 months ago ) . Izzy ( Tommy's sister from 1st litter ) got 1st Open Bitch and RBB so a lovely day for Fergiestaffs

Well done Tommy - he's getting back into his stride !

cheers Lynda ... though his stride may be a little too quick for some ( including me lol )

Well done both!

Great result, well done!