~Ham~

 

A small report from the French club match in Ham,4-5 September, 2004. Entered dogs: 202.

We left from Norway on wednesday September 1st. Our first stop was at Kalle and Carina at Kennel Doguehill's. We stayed the night there, and on thursday we drove towards Ham. Kalle, Carina, Maria, Jussi, Elisabeth, Magnus, Espen and I started ahead, and in Germany we joined company with Joan, Sara and Elin. From there we drove the rest of the way to the hotel that Séverine from Kennel Tour Gelee had been so helpful with booking for us. Thank you for helping us!

We arrived Ham around lunch-time and most of the rooms were ready then so we could get the dogues inside. It was so hot there. Nice summerweather, but a bit too hot for the doggies to be outside in the sun. After relaxing for a few hours, most of us went to have dinner at the hotel restaurant while some chose to eat in the little town nearby.

On saturday it was time to weigh and measure the dogs. That went fine as always, and this year they had an italian vet there who did research, so we were all asked to go over there so they could measure some more. Normally the measure height, weight and sircumference of head and chest, but the italian vet measured the whole dog. Complete length, height between elbow and ground, head to nose, nose to muzzle, around the muzzle and so on. We were happy to participate and hope they can get some use from all the dogs that were there.

This year they had chosen to have the baby-, puppy- and debutantshow on saturday. I think that was a great idea, since most people there often have several dogs to show and it is not always easy to do it all if everything is happening at the same time.

Nadjeschka's Archibald became 2. best male baby and Best Baby was Bon Vitalis Haddock where Kalle and Carina's Gangster is the father. Congratulations to all of you. Unfortunately Nadjeschka's Alexis la Luna didn't get placed, but she also got great critics.

Then in puppyclass, our Hazel became Best Female Puppy out of 8 females, and was given a card to the Ring d'Honeur. She ended as Best Opposite. Needless to say - we are VERY proud of our wonderful girl! Also a big congratulation to Hazel's breeder - Kennel Heerlijkelanden.

Belburgo's Liza Toscali and Belburgo's Laura Ashley entered Debutantclass. They both got very good critics and showed themselves very nice in the ring.

In the evening it was time for the Official Dinner. We had a fun time, espcially Espen and Kalle was very fond of the french red wine (...) and after a little while they made us all very happy. ;-)

On sunday it was the rest of the classes. Belburgo's Jumbo Jet entered intermediate class and got picked for the "semifinals" and got an Excellent. He didn't go further to the best 4 placings but it is a good job getting so far as he did.

In Openclass Females, Belburgo's Hopeful Dream became 2nd best female. Big congratulations to Bart and Yvonne and to Kennel Belburgo. :-)

I had entered Damien in Championclass this year. He was in with the big boys like Hazel's father Toezzz, Desmo from Frisian South, Mask, Rakham la tour Gelee and 5 other I don't remember at the moment. He got Excellent again this year with a great critic. Toezzz ended as number 4 in championclass and Desmo won. So no nordic placements in the championclass this year, but I really don't think any of us are disappointed.

Lene also showed Tiny in Championclass and was rated Excellent too. Big congratulations to all of you.

In the evening we all went out to dinner in the small city where we stayed. We had an excellent meal and enjoyed the good company. We were of course very tired so we called it an early night and got a good night sleep before we went home monday morning around 1030. We stopped every now and then along the way, and even if we had AC in the car, the dogs get thursty and need to stretch a little. Kalle and Carina invited us to stay the night at their place but we chose to drive the rest of the way home. We arrived tuesday morning at 0430 and BOY was it nice to get in bed. It took us 18 hours to get home from Ham, but even if it is a long drive we think it is worth it. This year it was of course even more special since Hazel won her class!

I hope to see you all again at the French Clubmatch next year in St. Tropez. Thank you for a lovely time in Ham.

Pictures here.