17th & 18th May 2008, Cyprus International - Aphrodite Winner and Crufts Qualifier Show - Episkopi, Cyprus
CYPRUS, APHRODITE WINNERS SHOW 17th & 18th MAY 2008
It has been a busy few weeks, what with Summer fast approaching, looking at the jobs you keep putting off and then starting with the season visitors before you know it. So Craig has been busy with the paint brush, the housekeepers have been busy Spring cleaning and as for myself, well I got the better job of travelling out to Egypt a couple of times, in search of a property we could buy and use in the winter months. Not that it ever gets so cold here in Cyprus, but it is just nice to have that facility to get away and enjoy a different location. I am afraid buying property is a weakness I have, it is to some as most women will identify, like buying a nice pair of shoes and putting them at the back of the shoe cupboard, just incase an occasion comes up to wear them. I have this same fetish, but unlike shoes, I get more for my money, we generally see nice capital appreciation and we have a choice of homes around the world in which we can spend lovely holidays, maybe spending three months in one, three months in another at the same time as taking in a few dog shows whilst we are travelling. I suppose your all wondering how we can fit it in when we have the responsibility of our babies !!!! Well, let me tell you before you all start worrying. Our babies are our number one priority, we put them first and foremost above all that we do, however there comes a point when even the hardiest dog person needs a break, otherwise you start to lose the passion and the love because it then becomes a chore. So we have homes in Thailand, UK, Egypt, Cyprus & Dubai, the idea being that when we are in need of a break, then our homes are our sanctuary, we have the luxury and comforts of having our own things around us and we do not have to travel with suitcases full of clothes.
My parents then came to visit for 5 weeks which is always lovely to share some quality time together and as we thought this was going to be Dads last visit due to his increased mobility problems, it was extra special knowing we had to make the most of the time we were together. As it was, we managed to get them over to Egypt for 10 days to see the property and we all had a really fantastic time. The weather was at its best, the journey was easy for Dad to manage and Mum was much in need of the rest because caring for somebody, no matter how much or how little, it is the carer that always gets forgotten. So it was time for Mum to be pampered, hair done, massages, facials and daily swims. To be honest I have never seen her looking so good, so the break really did the both of them, in fact the four of us the world of good.We only had a couple of days after getting back from Egypt to the long awaited show here in Cyprus. It was a double show weekend, the Saturday being the Cyprus International Show and Sunday being Aphrodite Winners Show, Crufts qualifier Show, as well as being an International Show with a different set of Judges from the previous day.
We have had a number of changes recently within the body of our Cyprus Kennel Club, A new President has been elected and subsequently new board members to support the new President. It would seem that a huge hole has been left in the balance book and the new committee have inherited massive financial losses that are currently affecting the running of the club. I am led to believe that a large percentage of the members are either NOT paying their fees, or selling puppies without papers, reducing registration fees to less than half of the previous year and this is seriously affecting all those that are playing by the rules. As a GENTLE REMINDER, if you are reading this and you are one of the none paying offenders, then I would like to personally remind you that ultimately you will be the ones losing out. So dig deep in to your pockets, get your fees paid in to the club and let us all get behind them and make sure that the standard of our shows does not drop. Its very simple, it accounts to, if there is no money in the bank, then the club will have to close it’s doors like any business without a cash supply. We have already missed out on the Champion of Champions Show and I believe many more shows will be cancelled if support is not given, so to all our club members reading this, pass it on to your friends who are also members so they are all aware of the current circumstances. We can not expect to enjoy great shows and not pay our fees on time. At this point we would like to pass on our congratulations to the new President, Mr Erodotos Neophytou and all his team, who without question always manage to put on an excellent show weekend and this weekend was no exception. The venue is centrally located, so at least we all have fairly equal distances to travel and at least consideration has been given to those travelling that bit further as to the running and showing times of your dogs, so thanks to one and all for that care taken. There are excellent catering facilities and the food was truly scrumscious. The rings were nice and big, especially for the larger breeds and as this was our yearly special Aphrodite Winners Show combined with its very prestigious Crufts Qualification Show, extra events had been included such as Fairground rides for the children, bungee jumping, a military dog display and some very popular local and ballroom dancing displays by local professional dancers. It was a great idea and it was nice for the visiting International Judges to see our show in such a positive light, however these additional displays, as entertaining as they were, did make the days events extend a little and many of the visiting entries who had to leave on time for flights, possibly missed out the final judging due to time factors being extended. It’s all trial and error and maybe something that can be taken in to consideration for the next large show event Cyprus puts on. The only downfall of the day and it seems to happen at each venue we attend and that is the water in the toilets decided not to work anymore, which is always a problem, A) for drinking water for the dogs, and B) general toilet requirements. The toilet attendant did a very good job with a few buckets of water and a constant supply of bleach, so congratulations to her as without her I think there would have been a real hygiene problem.
As this was a special show weekend for Cyprus there were many new faces from overseas. Representation from lots of our European neighbours who like ourselves, take time, effort, energy and money to support other shows. So on behalf of all the dog breeders and show people in Cyprus, may we at APOLLODANE GREAT DANES salute you and thank you for your contribution in making this show a success and for your attendance, as we for one know just how difficult it is, moving dogs of any size from one country to another. I have said it before and I will say it again, for all those show people who never step foot outside their own country with their dogs and believe they are at the top of their game, then try dealing with all the protocol of overseas shows, hotels, flights, transportation, stiff competition that you may be competing with for the first time, Judges of the highest calibre and language barriers. This really is dog showing and those dogs that are fortunate enough to take titles and prizes are deserving of every trophy, every medal and every certificate. So once again to all our foreign visitors, it was a pleasure to act as host country to your deserved wins. You bring not only additional revenue to our club, but you bring added competition which is always a pleasure to see and it is time Cyprus saw more new faces and more new breeds taking centre stage and on the winners podium.
It is difficult logistically showing 6 Danes with 2 people, but hey, this is show world and you get by no matter what. Our Judge for the day was Mr Dusan Paunovic from Serbia who we later realised was a no show. Apparently some visa confusion at the airport and he had to return unable to enter Cyprus. Not a good start to the day, but quickly resolved and to no determent of either the dogs or their handlers. We were moved to another ring (so much for us going the night before to set up, but at least we were still in view of what was going on) Our new Judge was Slukin Sergij from the Ukraine and for us it was important to visit his ring to see what it was he was looking for, how he liked to move his dogs and to pick up any tips that may help us.
Next in is Apollodane Athena (Tina) who is now starting to look quite elegant although still a little “dizzy” in her attitude. Mum Heidie was a late developer in the ring, as too was Odette, so we know she will come in to her own, just for the moment we have to allow her the freedom of her mental development and hope the Judge sees the long term potential., he wrote on her critique.
Excellent Feminine Head, A Soft Top Line, but still growing and developing, Good Front Chest, Good Angulation, Nice Set Croup EXCELLENT GRADE.
Good Strong Dog, Excellent Deep Chest, Excellent Angulation, Good Top Line, Colour although not typical is excellent. EXCELLENT GRADE and he was awarded C.A.C.
Rorlyn Who Spilt The Paint (Diva) Much more compact in her frame than our other girls, but a nicely presented bitch with lovely movement and nice head. She takes to the ring and shows us why we love so much these lines we have adopted. Grace of movement looks so elegant whilst running around the ring and to see a dog, no matter what the breed move correctly is absolute heaven. The Judge critiques as follows.
Very beautiful and Elegant bitch, Typical in Type, Very Strong Neck and Beautiful Head, Strong Top Line, Good Broad Chest, Excellent Angulation, Free and Fluid in Movement, Beautiful eyes excellent in colour, Good Pigmentation. EXCELLENT GRADE, C.A.C / C.A.C.I.B.
Rorlyn White Collar Worker (Turbo) having gained a few kilos since his arrival in Cyprus, he is now what I would say worthy of his place in the show ring. He stands proud, he looks impressive and once again he knows how to move. The Judge critiques as follows,Typical In Format, A strong and Powerful Dog, Strong Top Line, Excellent Broad Chest, Excellent Angulation, Beautiful in Movement. EXCELLENT GRADE, C.A.C / C.A.C.I.B
Now this is where it gets totally confusing as we are now down to the finals and all our dogs have been placed eliminating all other Dane competition. At one point we are in the ring with four dogs for Best Male, needless to say Turbo wins on this occasion. We are in for Best Junior male and Donny takes this, Best Junior Bitch and Tina takes this and then B.O.B Junior which went to Donny. Best female and this goes to Diva and now with a little more calm, the other dogs put away, we enter the ring again for Best Of Breed. I decided to handle Diva as Craig was dressed in his show suit and we felt for sure from the line up it had to be Turbo. We presented our dogs and we managed to pull in some handling assistance for Donny who was representing Best Of Breed Junior in the overall B.O.B. Turbo was looking good, moving well and being handled to perfection. I followed with Diva, not looking at all showy in my summer shorts and I’m A Dane Dad t/shirt !!! well after all today I was the saliva towel boy and not the handler. Our friend who HATES handling but just happened to be at ring side was doing a great job with Donny. The judge ran us, he stopped us and asked us to stack and present, he looked and he looked again and for a moment I caught him glancing over at me. ” Oh No” I thought to myself, he must be thinking what is this man doing entering the show ring looking as though he is on holiday. I tried to hide my legs behind Diva and then suddenly the hand went up !!!!!!!! WHAT ???? we looked in total amazement as my dear little Diva took Best Of Breed and poor Craig looking so resplendent in his red show suit and impressive Mantle Dane came second with Donny third. It just goes to show, no matter what your own personal thoughts are on the day, it is the Judge who decides and on this occasion he commented that for him, Diva just had that little more presence and showmanship. That was it, Diva was going through to Groups and for today Turbo had reached his limit.
We sat under our tent, watching the other remaining classes and indulging in the soft twirly ice creams that were being sold from the visiting van. In no time we were in to the finals of the afternoon and first in was Donny for Best Junior In Show. I can only say, what a complete fiasco. I have NEVER in my life seen so many Juniors line up for Best Junior In Show. To try and make some order of asemblance from this many dogs was impossible, but this is show world once again folks and you just grit your teeth and get on with it. The entrants went three times around the ring, there were dogs in front of dogs, by the side of dogs, behind dogs and I am sure if the stewards would have had their way, they would have stacked them on top of dogs. In my opinion as a spectator, it was wholly impossible to judge them correctly and effectively. The judge tried to request some form of order, language restrictions appeared to add more confusion and it looked like a show circus. Walking swiftly round the chaos a line up was picked, some very good dogs were clearly overlooked, some poor dogs managed to get through the net.
Fortunately the Best Junior In Show went to the Central Asian Shepherd Dog which in my opinion was a worthy winner. The dog looks very impressive, it is a nice specimen, my only criticism is in which the way it is handled in the ring. With such a beautiful dog in the very early stages of it’s show career, more care needs to be taken in showing the dog off to it’s best potential. It is not the dogs first major win, infact it has taken Best Junior In Show before and again well deserved, but handling and presentation form a huge part of the dogs recognition when it gets this far in a competition, so it could find itself losing valuable points the older it gets, so to our friend Mr Danilicheva, you have a great dog, you have taken some great awards, now for me, I would like to see you enter the ring with a little more professional handling, keeping your dog on a much tighter control and stop it sticking its nose up the backsides of those who know how to present. I am sure as you visit our pages regularly, come to socialise at our tent, you will not see this as being rude or disrespectful, just advice on a positive note. I would be only to happy to share with you some of our show presentation tips on handling large breeds in the show ring, showing respect, not only for your fellow competitors, but for the Judges. Unfortunately we have to deal with other less respectful handlers, mostly Doberman type dogs or Bull Terriers who’s owners / handlers seem to feel the need to spend most of their time in the ring throwing toys on the floor, moving their dogs constantly in to another dogs space or shouting at the top of their voices from ring side. My opinion is, if you do not know how to present your dog in the ring, then do not present it at all, because all you do is distract away from those that do know how.
Groups followed soon after and group 2 always one of the bigger classes was beginning to collect around ring entrance. Another strange result as one would assume that with Central Asian Shepherd taking Best Junior In Show, it would at least feature in the short list. Well not today for the Central Asian which was quite a shock, what was even more of a shock was the fact that our Diva, not only was she short listed, but she took third place in Group 2. Doberman was first, Miniature Pinscher was second, Great Dane third and Shar Pei fourth
It was a perfect day in terms of results, we were more than happy with our places and for us the day was finished and time to head off home in the van which was already starting to be a little temperamental. With dogs all loaded, our tent area cleaned and ready for the next day we headed off home. An hour from the venue to our home, so taking it steady we travelled back along the motorway until Paphos was in sight. Dogs out, into their feeding areas, a nice long drink (the dogs and not us) and we all fell exhausted after a full and eventful day.
SUNDAY 18th MAY 2008, CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL SHOW, CRUFTS QUALIFIER AND APHRODITE WINNERS SHOW.
Another day, another show, another set of Judges, but the fun is the same as it always is. Yes another hot day and I think possibly having an effect on the attendance of spectators as it all appears a little thin on the ground, but then as the day gathers momentum, the crowds start to appear, the entries are high and once again the number of overseas visitors has exceeded all expectations. Our own day got off to a bit of a bad start as Craig decided to leave the home a little earlier in expectation of any van problems, at least we would have time to find a solution. Talk about tempting fate, he had been left the home about 45 minutes when I called him the get the all clear for me to leave. he said all was fine and it was OK for me to set off as there appeared to be no problems looming with the van. Oh how wrong was he going to be. Not 10 minutes later when I had already left and was on my way did I get a frantic call.
“where are you” Craig says
“I am out of the village heading towards the motorway, why, what is the problem”
“Its the exhaust, its dropped off, I am stuck on the motorway, it is blazing hot, I have all the dogs in the van and I am not very happy”
YIKES! Nothing worse than a vehicle drama to set the tone of the day. I knew there would be no talking to him, I could sense his anger in the tone of his voice, so why would I want to add to that by being practical and giving him advice. It was my idea to borrow the van, so Craig had the perfect person to blame. I telephoned the guy who owned the van, I explained the situation and asked if he would communicate with Craig as there was just no reasoning with him when he was upset. The matter had a temporary resolve, I continued with my journey arriving at the show ground to find Craig in a much better mood than I had anticipated. I cracked open our first bottle of Champagne which was initially for the Kennel Club staff and Stewards for all their hard work, but at this point I thought Craigís need was more and not being one to let him drink on his own, I joined him along with some other Bulldog friends to an early morning tipple. Well it was not quite early morning, it was 1100hrs and in less than 2 hours we would have our first class. The more he thought about his little predicament, the more he stewed on it and the more he stewed, the more stressed he became. His worry was how we were going to make it home that evening, it was a Sunday and he had visions of us being stuck with all the dogs and no way to get them from the show. Our friend assured him he would find a mechanic, but no, Craig was looking for somebody to blame, I was that person and he was not letting go until he had orchestrated his row.
Classes commenced and once again the Apollodane Danes performed to perfection. This time our Judge was Erwin Deutscher from Austria. We had over the 2 days managed to show under 2 very nice gentlemen and their styles were each quite different.
Today for Apollodane Adonis the Judge had written;
A Nice Young Body, Excellent Type, Correct colour and hair, Correct Bite, Eyes & Ears, now up to this point I thought he had been writing about myself, but then it went on to say, Testicles in correct position, now I know he was not talking about me. It went on to read, Young neck, nice and strong, Excellent Top Line, Excellent Chest, Correct Tail Set, Good Angulation, Excellent Movement, Very Good In Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.
Apollodane Athena he wrote,
Nice Young feminine Body, Nice Head, Correct Bite, Eyes & Ears, Correct Colour and Hair, Nice Young Neck, Chest, Angulation and top Line, Correct Tail Set, Excellent Movement, Very Good In Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.
Rorlyndane Who Spilt The Paint, the Judge wrote;
Very Nice Type and Body, Correct Head, Nice lips, Correct Ears, Eyes and Bite, Beautiful Neck & Top Line, Excellent Chest, Good Angulation, very Well In Movement, Excellent in Character, EXCELLENT GRADE.
Rorlyn White Collar Worker the Judge commented;
Excellent Type & Body, Strong Masculine Head, Correct Bite, Ears & Eyes, Wonderful Neck & Top Line, Good Chest, Excellent Angulation, very Well In Movement, Correct underline, Excellent Colour & Hair.
Today is not only special because it is an International Show combined with the Aphrodite Show, but it is also a little bit of a glory day for Apollodane as it was our hard work, efforts and contacts in the UK that managed to secure one of todays events “The Crufts Qualification Show” and an event that from speaking to some of the exhibitors is the only reason why they travelled by air land and sea to visit our beautiful island today. So on the basis that we have secured this very prestigious event now for the foreseeable future, we can only hope the word spreads and we see numbers increase year on year on year. After all, it was only through our very own struggles, travelling around Europe, chasing one venue after the other to qualify for Crufts that we realised there were many of our European neighbours closer to ourselves that would benefit from an event closer to home. So please, if you did not attend this year, then check our Kennel Clubs web site on www.cypruskennelclub.net
and under show news, you will see all the up and coming shows through until 2010. There is a list of hotels and if you require any further information, contact the Kennel Club direct or drop me a line and I will forward the message on for you.
So back to the show and we were now once again in finals for the running order, Donny takes Best Junior Dog once again, Tina takes Best Junior Bitch, Donny wins the day taking B.O,B Junior. Dive who sailed through her classes yesterday to take her place in the group line up today was happy to win her Champion Class and then go on to take Best Bitch. B.O.B today went to Turbo and now it was his turn to go through to groups. Lunch time break, the Judges went to eat and we sat in the tent, hiding from the sun and going in to round 2 of the broken exhaust. Was all this tension worth it I thought to myself, but no, Craig was not letting go, he was like a dog with a bone until he jumped up, said he was taking the dogs home in the small van and then coming back to collect me and the remaining dogs. Now how wrong did he think he was going to be with that statement. I had gone to a dog show to show my dogs, not to fight and row over something so trivial I was going to let it spoil the day. So off he went with 2 dogs in the small van, leaving me with the other 2 dogs and all the show equipment, oh yes and NO transport. I am sure many of you will know, when they start to have a tantrum, start to throw their toys out of the pram and their dummy becomes disengaged from their mouths, the best thing to do is let them get on with it and this I did.
Eventually it was time for afternoon classes to start, Donny was trying to tell me something by pawing his crate, so I kept opening the door to give him a drink of water, to which each time he was pushing his head against the crate door as if to get out. I prepared both Donny for Best Junior In Show and Turbo for his group line up, all the time fuming that Craig had still not returned, even though he had told me he was going home and not coming back. Its always a steel nerve that calls> their bluff, so I bid him farewell, told him to drive carefully as he had precious cargo on board and that I would endeavour to find my own way home later than night. A lady came to the tent to ask some questions about the purchase of Great Danes, I was at this point alone as Craig had now left and both dogs had been cleaned down for their final debut. The lady looked at me and said, Your dog has just done it’s toilet in its crate. I looked round and honestly you would have thought that dog had not emptied his bowels for a week, it was everywhere. Oh dear, what timing I thought to myself, but being the ever survivor, I got him quickly out of his crate, washed him down and hurried along to take my place in Best Junior In Show. It seemed to be a less frantic line up although still heavy in numbers, but sadly once again it was not the turn of Donny. So a quick run back to the tent to get Turbo for his Group and low and behold there was the returning prodigal son, Craig, still sulking, still not helping, but sitting with his chin down to his knees. I think it was a combination of early mornings, stress and to much sun. Anyway, off I went in to the group line up and a fine display of dogs it was, only this time as fine as they were, the Judge thought none finer than our Turbo for winner of group 2. Well how smug did I feel walking out of the ring and handing Turbo over to Craig. There you are I said, that’s your winner of Group 2, the dog you could not get to win B.O.B yesterday, maybe it is right what they say about the handler having as much impact as the dog. Oooooooooo he was green with envy and really eating humble pie now. His tantrum was now well and truly over and we were once again the best of friends forgetting the exhaust which had now been fixed as promised and getting ready for Best In Show line up. There were some really nice dogs in the Best In Show line up and for the most there were quite a few new faces which is always nice to see. The Afghan was very nice and although having had a major win the day before, looked set to win the day once again today. There was a beautiful Welsh Corgi, again a new face on our show stand and the most gorgeous Basset Hound which in my opinion was the winner for the day. We were all asked to leave the ring after we had presented to the Judge and there we must wait for the final result…
The announcements were in reverse order, Fourth place !!!! No, this was not the Dane, OK so we are still in with a chance, Third place was announced !!!! No, this was not the Dane, yes we are still in with a chance, Second place is !!!!!! No, this is still not the Dane and the remaining 7 quickly look around, the fanfare goes, the music kicks in and the announcement starts;
“AND THE WINNER OF THE APHRODITE 2008 CYPRUS INTERNATIONAL SHOW IS “BIG”, IT IS “VERY BIG” IT IS “BLACK AND WHITE”
…and there I am standing with the biggest dog left in the line up, the Great Dane and it could not have been more black and white as we were showing the Mantle so fulfilling all his announcements, the other contestants were looking at me telling me to move to the front of the show ring, some congratulating me as the announcement finished “IT IS THE AKITA” the announcer went on to complete. Talk about some VERY angry faces, not because we had not won, but because of the cruel announcement from the Master Of Ceremonies who clearly thought he was being funny trying to put them off the scent of the actual winner. The Akita who is actually owned by friends of our and is very beautiful, is neither, BIG, VERY BIG or BLACK and WHITE it was brown and white. Oh well, the stupid man on the microphone had ruffled a few feathers, but he did not spoil our weekend and what we had achieved was more than our expectation.
Our final call for the weekend was that we had made;
Turbo finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion to add to his already Australian Champion, he had become a Crufts qualifier and he had won Aphrodite Winner title, he was B.O.B (day two) and took 1st place in group line up.
Diva finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion to add to her already Australian Champion, she had become a Crufts qualifier and she had won Aphrodite Winner title, she was B.O.B (day one) and took 3rd place in group line up.
Donny finished the weekend with Cyprus Junior Champion, he had become a Crufts qualifier and he had won Junior Aphrodite Winner title and he took his place in the Best Junior In Show line up on both days following his B.O.B.Junior win.
Tina finished the weekend with Cyprus Junior Champion, she had become a Crufts qualifier and she had won Junior Aphrodite Winner title at the same time as taking Best Junior Bitch of Breed.
Polo finished the weekend with Cyprus Champion and he had won Aphrodite Winner title.
So finishing off 3 Champion Titles, 2 Junior Champion titles and taking 2 group places was for us more than we had expected. Our weekend was a huge success and we would like to thank all the Judges for their confidence in our dogs to put them through, to all the Kennel Club staff who work so hard to put these shows on and to the new President who’s first show this was in his new role.
We can now sit back a little as we have decided that this year we will concentrate our efforts on hopefully and successfully mating Odette who is expected in to season any day now. She will be covered with Zsacharias and advance registrations are already being taken to secure any future puppies they may have. We have a data base of names who have already expressed an interest, but for those reading that have not completed one of our Advance Registration forms you can do so here.
For those having already completed a form and who are still interested, please drop me a line to say, form already completed, we are still interested.
We have many more photos on our flickr site and you can get to the different sets by double clicking on any photo and it will take you straight there.
We hope you have enjoyed our update and show news. For those wishing to be removed from our list, please send a reply asking to be removed.
Many thanks and kind regards from all at APOLLODANE GREAT DANES.
LATEST BREAKING NEWS
The first bitch to come in to season on our expected mating is the beautiful CYPRUS CHAMPION / AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION / APHRODITE WINNER & CRUFTS QUALIFIER, Rorlyndane Who Spilt The Paint “DIVA” who you can see above or on the following link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/apollodane/sets/72157605526917077/show/.
She will be covered in the next few days with the very famous “ZAC” who can be seen in full on the following link
http://www.apollodane.com/blog/our-dogs/cyprus-best-dog-of-the-year-2006/
We would expect if all goes well, puppies to be born around the middle of August. We have already gathered from those interested, a number of advance registration forms completed on behalf of securing a future puppy. So could I please ask, to all those people who have kindly completed a form and for those who have not yet completed a form, if you are still interested in a puppy or would like to secure a puppy, could you please send an e-mail to info@apollodane.com with immediate effect. We understand many peoples circumstances change and we would just like to bring our details up to date so people are not let down, many thanks.
