Peggy went close this time. "Palacio de Cristal" in the Show Ground of the Casa de Campo in Madrid. Compulsory point for Spanish Championship. Or compulsory points, because now it is necessary to have an Ex. classification as well in this show. The points in this show seem to be more valuable than those in other shows. This points won in Madrid are like a jelly, as tasty as a fruit jelly and exactly as slippery! Anyway, the judge, Sr. Angel Garach Domenech gave us Res. CAC/CACIB so it could have been worse. So we continue seeking the CAC that we need. We had a great time, seeing more than 40 Frenchies, meeting up with Frenchie folk, almost everyone was there, some with home bred dogs. This is interesting from the point of view of someone who follows the evolution of the breed in this country. There is a bit of everything as in all countries. With this breed, in my opinion, it is not easy to produce well balanced dogs although some breeders have managed to produce a consistent type, no small thing I reckon... We also saw some dogs a good bit oversize. They were not badly constructed, but a Frenchie that weighs 35 lbs doesn't look like a Frenchie. How does one of these dogs fit in your lap? The standard speaks of a dog that, despite being well muscled, can be picked up and cuddled. If the weight keeps going up then the Frenchie and the Bullie will end up being the same thing, we only need them to start slobbering and for the ears to droop. I hope that the fashion for big Frenchies is a passing fad, but who knows? We have finished this round of shows until we get back from England after the summer. We wish all the best to those who continue showing at this time of year and hope they take care. Showing in hot weather can be very stressful for a Frenchie, and is not worth the risk in most cases. There will be more things when we come back

So cold! I can only remember one show where was so cold, in Bordeaux. Really there's no comparison. The exhibition centre in Valladolid is a little gem compared to the hangar in Bordeaux. In Valladolid the heating works, and inside it was warm enough. The cleaning services work, too, at times we had to get out of the way to let them do their job. But outside, in the street, the grass crunched beneath our feet. And not only the grass...
This time our judge was the Slovenian Miroslav Zidar. There weren't a lot of dogs, even fewer Frenchies. I remember other shows here with more dogs. I was wondering where the people had gone. Those who showed for the love of it are either tired or have had enough of this game, but some ones remain of course. Many breeders/exhibitors of old have no doubt that things have changed a lot. And not always for the better. Maybe this is why we don't see so many show people. I don't know.... there seems to be no friendly banter at shows these days.
Where was I? Oh yes, we had a judge who kindly awarded us Ex 1st CAC and CACIB in open class. BOB went to out friend "Quintus". So more points for the collection. Thanks to the judge for appreciating Peggy's good traits.