5-11-2022 Daniel Thompson

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Show Report
Show: Nederlands Kampioenschap 's-Gravenpolder
Date: 5-11-2022
Class: Pre-Beginners, Novice, Class B
Judge: Daniel Thompson

I would like to thank John and the Dutch Obedience Society for inviting me along to their wonderful Championship event. This championship was run with extreme smooth precision and deserves Kennel Club championship recognition for the DOS efforts they have put holding KC obedience shows in Holland.
The trophy display table and the decorations with a beautiful autumnal theme were a real sight to the effort of how committed this society and its competitors are to their obedience shows. John and I had fairly easy journey on the Eurostar out of London and we managed to navigate the Dutch and Belgian trains to ‘Goes’ where we stayed in a lovely hotel and the event was held down the road. We had the most fabulous time, and we were looked after incredibly well. Thank you again, it truly was a spectacular event. Thank you for the lovely, personalised gifts which will be lovely memento to remember this event. You really do look after your judging parties so well. My individual thanks go to Monique van Urk for the regular Facebook comms. It’s always a pleasure to speak with Monique and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to Isabella van Damme for being our practice handler when John and I arrived at their fabulous venue and walking the rounds for us and giving us extra things to think about so we could support handlers.

Our thanks to Ivonne van der Meer and Marian de Jong for their chauffeur duties picking John and I up from the hotel. Thanks to Ivonne being our secret messenger on keeping the most promising award dogs quiet and secret! Thank you to Tim Enkelmann for the most important job, he kept us hydrated! It was lovely to meet you Tim and thank you so much for your support during the day.

To Ingeborg Rooseman, thank you for decoying and being an uninteresting (from the dog’s perspective) decoy steward. None of the dogs found your scent tempting.

To Paul van Dijk and Barjo Blom for their scoreboard stewarding duties. You managed to understand my scribbles, my maths and kept the flow of the competitors running like clockwork and completing the prize cards. Thank you to Barjo for giving us the full results booklets you put together with running orders, scores, and handlers’ names. Fantastic work went into this and you both worked like a dream team.

My pre-beginner and novice steward, Trudy Groenenboom. You were superb company and faultless stewarding. It’s always such a pleasure to see you and you were tremendous support when were deciding the start the exercises. You encouraged the handlers beautifully. Thank you so much for picking up the rounds on the day.

Finally, I want to give my thanks to John Higgins for being such great company over the three days. It was a very enjoyable trip, and it was great to do this event together. John has been a true support to obedience and for me training with him over the years and has become a great friend through our love of dogs and dining and drinking experiences! Thank you to John for stewarding my B class, word perfect and again great support in putting my round together.

My vision for this event was to create rounds that flowed and gave handlers and dogs the ability to showcase their talents which we certainly saw in all classes. I decided to incorporate a circle in all my classes which allowed the handlers to take control of the heelwork without being stewarded. Competitor’s handling was superb amongst all classes and we saw beautifully trained dogs with verve and style. Its so rewarding to see how effective positive training methods brought the best out in the dogs in the classes.

PRE-BEGINNERS: JUDGE: DANIEL THOMPSON | STEWARD: TRUDY GROENENBOOM

1st Cor van den Hooven & Qualified for Gold of Silent Storm (Border Collie) A beautifully trained collie and wonderfully handled by Cor who ate the round and gave very little to mark on this test. A wonderful style flowed throughout the heelwork and showed how capable this team are at progressing through the classes. Keep the keenness and enthusiasm that you displayed today, and you will shine through obedience. Congratulations on your Pre-Beginner win.

2nd Marian van Dalen & Flozy Flitzke (Schapendoes) and Most Promising Award given A superb little dog who gave their all in their heelwork. The most wonderful movement from this little team and a keenness to die for. Was unfortunate to meet the above team but won’t be in Pre-Beginner long. Main marks lost were on the recall. Well done on your place today.

3rd Angela Korver & Jessie (Staffordshire Bull Terrier) First in the running order and some nerves got in the way. It put a real smile on my face seeing a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in my class, but the team worked incredibly well and handled beautifully. Very minor errors on their recall but most marks lost in the heelwork. A slightly closer position will see this team blossom. Well done.

4th Jennifer Runge & Leeloo (Australian Shepherd - Labrador – Cross) I believe a very young dog and new to competing in this class but superbly handled by Jennifer. Heel on lead was lovely to watch but sadly the steam was running out in Heel Free. From the work and effort seen in the Heel on lead this team will showcase wonderfully. Keep building that experience in the ring, manage any nerves because Leeloo has great potential. Well done.

NOVICE: JUDGE: DANIEL THOMPSON | STEWARD: TRUDY GROENENBOOM

1st Renee Maas & Iro (Cross-Breed)

This team were eye-catching. Wonderfully handled by Renee. A beautiful style in their heelwork and very well handled by Renee who motivated Iro between exercises and managed to showcase their heelwork. Near perfect set exercises and very minimal marks lost on their heelwork. Another team I’m looking forward to seeing updates on. You should be so proud of the work you produced today, and I hope you progress well together. A team to keep your eye on for the future in my opinion. Congratulations on winning this busy class today.

2nd Brigitte van Gestel & Dreaming of you unconditional love (Border Collie) A lovely small, very short coat collie who displayed beautiful heelwork. Excellent set exercises. Steam just running out towards the end of the heel-free where you were just going wide, but I know in this Brigitte’s talented hands will make their team known. Your heelwork on their circles was a real picture to watch. Well done on your place today.

3rd Kristel Boonstra & Ozzy (Alt Deutsche Hütehund) Worked first in the class and held a very promising lead. A huge dog with again a lovely style of heelwork and near perfect set exercises. Huge commendation to the work you put in, especially on the recall and retrieve, fast, keen, and very accurate. Not easily achieved with a larger breed. Heelwork was a beautiful display, the marks lost were mainly going into, on and out the turns. Well recovered after the turns and not much to mark on the straight and circle. I hope to see you have been placed other end of the line-up and see you progress because you both deserve to showcase your talents. Well done.

4th Nelleke Slingerland & Salsa (Australian Shepherd) So close in marks to third place. Just a little bit more lost on the recall and heel on lead. A lovely round produced and expertly handled. Your clear retrieve, which was fast and beautifully finished helped with your placing today. You should be proud of the work you displayed in this class. Well done.

5th Isabella van Damme & Havastorm Lightning Bolt (Border Collie) and Most Promising Award given A brilliant start by Isabella and Joolz. Heel on Lead was super keen and stylish. On par with lower marks lost on this exercise. Most of the marks lost were in Heel Free where the round proved just a little too much, however, you helped Joolz beautifully. A very promising dog as given the award above and I know in Isabella’s capable hands will do well together. Keep her keeness and enthusiam up as its the best support for you when you progress together. Well done.

6th Marianne Slegt & Se7en (Border Collie) Marianne showed there were some nerves coming in, but Se7en is a lovely small collie who has clearly been trained well by Marianne. Set exercises were well executed with minimal marks lost. Keep up the work Marianne because Se7en does give so much, and you can certainly be great contenders in the classes. Well done.

CLASS "B ": JUDGE: DANIEL THOMPSON | STEWARD: JOHN HIGGINS

1st Angela Kroon & Firetouch He’zz Brave Billy (Working Sheepdog) Wow – Angela and Billy were on ‘Fire’ today. If I hadn’t seen his breeding, his heelwork and sendaway would have given away who his father was. Identical to his gorgeous dad. Angela in her lovely, quiet, super talented way handled Billy with great support. His heelwork was to die for, especially on slow pace. Hardly anything given away, he held a superb position, a wonderful movement and changed into the paces excellently. A lovely natural style came through with this team and his sendaway was like a bullet from a gun, straight across the back marker. A lovely scent with just a slightly untidy present and finish to round off the achievement today. Very worthy winners of this class today. Congratulations on your final B win. You two are destined for amazing things.

2nd Natalie Knaack-Enkelmann & I am the One von Malihattan (Malinois) and Most Promising Award given I really liked this team. Unfortunate to come across the above team, however, very capable of winning this class together. Natalie and Oni displayed a powerful heelwork round. Oni was a dream to watch with his beautiful movement and his controlled energy flowed in their display. The best fast pace of the day. Excellent set exercises, such a shame the drop was re-commanded but other than that very minimal marks lost, and a lovely clear scent helped them achieve second place today. In Natalie’s wonderfully-talented hands Oni will follow in his fathers footsteps and make their mark in obedience. Well done on your placing today and he certainly is a promising dog. You should be so proud.

3rd Bernou ter Voorde & Firetouch She'zz Dishy Djiny (Working Sheepdog) Well done on your placing today Bernou. Related to the winner of today but this small collie worked very hard. Most marks lost on heelwork were handler body signals and an untidy fast pace. Sendway was unfortunate but your clear retrieve and ½ lost in scent helped you with you place today. Just be aware of the signals given as they are unnecessary marks to be lost Well done.

4th Maraike Bartelsen & Fast Little Wizard Mik (Border Collie) Maraike worked first today and did a great effort. Heelwork was untidy in places, especially fast pace where the marks accounted for in the test. A good scent helped you today. Well done on your place.

5th Lisette van de Wetering & Groogy Garnet of Eager Spirit (Golden Retriever) A slight messy normal pace and fast pace affected your heelwork marks today but your slow was lovely and controlled. Beautifully handled with no marks given away by Lisette. The sets added up for you which pushed you down the placings today. Well done on your place

6th Guus Scholten & Lupitoonz Calvin (Working Sheepdog) A handler who doesn’t need any introduction to their talents. Calvin being slightly spooked in places affecting his confidence and work ethic and I know Guus will put Calvin first and help him overcome these confidence issues. When you moved together, he was lovely but the turns are where his confidence lost the marks. A not bad retrieve and a very neat scent with only a ¼ lost. I know its not easy working a dog who does lose confidence easily, but I’m sure in Guus’s capable hands will support Calvin through this. Well done.

A final thanks to all the competitors entered, organisers, helpers and stands. I hope you enjoyed your championship show and thank you for making us feel very welcome. We hope you continue to support this great event and wish you all the best of luck for the future. Remember, enjoy your lovely dogs and make the day fun with them.

Daniel Thompson