Cruddy weather did not plague us any further than Ohio, the weather for the Eastern Specialty was blue skies and sunshine. With over 60 greyhound entries, it was a very long day. We watched Sheila judge the Sweepstakes classes until it was our time to run our first-ever performance class (Rally Novice). There were 3 entries, and with trying to help Sheila with photos of here Sweeps entries I only had time for one very rushed walk through. I was a little shocked to learn there was no course map to study prior to going into the ring. And we were the first entry. No pressure there! No time for much of a warm up, just a little heel, sit, down, heel and our number was called....are you ready? Heck yes we were!! Darby Crash did me proud and scored a 97 out of 100! We got our first leg and a close 2nd place, I was so proud of us!
After a lot of hurry up and wait, we went in for Best of Breed, a class with over 20 dogs entered! Once again the handsome boy did me proud by showing well, doing everything I asked of him and made the first cut!
The competition was really heavy with quite a few very nice hounds showing at their best, unfortunately we did not make the final cut.
The next day was Morris and Essex, one of the largest dog shows in the country. There were over 45 Greyhound entries! Since we didn't really get a second glance from the judge, (I know....how could that possibly be?!?) instead I will provide a glimpse of the hats that were on display at this show.
It seems it's a tradition for everyone, men and women alike, to sport hats (fancy ones) at this event. It wasn't quite the Kentucky Derby, but it was about as close as it gets in New Jersey!
The remaining shows were fairly uneventful. Darby got sick to his stomach on the way to the Hatboro show (the first time on the entire trip), but he was okay the next and thankfully last show day and showed well enough to get Select Dog. 4 days of showing after 5 days of driving is enough to wear any dog out, so we were glad to be done with it all by then and headed straight for Dewey Beach which was only a few hours away.
We visited Sarah and her booths (multiple!) of sculptures. My favorite remained unclaimed/ sold upon our arrival.
We got up wicked early the next day to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean. Keep in mind the sun comes up at 6:40 am, that's 3:40 am our time. Painful but worth it.
And then we turned west and started home.
Virgina and West Virginia were our favorites.
The fall leaves we almost in full color, so we got a few fall portraits at an especially colorful rest-stop in West Virginia.
Onward, westward, home.
5 comments:
Gah! We saw you there in Dewey, at Grotto Pizza while you were looking at collars by the vendor next to Sarah Regan Snavely. I knew Darby had to be an AKC hound, but I didn't realize who he was. I read that you were going to the specialty, but no mention of stopping at Dewey, so I didn't make the connection. I doubt you remember us, but I mentioned that he ought to have one of those fancy collars and I had a tiny little Greyhound with me who could have fit under Darby. He's gorgeous in person!
Oh, the last pic is gorgeous! What a trip, fun for all, but still good to be home I bet.
That's so funny that Houndstooth saw you. He is a handsome boy!
Lovely photos, especially enjoyed the "hat" ones. :) Darby's colors go nicely with the fall colors back East. He gets more and more handsome as time goes by. Congrats again on the rally leg!!
Donna
Congratulations on your Rally score and 2nd place! That's great! What a fun trip.
Post a Comment