A Mid-Westerner in Mid-Wales

One of the great summer traditions in rural Wales is the agricultural show.  These shows are a lot like county fairs in the US except, well, smaller.  Sure they have the Royal Welsh (State Fair equivalent) and the Aberystwyth and Ceredigion County Show (county fair equivalent), but the town show brings it to a new level.  As we see these fairs advertised on a weekly basis we figured we should go check one out.  We found ourselves with a free Saturday last weekend so I suggested we attend the Capel Bangor and District Show.  I heard about it from a couple of my co-workers who talked about showing their horse and racing their dog.  Racing their dog!?  Did I need another reason?  Our Facebook post announcing our intentions brought out a crowd of four others (and another two we ran into when we arrived).  Most importantly though, is we brought Siena.

The Show took over a hedge-edged field with the center portion dedicated to showing horses.  There was a tent which housed the prize winning fruits, vegetables (giant leeks!), and flowers. There were two inflatable moon bounces, a row of old cars and tractors, and the occasional odd stall of some handicraft.  After a quick orientation we found a cleared area tucked back behind the tents, moon bounces, and tractors where the dog show was just commencing.  We decided to forgo Siena’s entry in the purebred categories and focused all our energy in the novelty categories.

The first category we entered Siena into was Best Conditioned Dog.  Her very first competition!  IAC led her out with practically every other dog around (about 15-18 in total).  She was inspected by the judge but unfortunately she didn’t make the grade.  Undaunted, we next entered Siena in the Dog Over 12 inches category.  With fewer entrants and the small dogs out of the way it was time for Siena to shine.  Once again she presented herself beautifully and the judge brought out two dogs but spent a long time deciding on third place.  She kept looking between Siena and another dog.  The tension built, the handlers were on pins, the judge was faced with the toughest decision she would have to make that day, and Siena was oblivious.  Unfortunately, the judge chose the other dog but still called Siena and me out to the winners circle to award us with a Highly Commended (i.e. 4th).  Siena had done it!  In that instant she became an award winning dog.  I am discounting the Slowest Vizsla and Quickest Peanut Butter Eater (2nd place) awards she won at the Vizsla Club of Northern California Rescue Picnic in 2007.

Siena's first rosette, Highly Commended for Any Variety Over 12 Inches

If we stopped here we would have been happy with a Highly Commended, but like Siena’s desire to get peanut butter out of a Kong, we didn’t want to stop until we got it all.  The next class we entered was Best Veteran (dogs over 7 years old).  We trotted out beaming with pride.  She finished 2nd (the winner being the oldest dog in the field)!  We felt we were on a roll.  Siena was enjoying the excitement of her fan club (there were up to 8 of us now) after each win.

Next up, Best Rescued Dog.  IAC led Siena out to the ring to join the handful of other rescue dogs.  The judging here was a little more strict, each handler had to tell the judge a little about the history of the dog and the rescue.  This delay only heightened excitement and shot the nerves.  With Siena being 2nd in line we had to wait in anticipation as the judge examined each of the other dogs in turn.  Once finished, the judge strode back down the line of dogs and immediately went in front of Siena and declared her the winner!  It took 7+ years for Siena to be an award winner, it only took 30 more minutes to become a Champion!  A red ribbon, not blue, emblazoned with 1st now proudly hung from her collar.

Award winning dog with the best handler

With one more class to go we decided to press our luck.  The crowning class of the afternoon would be the hardest of all to win, one open to every dog there that afternoon.  We liked our chances, it was the class Siena was born for.  It was the only class I had heard about before coming to the show.  It was Dog That the Judge Would Most Like to Take Home.

The entrants filled the ring, the line of dogs wrapped around one side and started filling in the next.  There was a Dachshund, CKCs, Border Collies (i.e. sheep dogs), lurchers, terriers, labs, and mutts of all sorts.  Siena would have her work cut out for her.  The judge, tired from a long afternoon, examined every dog one last time as the sun began to approach the top of the surrounding hills and the rain heavy clouds cast a threatening pall on the wild valleys of west Wales.  Siena stood patiently as the penultimate dog in the line waiting for one more chance to melt the heart of judge.  The judging finished, the winner is called out. A small dog, no!  2nd place is called, another small dog!  All of Siena’s charm and good looks could still not shake the judges deep seated bias toward canis minimus.  Just as I begin to lean over to explain to Siena that life is not fair, I see a judicial finger pointed at me accompanying a voice which says, “Come out.”  Seconds before I have to give “the talk” to Siena about life and its injustices, I am swinging up to elatedness and a 3rd place finish.  Siena completed the cycle, a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in her very first dog show.

We walked around light as air for the rest of the show.  We came and we cleaned up.  Siena took all of the award winning with excitement and happiness but did not let her achievements go to her head.  She was still interested in sniffing and playing with some of the less ribboned dogs and was a very gracious winner.

After the dog show our group tried to catch the displays of the award winning vegetables and flowers.  Unfortunately the tent was closing and all of the produce was being packed up.  Nevermind that, our entrepreneurial H. used that as an means to purchase the prize winning (giant) leeks for only a pound, and H. and M. sweet talked some florists into giving them some of their beautiful flowers.

The final event of the whole show was the dog races.  Most people are familiar with greyhound racing around a track, some may even be familiar with Flyball (which I would love to see as the next Olympic sport), but county show dog racing involves a vaguely furry animal looking thing tied to a string connected to a motor.  The official riles the dogs up by taunting them with it before releasing it.  Once released, the fake animal thing is pulled quickly by the motor along the ground down the length of the horse ring as the dogs chase it.  We have considered entering Siena in a race just to see but when they were walking the animal like thing up to the starting line we realized that probably wasn’t a good idea.  All the dogs around the ring, the lurchers, greyhounds, terriers, etc. were barking and straining to get this furry thing with a tail.  The owners held them back as best they could.  Siena lifted her head to see what the commotion was about, saw nothing of interest, and lowered her head to go back to sleep.  Today was not the day to introduce Siena to racing (also see above about her winning the Slowest Vizsla award).

The show was quite fun with a group of friends, we saw prize winning sheep, a sheep sheering contest, and a family which takes horse riding very seriously.  All in all it was a good afternoon out and gave us more proof that Siena is a wonderful dog.

Siena displaying her rosettes/ribbons