Excitement in New Mexico

The first weekend in November we headed down to Rio Rancho, NM for the Sporting Dog Fanciers of New Mexico specialty show. As mentioned previously, Georgia just needs a major to finish, and we were hoping she would get that last major at these shows. We entered Sasha and Hazel as well, largely because we needed them to make sure we had enough bitches to make a major. Carter was entered because we're trying to get those last few grand championship points for him, but we ended up leaving him home.

We've been to these shows before, and the weather at the beginning of November in New Mexico is usually fairly pleasant. Not so this year, though. The forecast was for cold, rain, and wind. Saturday morning was chilly and windy, but no rain yet when we headed to the show site at 7 am. Grooming at these shows is outdoors without power, so we brought the EZ Up tent for cover. As we were getting the tent set up, the wind was a concern, but the threat of rain made it necessary. Just as we got the first dog on the grooming table the rain started and the wind picked up, though. it quickly became apparent that the tent wasn't going to stay up, so we had to break it down, as the hailstorm started. They ended up delaying the start time of the show for an hour and a half, while we took the top off the tent, tried to secure loose items, and got the dogs back into the car in a hailstorm. Then we spent the next few hours huddled in the van, trying to dry off wet clothes and do what grooming we could on the dogs from inside the van.

The rain cleared up after a couple hours but it was still very cold, with winds of up to 40 mph, when the show finally started. Definitely not the nicest weather to show in, but it turned out to be a good thing that we stuck it out. Sasha and Hazel were entered in the 12-15 month class, with Georgia in bred-by. Hazel was first and Sasha second in their class. Georgia won bred-by, so was only one step away from the win she needed. However, a big surprise came in the winners class when Hazel went winners bitch for her second major, And an even bigger surprise came when Sasha went reserve. I was disappointed Georgia didn't win, but couldn't really complain. Especially when Hazel also went best opposite over two specials, making it a 4-point major and bringing her point total to 10 points, both majors at 15 months old.

Sunday's weather was chilly, but sunny and not too windy. Results were the same in 12-15, but Georgia was third in bred-by, ending her hopes of finishing that weekend. Hazel ended up going reserve, but no points that day. So Georgia is still on the hunt for that second major. Not sure when she'll be able to get it. Shows are probably on hold at least until after the first of the year now, as we get into the holidays and have weather considerations and family obligations.

Breeding plans are unfortunately affected by our show results. I want to finish Georgia before breeding her, as the time to get her back into shape after a litter to get that last major would be considerable. She is due in season again in January and I would have bred her then if she had finished before, but now it will probably have to wait until the season after that. So it looks like our next litter will not be until fall

In other show news, the same weekend we were in New Mexico, Faith was entered at the ESSFTA supported entry in Fort Wayne, IN, where she was BOS in sweeps on Sunday. What a great win! And to round out the good news from the weekend, I also learned that Mali (Kalwa's Keeper of the Flame), who lives in Georgia, has earned her NA title and has one leg toward her NAJ. She is the first Kalwa springer to earn an agility title, and we're very proud of Mali and her owner, Marilyn Davey. What a great weekend all around for the Kalwa crew across the country!