Santa Barbara Weekend

By Geoff Browne

The renowned Santa Barbara circuit more than lived up to its storied reputation, especially for this first-time attendee. It is not only a spectacular sight to see but an amazing experience as well. The weekend does not allow for much down time with the scheduled dog shows and social events. The beautiful weather and picturesque surroundings make this a must-see event for everyone. The Simi Valley Kennel Club and Conejo Kennel Club bookended the back-to-back weekend shows of the Santa Barbara Kennel Club. All three clubs work together tirelessly to make this a memorable weekend of shows.

There are numerous club members that make Santa Barbara one of the truly special dog shows. Amazingly, they are spread throughout the US and Canada working remotely to coordinate all of the logistics necessary to put on such a special event. Everything went off smoothly and on time with all attendees truly enjoying themselves. It was evident that the focus was on hospitality as well as quality dogs. Breeders and handlers traveled from all parts of the country to attend. Many were heard to say that they just wanted to experience Santa Barbara for themselves.

Friday’s club, Simi Valley Kennel Club, kicked off the weekend with the English Setter, GCh. Oakley’s B’Dazzled owned by Donald and Georjean Jensen and Erik and Jennifer Strickland, beautifully presented by Tara Schultz taking Best in Show under Mr. David Krogh. Following Best in Show, noted Afghan Hound breeder, Abbe Shaw hosted a beautiful dinner party at her home just south of the show grounds.

The next day was the first of the back-to-back Santa Barbara Kennel Club shows. Judge Michele Billings chose the Standard Schnauzer, GCh. Blackhawk Finnegan’s Wake owned by Lonnie and Kimberly Studley, presented by Jody Paquette as her Best in Show winner. During the day was the Bullyganza, a new addition to the Santa Barbara weekend. All Best of Breed, Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex winners from the “Bully” breeds were eligible. Dr. Richard Meen selected the French Bulldog, GCh. LeBull’s New Hope Wooly Bully as best. “Wooly” is owned by Alexandra Geremia and handled by Wood Wornall.

The evening’s activities were the much-acclaimed 4th Annual Breeder’s Showcase. A stadium ring was beautifully decorated with matching yellow and white tents, flowers, club trophies and fresh sod. Dogs always look wonderful on lush green grass. The Breeder’s Showcase was truly a tribute to breeders in every sense of the word. It is a unique format where dogs of a particular breed are entered in respect to their breeder. They are judged together in their respective variety group. It was a beautiful sight to see amazing dogs in a large ring representing years of breeding by top breeders. The judging panel had a truly international flavor including the following well-known breeders:

Sporting – Jason Lynn – Great Britain

Hounds – Karen Mays – Georgia

Working – Mari-Beth O’Neill – North Carolina

Terriers – Bruce Schwartz – California

Toys – Carlos Fernandez Renau – Spain

Non-Sporting – Janet Allen – California

Herding – Mary Ann Brocious – Michigan

Michael Gadsby of Great Britain and Edd Bivin of Texas judged Best in Show together. They chose the entry of noted Border Terrier breeder Karen Fitzpatrick for their top prize. Over $15,000 in prize money was distributed among Best in Show and Reserve Best in Show as well as 1st through 4th and four Awards of Merit in each of the Variety Groups. An incredible buffet dinner, free of charge to all exhibitors, was part of the activities.

The 2nd Santa Barbara Kennel Club show held on Sunday had the groups and Best in Show judged in the grass covered stadium ring with hors d’oeuvres available for all exhibitors. Proceeding Best in Show was the Foreign-Bred Competition. All foreign-bred dogs that were entered in the show were eligible to compete. Jason Lynn and Mari-Beth O’Neill judged the class. They chose the Scottish Terrier, GCh. Lomondview Clementina for the top honor. She is owned by John and Daphne Eggert and was handled by Carlos de la Torre. Immediately before Best in Show the following honorees were recognized in the ring for their contribution to the sport:

Sporting – Marjorie Martorella

Hound – Asa & Karen Mays

Working – Mike & Kathy Dugan

Terrier – Walter Goodman

Toy – Mary Day & Barbara Brown

Non-Sporting – Michael Gadsby & Jason Lynn

Herding – J. Frank Baylis

Judge Carlos Fernandez-Renau chose the Wire Fox Terrier, GCh. Afterall Painting The Sky owned by Victor Malzoni, Torie Steele, Mary Olund and Diane Ryan, and handled by Gabriel Rangel as his Best in Show winner. The weekend concluded with the Conejo Kennel Club on Monday. Judge Robert Widden chose the Basenji, GCh. Jasiri-Sukari Win Tin Tin owned by Julie & Kathy Jones and Chua Ming Kok, handled by Julie Jones for the top prize.

The Santa Barbara weekend is a success due to the numerous people behind the scenes that see that every detail is met with close attention. It is truly a classic dog show that should be on every one in the dog fancy’s bucket list. Thanks to all of the people who made the event one to always remember.

Photos courtesy of Santa Barbara Kennel Club and Julie L. Mueller

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Posted by amy on Aug 30 2012. Filed under Around The Ring Galleries, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.