Silverwood 2009

We had a wonderful time at our first Silverwood! We left here on Wednesday morning, stayed in Reno, NV, and arrived in San Jose in just after noon.
Here's a photo of Ivy at the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting another land speed record for brilliant thinking or some such thing....
We got checked in, walked dogs, and went to meet people! Finally met Amy Woodman, who made it all possible to breed Raven's litter. Over the course of the weekend we met tons of online friends that I've been talking with for years but never met in person, including Raven's breeders John and Mandy Young from England. The weather was sunny and warm, and Ivy enjoyed the view from our 6th floor balcony.

Thursday evening was the puppy and veteran Sweepstakes event. We had a great time showing Olive and Copper; both placed second in their classes.
Melissa showed Oprah in Veterans, and I showed Ivy to her class win at the age of 11 1/2 years! She still loves it!!































Friday evening was the Futurity event that I've been looking forward to for well over a year. Olive placed second in her class, but Copper had a huge win, the going on to win Best 15-18 month old in the Futurity. She came up against Amy Woodman's red and white boy Floyd, also sired by CH Dazlin Defiance, for best Junior. Floyd won, but I found it interesting that it came down to half-siblings for the top two Juniors; always nice to see consistent judging! It was a wonderful evening that made the trip all worthwhile! The photo below shows Copper and Floyd going head to head for Best Junior.



We thoroughly enjoyed our first Silverwood competition on Saturday; watching it, that is! We didn't qualify, but hopefully the girls will be mature enough in the coming year to be competitive at some ROM shows. It took 9 hours to judge, but it was wonderful to see so many top class Bull Terriers together in one place. Congrautlations to all the finalists and Trophy winners!
Saturday evening's banquet was the one big meal we had on the whole trip, and it was really good! The BCBTC did a fabulous job with the banquet and the entire weekend; I can imagine how much work it takes, and they did a top notch job.


Sunday morning was the BTCA National Specialty. Melissa was up first for Junior Showmanship. Unfortunately there were no other entries, but she showed Oprah just as if she was in a full class, and I was very proud to see her out there representing how wonderful our breed is with kids of all ages. I hope everyone will encourage the young people in their lives to take an interest in showing bullies!




Olive again placed 2nd in her class. Copper didn't manage a placement in the Bred-By class of 7 entries; I was quite disappointed, but I know she'll do just fine with a little maturing, and I'm proud to have shown her to the best of my ability, and she's still the one I want to take home!! I heard so many lovely comments from both friends and complete strangers all weekend...my sincere thanks to everyone for your kindness and recognition. I'm looking forward to the future with both my girls!




So, we made it to our first Silverwood after 11 years in the breed, and now we're hooked! Hope to see you all in Pittsburgh next October!!

Silverwood!

On Wednesday morning Melissa and I will depart for San Jose!! I'm very excited, as I've been involved with Bull Terriers for 11 years but never yet been to Silverwood. Copper and Olive are in the Futurity, Sweepstakes, and National Specialty classes, and Ivy and Oprah will be in the Veterans Sweeps and classes. Melissa is showing Oprah in Junior Showmanship, and in the Veteran classes.
Wish us well, and we'll post updates when possible!

Time Flies!

Time sure flies when you have kids, dogs, work, and life in general to keep up with! The dogs are all healthy, although Gamble gave us a scare this week...he'll be on heart medication for life but it seems to be helping.

Had a few good shows this spring, and last weekend Copper went BOV for her first major!! She now has 9 points toward her championship. Olive is doing fantastic, staying healthy and wild as can be. She's only done one show weekend, but won both days and has a total of 2 points. She's maturing nicely and will be out for the Greeley shows in August, and then for our Bull Terrier Club Specialty in early September.

Eukanuba National Championship

We had a great time at the show. It was nice meeting some of the CA list members and participating in the Meet the Breeds Booth. The Long Beach Kennel Club show was on Friday, and despite being a bit rambunctious, Copper showed well and was Winners Bitch, Best of Winners, and Best Opposite Sex. A very nice start for a young bully. Here's her win photo, complete with a string of drool!

Melissa showed her Pointer in Junior Showmanship at the Long Beach KC show, and made the final cut in a large class. Her big day was Saturday, the Eukanuba National Championship show, for which Juniors must qualify with 5 wins in Open classes with competition. Melissa and Maui did a fine job, but were disappointed to not make the finals. With an entry of over 150 of the top Juniors in the nation, it was a very tough competition. We'll be there again next year for sure!

Here We Go!

We're leaving for California this afternoon for the Eukanuba Championship show. Melissa will compete in Junior Showmanship, and Copper will begin her show career at the Long Beach show on Friday. Olive is doing just fantastic; this is her latest picture.

Last show of the year

We had a great time at the Southern Colorado Kennel Club shows last weekend. Copper was nervous and didn't perform well at the match, but by the end of the weekend she was comfortable at the show site.

Ivy competed in the Veterans exhibition, and despite being bloated from getting into the dog cookies the night before, she showed like a champion and took a Group 3, at the age of 10 1/2.

Melissa had a great day Saturday, winning her class and going on to a Best Junior Handler!

Please excuse the sloppy layout here, as I can't seem to figure out how to move pictures and text where I want them. The blogger seems to have a mind of it's own and puts it all where it darn well pleases.

A Little Progress

Olive has made some good progress this week. She is finally gaining weight with the help of VitaminB12 injections, a probiotic, and a LOT of food. Hopefully her pancreas isn't damaged as feared; her gain this week is a good sign!