2009 DDBSA National Show report

Dogued Enthusiasm
Dogue de Bordeaux Fanciers turn out for their first AKC-sanctioned National Specialty Show

By Mark McElderry
Northland Bordeaux

The rainy weekend did little to dampen the mood at the Dogue de Bordeaux Society of America’s 12^th annual National Specialty Show, held in mid-April at the beautiful Purina Farms show grounds in Gray Summit, Mo.

Since its inception in 1997, the Club has moved the annual show’s site from coast to coast, and many locations in between. The show has always been a weekend event, with Saturday being a “fun day” with lots of socializing and non-sanctioned competitions, including puppy sweepstakes and more lighthearted events such as the “the longest drool” and the costume contest. On Sunday, the conformation competition takes place.

The turnout was a bit light compared to previous years, perhaps due in part to the current economy. But there were still a respectable 65 Douges de Bordeaux entered, with additional dogues signed up to compete in the Saturday events.

In keeping with its tradition, the DDBSA sought a European judge with significant experience judging the Dogue de Bordeaux. The club was most fortunate when Mr. Rafael Malo Alcrudo of Spain agreed to judge the event. Mr. Alcrudo is one the most respected breed specialists in Europe, having judged the Dogue de Bordeaux at major shows around the world, including the largest and most prestigious specialty of them all, the National Show of the Societe De Amateurs de Dogues De Bordeaux in France, which is of course the breed’s country of origin.

Mr. Alcrudo earned the respect of competitors and spectators alike with his tactful yet thorough public critiques of each dogue in the show. This style of judging seemed much appreciated by all that attended. Not only did everyone receive the benefit of learning from Mr. Alcrudo’s tremendous knowledge of the breed, but no one could be left wondering the reason for each of his placements.

In the tradition of European judges, very little was said about handling or presentation. The most novice handler with an inexperienced but quality dogue received recognition simply based on the how well the dogue represented the breed. Based on his comments and selections, the judge focused on head type, structure, temperament, soundness and substance, rather than emphasizing features such as missing teeth or white markings.

Judge Alcrudo seemed particularly impressed with the quality of the dogues in the champion class, which is a credit to the AKC Judges and the selections made in their first year of judging the breed. More than a dozen AKC judges took advantage of the event as an educational opportunity. There was a judges seminar on Saturday and ringside mentoring during the show, augmented by Judge Alcrudo’s practice of addressing the crowd throughout the proceedings.

Since this was the first National held since the Dogue De Bordeaux’s full acceptance into AKC, there were of course some changes in the program, the most notable being the addition of the Best of Breed competition. Nearly one-third of the dogues entered this year were AKC champions, making the Specials class the largest in the show by far.

For one American breeder in particular, the show results were certainly exciting and gratifying, as that kennel swept all the major placements except one. Therefore it would be simpler to begin with the Winners Dog, which was awarded to Ballack De Acherkrim, owned and bred by George Katsimigas of Greece. Ballack was entered in the show and handled by Elaine Kellum of Ontario, Canada. Elaine very recently acquired Ballack, and was thrilled by his achievement at the first show she entered him in.

It was all smiles and tears for Jamie and Cody Wymore of Heavenly Acres Bordeaux, who captured all of the remaining top honors. After winning the Bred by Exhibitor class, Heavenly Acre’s Rose went on to take Winners Bitch, Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex. Heavenly Acre’s Electra Monet, another bitch that was bred and owned by the Wymores, was awarded Reserve Winner Bitch after taking first in the 9-12 month puppy bitch class. The Reserve Winner Dog was awarded to Belenos De La Tour Gelee, a male that was very recently imported from France by the Wymores.

And finally, Ch. Sinbad De Legeane, who Jamie co-owns with Paul Sensuri of Houston, Texas, took Best of Breed. This is the second time Sinbad won Best of Breed at the DDBSA National Specialty.

“It was certainly great to win and especially under a Judge like Mr. Alcrudo, but the greatest thing for me was to see my wife Codi’s emotions and happiness and getting the recognition she deserves,” said an emotional Jamie about the kennel’s accomplishments at the show. “Also, seeing my daughter Jordan just outside the ring with a big smile on her face watching her mother with pride was almost more than I could take.”

According to Jamie, this will be Sinbad’s last show and he will be retired.

Complete show results as well as detailed breed information can be found on the DDBSA website at www.ddbsa.org.