The Contenders
The 63rd Annual American Boxer Club
Specialty
By Stephanie Abraham
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Well, it did seem as though the Drawbridge Inn was indeed our
"Old Kentucky Home," as many of us arrived in time for the
Performance events on May 6 & 7, and stayed right through the
Futurity and class conformation judging of the entire ensuing week that
ended on May 12! Mother Nature smiled on us for the most part, with the
deluging rains that soaked the area holding off until we were almost
ready to go home again. With 733 boxers entered in all events, and
overall entries totaling 1050, we outdid ourselves once again at this,
our 63rd annual American Boxer Club Specialty, arguably the
"greatest boxer show on earth."
Two Obedience trials were held during the first weekend, dogs
competing each day, with 135 entries. Sunchase Seize the Moment UD owner
handled by Larrie Moody was HIT on Saturday with a score of 198 from
Open B. Ch. Sunchase Texas Margarita CDX, owner handled by Peggy
McConnell was HIT on Sunday with a score of 197.5 from Open B. Colleen
Fleury, with Sherwood's Milesian UDX, RA, MX, AXJ, received the ABC
Performance Award. 117 Rally entries competed on the first weekend as
well, with many qualifiers. High in Trial at the Agility venue in nearby
Cincinnati (51 competing) was Encore’s Vanity Fair OA OAJ, Owner: Kay
Chandler& Cheryl Cates, Handler: Kay Chandler. Judges for Obedience
and Rally were Catherine M. Thompson of Ohio and Richard A. Strong of
Indiana. The Agility judge was Kandy Robinson from Dayton. It is always
such a pleasure to watch a well trained Boxer work in concert with his
dedicated owner to perform to his utmost capacity. Knowing how
independent our Boxers are, how intelligent they are, and how they test
us, their achievements are all the more remarkable.
The breeder’s finest showcase, the always exciting Futurity, was
underway on Monday, with California’s own Gary Steele judging (known
with wife Michelle for his Hallmark Boxers before turning to handling).
243 Boxers competed for top honors, with substantial cash prizes to the
winners and runners-up in each age division thru 18 months. The sheer
numbers of competitors at ABC is always daunting, with many classes
equaling Major entries—just a ribbon at this show in any class is a
great achievement. Best Puppy, of 146, was the smooth fawn bitch from
Massachusetts, from the 6-9 fawn class, Belco’s
Copper Moon, owned by Jennifer and Pat Gelinas and Logan Davis, bred
by Elizabeth Davis and Carolyn Coutanche. Breeder-owner handled by Beth.
Best of 97 Juniors was the upstanding 12-15 brindle dog, Arriba
Talisman Satisfaction, bred by C&B Sylvester, Ted Fickes, and
Ginny Shames. Owned by Ted Fickes and Ginny Shames, and handled by
Ginny, "Sedona" wowed his supporters in the crowd by taking
Grand Prize Futurity top honors when all the dust settled on Tuesday
afternoon. With all the high-powered professional handlers in evidence,
it was refreshing to see the top awards go to the dedicated, talented
amateurs—in both cases piloting dogs they bred and still owned.
Monday evening saw the Top Twenty competition in the big ring, the
spectators in evening dress and the handlers in their finest as well.
The three judges, whose identities were kept secret until that evening,
were Ida Baum (Breeder), Kim Calvacca (Handler) and Jim Reynolds (multi
breed judge). After each entrant had been put through his paces and
examined, and the complicated arithmetical scores tallied, this year’s
Top Twenty victor was the typey fawn bitch bred in California, owned in
Georgia, and handled by Michael Shepherd from Texas—Ch
Bayview Some Like It Hot, bred by Ken and Paula Morrison and Tom
Spridgen and owned by Cheryl and Keith Robbins and S. & R. Cormier.
Presently #1 Working Dog in the standings, the appropriately named
"Monroe" was a popular winner of this coveted honor.
Tuesday night, the ABC Charitable Foundation held its annual auction
and dinner to raise money for health and research for the breed. This
year, the event was dedicated to the memory of Wendy Wallner, DVM, who
sadly passed away earlier this year. Wendy was a great supporter of the
Foundation and served on its Board. As ever, the auction of boxer
memorabilia and collectibles was a great success, and we raised over
$30,000 on this sparkling evening. The American Boxer Club is very proud
to be the largest single breed contributor to the AKC Canine Health
Foundation, having donated over $500,000 to worthy medical research to
help our Boxers.
Many thanks to our Show Chairman, Bobbi Wagner, who somehow manages
to be everywhere at once and gets a thousand jobs done so that our
events run so smoothly. In addition to the show events, we had 22 judges
signed up for our Judges’ Education seminar; we listened to a sobering
health lecture by Dr. Joan Coates on degenerative myelopathy,
participated in 153 DNA extractions (sharing about 135 samples with the
Broad Institute for future research into juvenile renal dysplasia,
lymphoma, and DM), and supported Dr. Kate Meurs and her team as they
performed echocardiography on 137 dogs over 3 days; we put on an AKC
Canine Good Citizen program; and Cheryl Robbins coordinated her
beautifully done gala Awards Dinner on Thursday evening.
Class judging of 185 Dogs began right after the conclusion of the
Futurity, Monika Pinsker of Mephisto Boxers in Canada doing the honors.
For two days, Mrs. Pinsker sorted thru the classes, and chose her WD
(and eventual BW) from the 12-18 Fawn class of 28, Capri’s
Magic Maker of Sassy, handled by Diego Garcia. Bred by Sydney Brown
and Kristine Anderson and owned by Barbara Bachman. Reserve to the 9-12
Fawn, Sabo’s Majestic Provocation, bred by Robert and Sandra Williams
and owned by Sandra Williams. Handled by Lori McClain. Clearly, the
youngsters starred on the day! 252 Bitches strutted their stuff for
judge Larry Sinclair of Washington state, well known with his wife Janet
for his Box-Sin boxers . Class after class paraded across the huge ring,
and when the top prizes were awarded, WB was the 6 year old Open fawn
from Guadalajara, Mexico, B-Teacher Orozco, bred by Gilbert Orozco and
owned by Eudaldo Medina. RWB was another lass from Open, Brindle this
time—Gama Grass True Story, bred by Gilberto Rocha from Brazil and
owned by Gilberto Rocha-Nicolas and Maritza Peribonio. Handled by
Gustavo Ferrari. So the top honors in bitches went to two globe-trotting
ladies from south of the border, both bred in their home countries.
Best Veteran Dog under Mrs. Pinsker, out of 26 total entries, was Ch
Woods End Time ‘N Again, from the 8-10 year division, handled by Diego
Garcia. Bred by Mrs. A. Gelinas and owned by Mrs. Jack L. Billhardt. Mr.
Sinclair’s choice for Best Veteran Bitch in an entry of 21, was 6 year
old Ch Halcyon Garnsey Rendezvous, bred by Susan Von Rothkirch and Clay
Haviland and owned by Susan Von Rothkirch. Handled by Debbie Struff.
Oldest Veteran in competition this year was a bitch just a few days shy
of 13, Jaegerhouse’s Jackpot, bred by Verena Jaeger and owned by Rhoda
Ace. There are never enough handkerchiefs available at ringside when we
watch our magnificent senior citizens reliving their glory days in the
spotlight of ABC competition.
What a sight it was to view 20 Stud Dogs and get and 11 Brood Bitches
and get compete for top honors in these, the classes that reflect
consistency and excellence of breed type. Mrs. Pinsker’s choice for
Best Stud Dog was Ch Capri’s
Woods End Spellcaster, bred by Barbara Bachman and owned by B.
Bachman, Mrs. J.L. Billhardt, and Sergio Tenenbaum. Handled by Diego
Garcia. "Loki" was represented in part by his son who had gone
WD. Top Brood Bitch for 2006 was Hurricahen’s
Dazzling Star, bred and owned by Denise Cahen and Charles Davidson.
Mrs. Pinsker’s choice for Best Junior Showman of 2006 was New York’s
Allison Jones from Open Senior. Congratulations to her and her wonderful
presentation of her family’s own Ch Pheasant Hollow’s Esme.
103 Specials greeted Mrs. Pinsker on Friday morning. Judging in
groups of approx. 10, sorted by our expert ring stewards by color and
gender, Mrs. Pinsker made cuts in each group and sometimes cut again, so
that she ended up with about 20 standing proudly in the big ring
awaiting the final suspenseful decisions. For those with a sincere
interest in the breed, there is nothing quite like the spectacle of all
those champions representing the hopes and dreams of so many…all in
one place on the day. After free-baiting her finalists, she turned and
pointed at the winner of the Stud Dog class and sire of the WD & BW,
Ch Capri’s Woods End Spellcaster,
BOB at ABC 2006! Handled by Diego Garcia, who surely did have a stunning
ABC this year. "Loki" came out of semi-retirement for this
most prestigious honor, having knocked at the door in 2003 and 2005 with
Awards of Excellence. Repeating her win from ABC 2005, BOS went to our
Top Twenty bitch, Ch Bayview Some
Like it Hot. Handled by Michael Shepherd. Awards of Excellence were
awarded to 4 bitches and only 1 dog:
Ch PRO’s Original 501
Blues. Bred by William and Laura Nieschalk and owned by Peggy Otto
and Laura Nieschalk. Handled by Jorge Pinzon. "Levi" was the
sire of the Grand Prize Futurity winner.
Ch Ein-Von’s Just a Rumor. Bred by Leontine Branam & Zwei
Pierson and owned by J&N Bennett, HP Bierman, and Z&V Pierson.
Handled by Kimberley Steele.
Ch Halcyon Garnsey Rendezvous, the Best Veteran Bitch.
"Diva," living up to her name, added to her past ABC Awards of
Excellence from 2001 and 2002. Handled by Debbie Struff.
Ch Sabo’s Sweet Sensation. Bred by Robert & Sandra Williams and
owned by Robert Williams. Handled by Lori McClain.
Ch Hi-Tech Tara’s Passion. Bred by Barbara Grizio and Tina
Truesdale and Anthony Calvacca and owned by Tina Truesdale and Barbara
Grizio. Handled by Kim Pastella-Calvacca.
There you have it! Another hectic ABC experience come and gone… As
soon as BOB is over, everyone says hurried good-byes and rushes off to
get on the road or drive to the airport. There is a mass exodus of RVs!
But as always, we are thankful for the opportunity to exhibit the dogs
we love, and to renew old friendships and make new ones. We depart from
KY with confidence in the future of the breed and personal hopes that
maybe, just maybe, that promising puppy in the whelping box will see his
name in lights one day on this most astounding Boxer stage.
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