2009 BCOA National Specialty

[Quercus]

Hey everybody, if you haven't checked it out already the information is available about this year's National in Lexington, KY at www.basenji.org

For anybody who hasn't been to a National Specialty, it is an incredibly fun time. There are all kinds of activities, you don't have to have a show dog to enjoy yourself. There will be lure coursing (AKC and ASFA), Obedience, Rally-O, Agility, A Basenji Bazarre (no, not Bizarre! okay, so I don't know how to spell), a banquet, a silent auction, a live auction, and more Bs than you could ever want to see! And just a bunch of people anxious to talk about Basenjis all day long :)

If you are interested in sponsoring a class for any of the events, check out the trophies page on the website, or contact me directly. I hope to meet a bunch of you there!

[mauigirl]

WE ARE GOING!!!!!

yay!

[renaultf1]

I'm definitely going to be there. :D:D:D

[sharronhurlbut]

Wish I could make it this year, but maybe next year...do share with us the fun you have.

[mauigirl]

idea! We should plan a B Forum dinner out somewhere and someone bring nametags and we write our B forum username...

any takers?

[Quercus]

idea! We should plan a B Forum dinner out somewhere and someone bring nametags and we write our B forum username...

any takers?

good idea! Want to organize it? :)

[Nemo]

I'm going to try to go too! The 2010 specialty is too far away.

[kiroja]

Looking forward to it Andrea! It's been a couple years and I really miss the nationals. They are always so much fun and so much stuff to do and people to meet. I'm sad there is no racing though. :( Roxie will be so disappointed. lol

[Quercus]

Looking forward to it Andrea! It's been a couple years and I really miss the nationals. They are always so much fun and so much stuff to do and people to meet. I'm sad there is no racing though. :( Roxie will be so disappointed. lol

Yeah, some stuff was let go...mainly because no one in the planning group had done it before, or had time to take on any additional committments.

It should be really fun! I am looking forward to it too!

[basenji_fan]

I'm hoping to go, if it doesn't conflict with college, I'll be going to the Oklahoma University in fall

[Kebasmom]

I plan on going and bringing all three of the Bs and my husband too.

[nkjvcjs]

I want to try to go too. Rob starts teaching at a new school this fall, so he can't make it. I'm not sure I am brave enough to go alone, but I want to.

-Nicole

[Quercus]

I want to try to go too. Rob starts teaching at a new school this fall, so he can't make it. I'm not sure I am brave enough to go alone, but I want to.

-Nicole

Oh, do it! You will love it, and people are so welcoming, you won't feel alone at all :)

[Kebasmom]

I noticed that the entry forms for Nationals are now available. What is it like there? How does the conformation work? I noticed there is more than one day for conformation showing. Is that because there are so many dogs that they have to do something like have all the bitches one day and the dogs the next or is it like doing two or three different shows?

What is the dress code for the different after hours events? Are any of them formal or semi-formal or is it all casual?

I already made my RV reservations so that's all set. I'm just wondering what to bring besides the dogs and all their stuff (oh, I guess I should bring the hubby too). :)

[Quercus]

Well, let's see....the regular conformation starts on Friday, and it is usually just the dog classes; and then on Saturday it is just the bitch classes; and then on Sunday it is Best of Breed (so, the finished Chs, and the winners dog and winners bitch, and field dog, field bitch, and the winners of the veteran classes)....followed by the brace competition and Stud Dog and Brood Bitch (kind of judging the breeding ability of the parents). So, to answer your question, yes, it is broken into several days because of the number of dogs. A judge is only allowed to judge so many dogs in one day. It is all the same show.

There is Sweepstakes competition on Thur which will be for puppies and veterans.

Some people dress up for the Top 25 exhibition (Wed, I think?) but most people go casual. And most people dress nicely for the banquet. I think the rest of the time it is very casual, unless you are in the ring. Nothing is formal, unless you are showing in the Top 25.

What to bring? Make sure you bring comfy chairs to bring to each venue, and if you have a pop-up, or outside umbrella, you could bring that...it is great to be able to make your own shade. A cooler is useful to, so you can keep some drinks and bait next to your set up ringside. There will be some down time, so that you could site see in the area, the Horse Park is awesome, we hope to find some time to go there.

[Kebasmom]

I'm going blind!! I just finished filling out all the entry forms for nationals for all three of my dogs and then did the Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Hoosier entries for my puppy!! Sure do wish all the entry web sites were set up the same way. After that I bought my T-shirts, and paid for the banquet. My credit card is melting. :o)

[Nemo]

Do most people typically go to the banquet? I'm helping out with the auction so I'm going.

[tanza]

Do most people typically go to the banquet? I'm helping out with the auction so I'm going.

Most people try to go... but with the way things are money wise... sometimes people need to give up things...

[kiroja]

I'm going blind!! I just finished filling out all the entry forms for nationals for all three of my dogs and then did the Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Hoosier entries for my puppy!! Sure do wish all the entry web sites were set up the same way. After that I bought my T-shirts, and paid for the banquet. My credit card is melting. :o)

You can say that again!!! lol Glad you've got everything situated, now for the hard wait!

[Batcavebasenjis]

I am going all week without the Honey, (he teaches too)
Batman & I will be at the Red Roof Inn. Anyone staying there?? I might be looking for a dinner buddy some of the nights. <g>
I am not on here much but would love to come to the meet up if you do one.
Anyone doing Rally??

[kiroja]

Hey Jess, welcome! We're staying at the Horse Park. We're coming down Tuesday morning and leaving Friday night. You should definitely come to our little forum dinner that we're planning on Thursday. Otherwise I'd be happy to join you another night too.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough money to enter the rally, just too much with the coursing and then my vet in the show. I will be down there in time to watch though, are you entered? Looking forward to meeting the fellow puller!

[Nemo]

Okay, so I'm a little confused. I've been looking at the breed counts posted on the website and the premium and prizes and they all don't seem to match for puppies regarding r/w versus AOAC in the different age groups. Maybe they screwed up the breed count break-down on sweepstakes? Hopefully I'm not reading it wrong. :D Or is it the breed counts are really not official and don't have to be broken down the same way?

For conformation, the premium says
r/w 6-9 mo
AOAC 6-9 mo
9-12 mo

Prizes are broken down by (don't match classes)
6-9 mo
r/w 9-12 mo
AOAC 9-12 mo

Class counts posted on the website (matches premium classes)
r/w 6-9 mo
AOAC 6-9 mo
9-12 mo

For Sweepstakes, the premium says
6-9 mo
r/w 9-12 mo
AOAC 9-12 mo

Prizes are for (matches premium classes)
6-9 mo
r/w 9-12 mo
AOAC 9-12 mo

Breed count says (doesn't match premium classes)
r/w 6-9 mo
AOAC 6-9 mo
9-12 mo

[tanza]

I believe I heard there was an error in the Premium with a color breakdown in 6-9 puppies. Usually it is 9 to 12 because those are usually the biggest classes considering when most Basenjis are born... I believe I read that a correction to the premium was sent? But I could be wrong on that...

[Quercus]

Yes, there was an error... the color split will be in the younger classes 6-9 mos. The prizes will all be the same.

[tanza]

Yes, there was an error... the color split will be in the younger classes 6-9 mos. The prizes will all be the same.

Interesting... I thought that I saw that it was changed to the older pups... but then again... since I am not going... I didn't pay much attention

[Quercus]

It is normally in the older classes, but because of how early it is this year, the split was changed, the super didn't apparently make the changes throughout. It should all work out, though. I think the super had to contact a few people to clarify the color of their dogs..but it will all work out :)

[Nemo]

Yes, there was an error... the color split will be in the younger classes 6-9 mos. The prizes will all be the same.

Cool. So the breed counts are right. There are only 6 in Zoni's class...at least she statistically has a better chance...in her class at least. :p

[kiroja]

Yep, the breed counts are correct. Like Andrea said, the premium was an oops. The color separation this year is supposed to be the younger class because of the earlier date of the show.

Good luck with Zoni! Looking forward to meeting her.

[Quercus]

I'm going blind!! I just finished filling out all the entry forms for nationals for all three of my dogs and then did the Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Hoosier entries for my puppy!! Sure do wish all the entry web sites were set up the same way. After that I bought my T-shirts, and paid for the banquet. My credit card is melting. :o)

It was worth it, wasn't it? ;)

[nkjvcjs]

It was such a great time!
I am so glad I went.

Thanks Kelli and Charlene (sp) for letting me stay with you, and for fielding all of my questions. Thanks Andrea for encouraging me to go, and thatks Clay for letting me ride with you. I loved it so much! It was so great to meet everyone!
I can't wait to get my pup now!!!

-Nicole

[Kebasmom]

It was worth it, wasn't it? ;)

It certainly was. What a shock!

[renaultf1]

Kebasmom, Congrats to both you and your husband. He must be so thrilled!!!!!

[sharronhurlbut]

I love these events and attend whenever they are in my area. Most all the folks are kind, welcoming and love to talk about their b's and breeding lines.
Everyone should try to attend at least once.

[tanza]

It certainly was. What a shock!

Congrats... big huge congrats... what a wonderful win... I am sure that many here would love to hear about your experience....

[Kebasmom]

Well here goes. I tore my ACL about two weeks ago and my leg is in a long brace so my showing days are on hold for the time being. We had already registered for nationals and my brindle girl was scheduled to go down there with her breeder so we decided to go anyway. My husband decided that he would try to handle my trindle girl Chloe. He'd only been in the ring twice before and neither time was on purpose. He had to go in when two of our dogs won their classes. Saturday was his third time to go in and the first time on purpose. He was a bit nervous (he won't admit that now though) but he managed to handle Chloe quite well and netted winner's bitch on Saturday and then best of winners on Sunday. He didn't really understand what had happened until it was all over and we explained it to him.
It was a great thrill to see all of the basenjis at nationals. There are some amazing dogs out there. We had a wonderful time and met some wonderful people.

[agilebasenji]

WOW!!!! What a great thing to happen! HUGE congrats to you

[nkjvcjs]

Congratulations! Chloe is a really gorgeous girl.

I was the girl working the raffle with the African Hunting Bells when Chloe took Winners Bitch. Your husband looked so happy. The look on his face was priceless, and when your eyes started to tear, I thought I might cry too. It was really exciting.

Congratulations!!!!!

-Nicole

[kiroja]

Congrats to Chloe, how awesome!!! Is your husband looking forward to his next trip in the ring now? :)

Nicole, it was great to have you and I really appreciate all your help with the dogs. It was so nice to meet you and I'm looking forward to getting together again sometime!

[Nemo]

Well here goes. I tore my ACL about two weeks ago and my leg is in a long brace so my showing days are on hold for the time being. We had already registered for nationals and my brindle girl was scheduled to go down there with her breeder so we decided to go anyway. My husband decided that he would try to handle my trindle girl Chloe. He'd only been in the ring twice before and neither time was on purpose. He had to go in when two of our dogs won their classes. Saturday was his third time to go in and the first time on purpose. He was a bit nervous (he won't admit that now though) but he managed to handle Chloe quite well and netted winner's bitch on Saturday and then best of winners on Sunday. He didn't really understand what had happened until it was all over and we explained it to him.
It was a great thrill to see all of the basenjis at nationals. There are some amazing dogs out there. We had a wonderful time and met some wonderful people.

Congrats! It's so cool your girl won!

[Nemo]

What do you get when you have 20 basenjis in a grooming tent left alone? A symphony of yodels.... Video quality is horrid, but you get the idea with the audio. I woke up to this every morning, my room was over the grooming tent. The first time I thought a fire truck was going by.

http://i430.photobucket.com/albums/qq25/wbunyard/BCOA%202009%20National/th_GroomingTent.jpg (http://s430.photobucket.com/albums/qq25/wbunyard/BCOA%202009%20National/?action=view&current=GroomingTent.flv)

[Quercus]

That is so cool! Like a dawn chorus!

[Kebasmom]

Thanks for all the congrats. I have to tell you that sometimes I just start bawling when I look at Chloe. I don't want this to sound corny or anything but I have to say that we did not go into that ring alone. This was a team effort. A LOT of people have helped us. It all started with Russell Hendren who back in 1978 gave us the building blocks needed when we started showing again almost 30 years later. People on this forum and people ringside helped us also. We can't forget to offer thanks to her breeders too. However, much of the credit goes to Karen Hutchison of Karnak's who took us under her wing and helped us and encouraged us so much, and we didn't even have one of her dogs at the time. She has been a wonderful mentor and friend!!

[snorky998]

Lovely post. Credit where credit is due. Thanks for reminding us all.

Congratulations. Well deserved.