Supreme BIS judge Mr Andrew Brace talks about the Split summer shows youtube/watch?v=nDNmQtsKtzE&feature=youtu.be My love affair with Split began the first time I ever judged at the Summer Night Shows several years ago. I was immediately enthralled by the atmosphere, the setting, the enthusiasm of the members of the Sporting Dog Club and the efficiency of Ante, Zoran and their team. A few years ago, having seen how little sleep Ante Lucin gets over the show week, I suggested that if Ante provided me with a room at the wonderful Hotel Villa Dvor, now the established base for the judges and one of the main reasons why EVERYONE wants to be on the Split panel, I would pay my own way over and help with organising judges hospitality and this I have done for the past few years and it seems to work well. The Split Four Summer Night Shows have now become one of the most talked about weeks in the canine calendar and each year more and more exhibitors from far and wide come to sample the ambience of Split for themselves. This year we saw more British showing at Split than ever before and they were very successful. Returning home laden with trophies, they are already planning their 2015 trip! Split is not like any other dog show I have visited; it has a unique holiday atmosphere and the excitement of the last night when everyone gets into party mode has no equal. This year Ante had told me that his committee would like me to judge Supreme BIS and I assured him I didnt need this great honour, I was quite happy to make my annual holiday and look after the judges, but he would not take No for an answer. So, after doing my usual duties, late on Sunday night I changed into my Croatian colours jacket (made in Bangkok specially for the event!) and had the pleasure of judging the five winning dogs - the Newfoundland, the Dalmatian, the Basenji, the French Bulldog and the Miniature Wire Haired Dachshund. As I explained in my speech in the big ring, all dogs have faults but judging is about dwelling on the positive, and at competitions of this kind performance and conditioning all come into the equation. It is the dog who presents the most pleasing overall package that should win. On the night I had no doubts in my mind that, after a final circuit of the ring, the Newfoundland could not be robbed of the supreme award. His performance was faultless and so he had to win. His handler was clearly overcome with genuine joy and surprise which made the win all the sweeter I am sure.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 10:23:50 +0000