We got to the show a bit before 8am. Perfect timing, really, since judging began at 8:30 sharp. I set up Gun-Hee’s cage and we went to the first two rings almost immediately. It was the fastest show I’ve ever been to; the hotel needed to set up for a reunion that same evening, so we had to be out of there by the advertised closing time, 3:30pm.
I like one-day shows. It’s nice not to have to spend the entire weekend at a show, nice to not have to go to a hotel with Gun-Hee and all his stuff, and I think it’s better for him, too; Gun-Hee’s typically done better on the first day than on the second day of the two-day shows he’s been in.
I also hadn’t done a show by myself since college. I made friends with a lovely woman named Cheryl who had three HHPs entered (Chase, Little Man, and Autumn). She was also at the show by herself, and she got quite a workout running to and from the rings with one cat at a time!
Gun-Hee did well. Six rings, five Winners Ribbons. There were two other Ruddys and one Red (one Ruddy was absent); and Gun-Hee took Second Best of Colour three times. All of the Abys in Premiership seemed a little edgy; two of them were very “hissy” and that made Gun-Hee hiss back at them.
The judges ignored him, which is good.
This was one of the judges who gave him the Second Best of Colour
Before being judged in one ring.
This judge called him “handsome.”
After judging: a Best in Class and a Winners Ribbon!
I didn’t get photos of all his rings. Only managed four out of the six. They were going fast!
Not a bad day, all in all. Waiting to be judged in his last ring, Gun-Hee seems pleased with himself.
One thing happened at the show, though, that I’m still a little shaken and confused about. One judge in this show disqualified Gun-Hee in his ring because he said Gun-Hee had a grey undercoat. I had to ask him why he’d disqualified Gun-Hee and that was his reason…which seemed strange to me since he’d gotten Best of Colour, Best and Second Best of Breed, and a Best Kitten in his previous shows…which, granted, could be because he was a kitten and hadn’t developed his full colour yet…but the judge in the previous ring had just given him Second Best of Colour (as did the next two)!
I asked the women at the Clerking Desk about it, and one told me that that judge was an Aby breeder and that sometimes judges who know the breed tend to judge them more strictly. The other clerk, it turned out, is in training to become a judge; she looked at Gun-Hee and said, basically that she couldn’t really tell. The first clerk opined that to her, it should have been a deduction of points rather than a disqualification.
The told me to talk to my breeder (which, of course I will – she’ll be a stunned as I was), and also explained that if three different judges disqualify him in their rings, he’ll be unable to show in CFA. So now Gun-Hee kind of has one strike.
And being disqualified, he only got five Winners Ribbons rather than the six he needs to become a Premier (the neutered version of a Champion). Which is disappointing, but not really that bad; I mean, you’re not supposed to get all six Winners Ribbons in one show.
Still…disqualified. It makes me feel like some sort of an impostor. And he was so good this show, too. His coat was gleaming and the residual runny eyes and sniffles he’s had in the past were gone (hurrah, L-Lysine). I’d managed his chin acne, too. He was really in top condition…it took me down a peg, I have to say.
Ah well. He was wonderful, and he did great against cats who’ve already become Premiers and Grand Premiers. There’s always the next show.
Edit: Very interesting round table discussion between 5 CFA judges about what they look for in a show Abyssinian.
Like this:
Like Loading...
