Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all enjoyed the festive break and I’m sure you are all getting back to ‘normal’ now that schools are reopen and we are all back to work. There’s always a bit of a lull in January, as our bank accounts usually take a bit of a beating in December, and our waistlines have expanded slightly, but Spring is just around the corner, so all is not lost. On the plus side, it’s been quite mild of late, and we even have had a few days with no rain! My gang have benefited from this weather, as they’ve been able to get out for walks most days now. We do long for summer, however, and the green fields where they can run free and really let off some steam.
Over the break, I have been trying to plan my year ahead, not an easy task with Brexit looming over us. It’s hard to know what to do, as there may be restrictions imposed on travelling with dogs to and from mainland Europe. As we live in Ireland, we must travel through the UK to get to mainland Europe, so it would be nice to know whether there is going to be a deal or not. Or even what will happen if there isn’t a deal, as nobody seems to know. I’ve read quite a few articles on the matter, but all views and opinions are purely speculative at best. My husband and I are considering taking the dogs to France on holidays, but have decided to hold off on booking anything for the moment. Last year we holidayed in the Algarve, but missed the dogs terribly, so we agreed to take our gang along next time we go on holidays. It’s also hard to know what’s going to happen in terms of travelling from Ireland to the UK. So at the moment we are in limbo, as it would appear that the politicians don’t seem to know what’s likely to happen or even what they want themselves. All we can do is to wait and see.
In order to cheer myself up, and get rid of the January blues, I have been doing quite a bit of shopping. My favourite purchase is a fantastic oil painting of the very beautiful Paloma De Chaponay of Tammylan by the talented Sue Harper. A trailblazer for the breed, Paloma and her owner, Heather Ridley, really put Havanese on the map in the UK. Born in 1991, Paloma was bred by Mme. Gerda Vansteenkiste of the De Chaponay Kennel in Belgium She was the first Havanese to win a championship show group and was also runner of at the Champion of Champion contest 10 years of age in 2002! She was the first Havanese to win Best of Breed at Crufts in 2001, and was Best of Breed at Crufts for 4 consecutive years. She also had acquired many Group placings in her lifetime. We consider it a huge honour to now own this fantastic painting, as we had followed her successes throughout the ‘90’s and early ‘00’s with great interest (my mother still has a scrapbook of all her winnings). We cannot thank Heather’s son, Adam Ridley, for agreeing to let us have this fabulous painting.
Back to the present day, Nicola Westgate did a fantastic job in representing the breed at Luton Canine Association on the 29th December. Her male, Wizzizz When I need You, was placed 1st Open Dog. Then her other male, Wizzizz Desperado, was placed 1st in Open Dog and was awarded Best of Breed. Congratulations Nicola on a great day!
Boston Championship Show took place at the East of England Show Ground in Peterborough on Sunday 6th, with judge Kevan Berry drawing an entry of 44 made up of 37 dogs. Best Dog and Best of Breed was awarded to Miss H McCallum-Sealy’s young homebred male, Pandaprint Believe in Magic. Reserve Best Dog was awarded to Mrs J Harper-Dediu’s Skystar’s Sonny. Best Bitch was awarded to Miss K Smith’s Larwinsca Princess Leia and Reserve Best Bitch to Mrs M A Thackery’s Tiggafield All That Jazz, who was also awarded Best Puppy in Breed. Best Special Beginners in Breed was awarded to Mr P Grocock’s Havanamours Moonbeam over Havalag. Well done to all in the cards!
If you have any news, results or information that you would like included in the breed notes, please feel free to drop me a line. You can contact me either by email (cartyolivia@gmail.com) or on Facebook through Facebook Messenger. Olivia Carty-Parge