JUDGING DENMARKS “VERY SPECIAL SHOW”

By Skip Herendeen

When the invitation came last year to judge in Denmark , at their VSS or “Very Special show” I was more than thrilled to accept.  The only problem was that the show was scheduled originally in June and the dates that the Danish Kennel Club had assigned were in conflict with my schedule.  Fortunately they were kind enough to accommodate my schedule and subsequently changed the dates to the middle of July. So what is this “Very Special Show”?  For over thirty years, the Denmark Beagle Club under the auspices of the Danish Kennel Club has annually conducted a weeklong event that brought Beaglers from not only all the Scandinavian countries such as Finland, Norway and Sweden, but also many other European countries together for a celebration of these merry little hounds and competition in not only all the performance events that we are used to (obedience, rally, and agility) but also non doggy events like Rabbit towing (don’t ask), soccer matches and petanque which is a form of bocce ball.  This week long celebration is capped off on Saturday and Sunday with confirmation judging followed by The Great Viking Event Sunday night after the conclusion of judging.  This year’s theme was a Tyrolean affair with dress, food and drinks to match.  More on that later.

Accompanying me was my best friend and fiancé, well known Sporting Judge and English Cocker Spaniel breeder Marissa O’Connor.  I had decided that this would be a perfect time to not only enjoy a wonderful “working vacation” in Denmark, and then following my assignment take a real vacation which we have never had the time for, and spend four days in London on our way back home to the States.  We departed from Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport to Chicago O’Hare where after a very short layover, caught our American Airlines flight across the “pond”  into London Heathrow.  Those that have travelled from the US into Heathrow will sympathize with our adventures in Terminal Five which is the International Terminal for all arrivals outside the United Kingdom and the European Union.  I had booked our travel through AA in order to take advantage of the miles earned not only on the domestic and trans Atlantic portion of our trip, but also with its “One World Alliance” of which British Airways is a partner and was utilized for the European portion of our travels.  For many years I have been a member of American’s Admirals Club as it certainly has its advantages not only in traveling to dog shows but also in my frequent business travels.  But for some unknown reason which British Airways could never explain to me, they did not honor my membership in their Club Lounge even though American has always allowed British Airways Club members to utilize the Admirals Club.  American did have an Admirals Club in Terminal 3 but we were not allowed to depart Terminal 5 because of Immigration and Passport Control as well as customs.  Those of you travelling to Europe through Heathrow who belong to the Admirals Club, may want to remember this.  Nonetheless, we made the best of this small inconvenience by perusing the multitude of shops where one can purchase everything from Rolex to Rolaids and Versace to Vitamins.

Before long it was time to catch our connection into Brussels as there was no direct flight into Billund , Denmark out of Heathrow on the One World Alliance.  The entry into Brussels was the exact opposite of Heathrow in terms of hustle, hurry up and wait, and hassle.  These Flemish people are as accommodating and as anxious to help as any I have ever experienced in Europe .  After a two hour layover, we caught our last connection on SAS into Billund Airport located in the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark.  We could not believe it when this tiny little propeller aircraft seating around 30 passengers served a full meal with all the trimmings.  After what seemed a very short two hour flight from Brussels , we finally touched down in Denmark , fifteen hours after we left Dallas/Fort Worth.

The show itself was being held in the city of Jels (pronounced Yells) which is in the south central area of the Jutland Peninsula .  For you geography buffs, Denmark is comprised of many, many islands, each it’s own separate terri tory or what we might call our “States”.  It is the southernmost of Scandinavian and Nordic countries in Northern Europe . Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government with state and local level governments in 98 municipalities and has been a part of the European Union since 1973. Obviously they speak Danish which is very close to Swedish and Norwegian but as in most European countries, most if not all of the folks are very fluent in English, thank goodness.

We were meet promptly by Mr. Christian who was to serve as our driver and tour guide throughout our stay.  Meeting us at the same time was popular FCI all breed judge, Hans van den Berg from Amsterdam who was to judge a separate independent beagle specialty as an added attraction of the “Very Special Show” week.  Marissa and I took an instant liking to this highly entertaining yet extremely knowledgeable dog man. By the time we arrived at our Hotel which was the Kongress Best Western (was surprised to see a Best Western in this tiny village), it was time for a late supper and off to sleep after a very long “day”.

Eight AM came much to early as our bodies reminded us that it was still around midnight back home.  After a wonderful Danish Breakfast Buffett (they are very particular to all sorts of meats as you may imagine), it was time to get down to business.  The Very Special Show was conducted on the grounds of the Jels Sports Center .  Jels is very well known for its world famous Orion Planetarium and of course the annual Viking festival which unfortunately we had just missed.  Greeting us were Per Guldberg Klausen who was this years organizer and Show Chair along with Henrik Westeraa who was to serve as my very able Co Chair and Chief Steward responsible for getting the classes assembled and into the ring expeditiously. Unfortunately Lotte Bergh Jensen who is Madam President of the Denmark Beagle Club was unable to attend as she just had a new litter on the ground and could not get away.  We missed seeing her as Lotte is very familiar to many of the American Beaglers.

Before judging was to commence we were escorted into the hospitality area to meet our Stewards and Secretaries, Nicole Elten, Wille Ellesoe and Heidi Ochsendorf (how can you not visit a Scandinavian country and NOT meet a “Heidi”)  who were responsible for transcribing my critique of every entry.  More on that in a moment and the tremendous service rendered by these delightful and knowledgeable ladies. But first we had to partake of another small breakfast meal mostly of bread and cheeses.  Then came the customary chugging down of a shot of Gamel Dansk which was partaken only of the men for some reason, although I suspect the ladies may have had a stealth taste or two.  Gamel Dansk is an alcoholic  bitters  drink which is supposed to heighten ones sensory perception.  I’m not so sure about that but as the last drop hit my stomach I found myself totally awake and to let the judging begin.

Judging dogs in Denmark is under the FCI system with some small differences.  As in most FCI countries, the classes consist of the Baby Class which is from 3-6 months, followed by the Puppy Class which is from 6-9 months. Other than these two Puppy Classes, I was to judge dogs the first day and bitches and Best of Breed the second day. As these two puppy classes cannot compete for either the Challenge Certificate or Best of Breed competition, I then selected my Best Puppy which came out of the 6-9 Puppy Class.  Unfortunately the tear sheets I received (dogs only) along with the unmarked catalog prevents me from telling you who the breeders and owners were or what country the little one was from.  All I can tell you is that in my opinion and that of many others, this was one of the finest beagle puppies I have ever laid my eyes on and was one of the top two or three dogs I was to judge all weekend. He was in plain words nothing short of spectacular.

Now followed the regular classes which consisted of the Junior Class which is 9-18 months, Intermediate Class which is typically 15-24 months, Working Class which also begins at 15 months but for dogs that have not yet obtained their Danish Championship, Open Class which is also for dogs other than puppies that have not obtained their Dutch Championship, Veterans Class which is from 8 years of age upward and a Champions Class which you very seldom see in FCI Shows which the entry has to be either a Dutch Champion or a Champion from another country.  Typically Champions are entered in the Open classes as very rarely have I ever seen a Champions Class in FCI, actually this was the first time I had seen this Champions Class in any FCI show I have previously judged at.  Strangely enough the Regular Classes (Baby and Puppies are considered Non Regular Classes) began with the Champion Males and went through to the Veterans.  I had a very large entry of 162 Beagles.  Unlike in America where Beagles are separated into the two varieties of 13” and under and 15” and under but over 13”, no other country that I am aware of separates them by size.  They are just BEAGLES.  The Danish Standard calls for a size of 33 cm (13”) to 40 cm (15.7”) but you commonly see entries of 16” and sometimes larger. Getting back to the Champions Class, this class is treated like any other class with the four placements going on to compete for best male and possibly a Challenge Certificate which is at the judges prerogative to award or not. 

Immediately after each dog is examined and moved I completed my critique before proceeding to exam the next entry.  This is where my Secretaries, Nicole and Heidi were invaluable.  These Secretaries are actually employed by the Danish Kennel Club and must be fluent in at least five languages.  The critique begins with a rating of either Excellent which is Certificate quality, Very Good, Good, Sufficient, or Cannot be judged.  Although every dog is critiqued, ONLY an exhibit receiving an Excellent rating can be placed in that class.  If you receive any of the other ratings, you are basically done for the day.  Consequently, after the exhibit has been examined then gaited, they are stacked in front of the secretaries tent located next to the examination table in order for me to begin my critique which starts with the rating. Both of my Secretaries told me following the judging that FCI judges tend to be much more conservative when awarding an Excellent than judges from America who are a little more liberal.  I begin my critique after the dog is rated starting from nose to tail, followed by coat texture and movement.  My Secretary is then typing all of this on an ancient electric typewriter, on an official Danish Kennel Club Critique Sheet, translated into the language of the exhibitor.  For this “Very Special Show” there were entries from not only Denmark , but also Finland , Norway , Sweden , Germany , Austria , Poland and The Czech Republic.  If the Secretary did not happen to speak Polish, the critique was then written in the language of the exhibitors choice, usually English.  After the critique was finished, the transcribed copy was given to the exhibitor. Can you now imagine how bright these young ladies were that transcribed my critiques.  They were absolutely magnificent. 

Around noon time we broke for lunch and once again, a meal heavy on the meats and bread along with the BIGGEST BEER STEIN I have ever seen which was filled to the brim.  Not wanting to appear ungracious, I had a few sips of the local brew which was very dark and heavy.  Had to wash that down with a coke…

After an hour or so it was back to judging the remaining classes.  Once I finished with the Veterans it was then time to bring the dogs back in for what we would call “Winners Class”, except for one SMALL difference.  Not only did the first place dog in each class compete, ALL four placements competed for BEST MALE.  Consequently I had 24 exhibits in this class.  What I did was have the four class placements separate themselves by a few yards from the other classes.  I wanted to make sure which dogs were in each class.  Until two years ago the “Best Male or Female Class” was judged pretty much like we judge in America with only the first place winner competing.  There is also a Reserve which under the old system, the second place dog from the Winners Class came back into the ring.  I don’t know why they changed it but it made for some interesting moments.  My Best Male I believe came out of the Junior Class as well as did my Reserve.  As I shared earlier I have an unmarked catalog and only partial tear sheets but after the final day of judging I was informed that my Best Male was sired by Alyce Gilmore s wonderful Bayou Oaks Tiger Woods.  This was a magnificent Beagle, all 16” of him (which is why he’s in Europe,) with a great head piece, good length of neck, bone proportionate to it’s body, excellent front assembly, good harsh coat and one of the best rear drives I may have ever seen in a beagle.  All in all a wonderful Beagle out of Poland . As my winner was not eligible for the CC, I did award it to my Reserve dog from Denmark .

Before ending the day I  had to judge the Juniors and believe me it is just as competitive over there as it is here.  They all knew how to show a beagle the way a beagle needs to be shown.  I selected from the Senior Class, Miss Katrine Jeppesen from Denmark who could and would hold her own against the best in the US .  I was not surprised to find out that Katrine placed in the top ten at Crufts among hundreds of entries.  She may be coming to the States to complete her education and I hope some of you get to meet this young lady.

Now it was back to the hotel where Han’s, Marissa and I enjoyed another wonderful buffet,  of course loaded with meats, potatoes, pasta, bread and cheeses of all sorts.  We talked for what seemed like hours and thoroughly enjoyed our laughter and conversation with this good dog man. 

After what seemed just a few hours sleep it was time to get up, eat breakfast and head out to the Sports Center to begin the bitches.  Like the day before, I began the day with the obligatory shot of Gamel Dansk, except this time a little sip was more than enough. My ever efficient Secretaries had to chastise me about trying not to talk so fast when giving my critique. Lots of good natured ribbing. As the puppy classes were judged the day before, began the day with some beautiful bitch Champions and continued through in the same order as the day before.  My Best Bitch and eventual Best In Show winner came from the Champions class, Polish and International CH. Altorius Old Glory Altro Mondo.  Having the same qualities as the Male Winner, she could not be denied this day. I was unbelievably surprised that the Male winner was also from the same Polish Kennel.  This young husband and wife couple are extremely dedicated Beaglers and from everything I’ve heard, do a tremendous amount of winning with these two dogs throughout Europe . 

After the Specialty Best in Show and BOS in Show where awarded,  came the Brace Class which was very neat to see, the VSS Class, Best Veteran, A Breeding Groups Class which is dogs from the same kennel, and finally Progeny Group which could be either Stud Dog or Brood Bitch.  I found out that my Progeny Group winner was a Stud Dog breed by the wonderful Starbuck Torbay line of David and Lesley Hiltz in Washington .  Before ending this judging section, I have to commend the wonderful contributions made by American Beaglers; in addition to Alyce Gilmore and the Hiltz’s, I have to mention Terri Papagni-Carter and her Ha Penny beagles, Jon Woodring and Wade Burns of Lanbur Beagles and Leah Bertagnolli with her Windkist Beagles.  Of course no beagles shown in Europe would be complete without mentioning the wonderful Finnish dogs of Eva Resko and her Daragoj line.  All these, along with others I may have unintentionally left out have left their mark on these beagles not only in Europe but all over the world.  Congratulations to all.

Of course our journey to Denmark could not end with the final judging of Beagles.  This wonderful gathering of people of many European nations came together as just BEAGLERS, especially the last night when we were fortunate to attend the Gala Tyrolean theme banquet.  I would be typing and you would be reading all night about this most wonderful fest.  They were no longer competitors but just friends who loved their Beagles.  The food, the Bavarian attire which was the dress of the night, the merriment complete with Om Pa Band, singing and dancing was something none of us will never, ever forget.  To all those that made this a special once in a lifetime week, I cannot thank you enough, nor can I begin to mention your names as there are so many and I will leave someone out. To those of you reading this, if you ever have the opportunity to officiate in Denmark , I hope you will not pass it up.  If you would like to see more pictures taken at this show, they can be found on my Facebook page.