Santa Barbara 2024
The weather generally is always very nice for the Santa Barbara weekend, which this year was August 22 and 23 (Simi Valley) and August 24 and 25 (Santa Barbara). This year, it was picture perfect.
The warmest day was 75 degrees and no humidity – great for the dogs and exhibitors. The dogs could even stand in the sun at times. The handlers and exhibitors did not have to worry about keeping the dogs cool. It is always cooler in Santa Barbara even when parts of the state have a heatwave.
The one drawback is that Santa Barbara is a tourist town, and hotels can be expensive, but the prices have not risen percentage wise like some areas have since the pandemic. The Earl Warren Showgrounds works very well for a medium-size show.
The entry was down slightly this year. Saturday’s entry was 1,228, which still makes it one of the larger entries in California. Even the Thursday show had close to 1,000 entries, and Friday had 1,046.
The show chair, Bruce Schwartz, does a great job in securing judges who will draw as well as possible. This year we had three of the most famous international judges: Frank Kane, “Mr. Gundog” from England; Mr. Arne Foss from Norway, and Mr. Laurent Prichard from Switzerland. These three gentlemen consistently judge all over the world, including Crufts and the World Shows. The legendary Bull Terrier breeder Frank Dyson from England judged the Bull Terriers on Sunday. Darle Heck and Carol Graham from Canada were also on the panel.
This year again several of the top dogs in the country came to compete. Some people still want to compete at the prestigious shows that make a win even more meaningful. “Zaida” the Afghan Hound bitch that was number two all-breed top dog in the U.S. last year came back to compete again this year. Being in semi-retirement, this was one of her few appearances since winning BIS at the World Show this past June in Croatia. I am confident that it was the first time a dog that won BIS at a World Show came to compete at Santa Barbara. Her handler, Willy Santiago, loved the paintings done by Terry Chacon that he won last year, with the hopes of repeating his wins.
A young man from Brazil brought a barely year-old Boxer to the AKC National Championship show last December. He finished by winning the breed from the classes over all the top specials. Having relocated to Texas, he won our national in the late spring. Now starting his campaign, he won the group all four days at Santa Barbara. He and the Afghan were the only two to win their groups all four days. The Boxer also went Reserve to the Afghan at Simi. Olivia Hodgkinson had a Standard Poodle that is starting his career. He was only shown the two days of SBKC, and he went BIS both days.
A French Bulldog came from El Salvador as a class dog. He won the breed all four days and the first three days from the classes. He also did very well in both the Foreign Bred Competition and the Bullyganza.
Just a couple of days before the shows, a Saluki class bitch arrived from Japan. She was handled by Stuart McGraw for Akiko Iwakiri of Japan and Julie Mueller. She placed in the groups several days and probably finished from the classes by placing in the groups.
It certainly makes the weekend so interesting to see so many dogs that have rarely been seen before. We all get excited to see the future “stars” for the first time.
What makes the Santa Barbara weekend so unique from the other clusters are the many unique special attractions only offered at these shows. This includes the Foreign Bred Competition, the Breeders Showcase, the Bullyganza, the Sighthound Spectacular and the honorees from the seven groups: Sporting, Nancy Talbott; Hound, Dominic Carota; Working, Carla Sanchez; Terrier, Franne Berez; Toy, Lori and Mark Stephens; Non-Sporting, Patricia Procter, and Herding, Darle Heck.
Thursday after Best in Show, the Foreign Bred Competition takes place. It generally has 25 to 30 entries with dogs bred in at least 20 different countries, and is extremely competitive. It makes us realize how many of our top show dogs are bred in foreign lands.
This year Linda Clark and Darle Heck were the co-judges. Besides first, second, third and fourth, four Awards of Merit are placed. Even the people who get the Awards of Merit are so pleased to place. We charge a $10 entry fee, which is donated to Take the Lead. The club donates $1,150 in cash prizes.
This year, Zaida the Afghan became the first to have won the competition twice. Willy was just as excited to win this as the BIS earlier in the day. Zaida is bred in Chile by Ramon Podesta. Since winning BIS at the World Show, she has only been shown at special events. The class Saluki bitch from Japan was second. The other six placements were all top-quality dogs. Two of the placements were from Chile, and Serbia accounted for two as well.
At 6 p.m. on Saturday in the main arena we honored seven people who have been outstanding breeders and/or have contributed to the sport.
The Breeders Showcase is truly unique. The entry consists of two dogs bred or co-bred by a common breeder. The first year we did it, we were overwhelmed with an enormous entry. People quickly realized that you need to have two “outstanding” dogs to be competitive. Often a dog is brought out of retirement and paired with an up-and-coming hopeful. Some breeders have more than one pair and get several placements in their group.
The judges for Best in the Breeders Showcase this year were Frank Kane and Laurent Pichard, with Peggy Beisel-McIlwaine as the tie-breaker. In 15 years, only once was a tie-breaker needed. It was not needed for Best, but for who would be Reserve Best in the Showcase.
The total entry stays roughly the same each year: 200 to 220 dogs, or 100 to 110 pairs. The Terriers always have two or three times as many dogs as the other groups. This year out of the total of 110 pairs, 26 pairs were Terriers. Bull Terriers alone had eight pairs, Mini Bulls had six pairs, and Staffie Bulls four pairs.
This year, Best in the Showcase were Boxers bred by James and Wendy Bettis and Ken Paulson. Last year Reserve were Colored Bull Terriers, one which had gone BIS at the regular show. This year due to surgery her brother could not compete at the last minute. Again this year Reserve in the Showcase went to a pair of Colored Bull Terriers. They were bred and owned by Franne Berez and Dale and Christine Schuur. What was interesting was that these same breeders also went fourth with a pair of White bitches. Peggy Browne judged the Terriers and the quality was exceptionally deep. It was no easy task to narrow it down to eight placements.
It is extremely difficult to stage the Breeders Showcase and very costly. I am sorry that no other show in the entire country has been able to do it. Of the eight placements awarded in the Terrier Group, five went to Bull Terriers or Mini Bulls! My proudest accomplishment in the sport has to be establishing the Breeder Showcase. It has not only gotten recognized here in the States, but also in foreign lands.
Sunday afternoon in the main arena, the Sighthound Spectacular was judged by Gretchen Bernardi. It was sponsored by Show Dog Publications, Inc. The winner was the Whippet puppy bitch owned by Bo Bengtson and Libby De Millie. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Ch. Bohem C’est La Vie, who I awarded BIS at SBKC in 2005 and who tragically and famously escaped her crate on the runway at JFK Airport at Westminster in 2006, never to be seen again.
The Bullyganza took place at 1 p.m. in the main arena. What makes the competition so unique is it is comprised of Bully breeds coming from three different groups. The Working Group breeds are the Bullmastiffs, Dogues de Bordeaux and Dogo Argentinos. From the Terrier Group we have the American Staffordshires, White and Colored Bull Terriers, Mini Bull Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. From Non-Sporting we have the Bostons, Bulldogs and French Bulldogs. Having such varied breeds means getting a judge who has an equally varied background or experience. The competition is usually extremely strong. Some years we have some of the Top 10 dogs all breeds competing.
Peggy Beisel-McIlwaine had the task of sorting out a very large field of roughly 25 dogs that qualified. Sarah Byzewski repeated her win from last year with Ch. Grabo Frankie Goes to Magor. In between her BIS last year, she also won the Terrier Group at Westminster this year. Second was the Frenchie from El Salvador Ch. Bullagamo Ferris, who finished on Saturday. He is owned and handled by Marina Besedina and Fernando Duarte. A lovely Bullmastiff bitch, Ch. Blackjack N Escalade’s I’m the Tornado, was third. The other five placements were all Bull Terriers.
Several clubs are now holding the Bullyganza competition. For the second year there will be a huge Bullyganza competition in northern Italy on September 21 and 24, 2025. This is a two-day show with famous judges from all over the world. It is limited to 500 dogs per day. It will be held at the Spiaggia Romea Club Village and Hotel in Cornacchio, Ferrara. Huge cash prize money of 6,000 €. Due to a previous commitment I could not judge the initial competition last year. I am so looking forward to judging it this year. It is interesting that in AmStaffs the classes are split between the cropped and natural-eared dogs.
I was at Santa Barbara years ago, and Franne Berez called me from a show in Europe. She needed a crash lesson on Am Staffs and Staffie Bulls. They had a competition with the Bull Terriers and she had to judge it. A week or so later I thought it would be great to have a competition for all the Bully breeds, and the rest is history. In Italy they also include Boxer, Presa Canario and Cane Corso.
The dates for the Santa Barbara weekend next year will be August 21 through 24, 2025. The panel will consist of the finest judges in the U.S. and several very famous and respected foreign judges.