Postcard from Slovenia

All podium and movement photos by Claudiu Pintea.

All candid photos by Vince Hogan

One of the most popular winners of a European Dog Show in recent years, Viking — the Crufts Best in Show-winning Australian Shepherd handled supremely by co-owner Melanie Reymond — brought the FCI show to a fitting conclusion on the final night at the exhibition center in Celje, a pleasant city in Slovenia. The EDS — held October 3 through 6 in conjunction with two preceding shows — had originally been allocated to Slovenia back in 2020, but a certain Covid virus got in the way at the time.

Stefan Sinko, international all-rounder and past president of the Slovenian Kennel Club, was given the honor of judging Best in Show and making this prestigious award to Viking amid a fabulous line-up of 10 top-quality dogs from which to choose. A Standard Poodle from Spain took second spot, and an Afghan Hound based in Sweden handled by Australian Brett Hamilton swept into third place.  

Best in Show: Australian Shepherd Ch Brighttouch Drift The Line through Dialynne, Melanie Raymond, John Shaw and Kerry Kirtley, U.K.

Livestream

Thankfully, after some controversy, I was allowed to livestream the finale for thousands of people following around the world, many from the U.K. who were sending support to Mel and Viking, a popular duo!
The show organizers had made the decision to charge €20 to access their livestreaming of the three-day FCI premier event, which had caused considerable consternation among dog people around the world who were keen to watch the show. It was the first time any host of a World or European show had made such a charge. Facebook seemed to talk about nothing else for days!

The same applied to commercial photographers, who had to pay €450 plus tax to be allowed to shoot at the show. That certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest. However, such a situation is not new to shows in the U.S., as a similar practice had been introduced at some nationals in the States a while back. One can sympathize with show organizers, who are now faced with higher costs in staging large events … not just in dogs, of course. However, all this got the show off on the wrong foot, with a negative vibe that was not helped by the weather: The start of the show was marred by incessant heavy rain, leaving a flood warning for the River Savinja adjacent to the showground. It also meant that there was a much-reduced crew of photographers recording events for posterity!

Food was popular … not for vegetarians!

That bad weather meant a soggy first day for the Platinum dog show (sponsored by the dog-food company of that name), which was like a one-off national show. It was won by the Lakeland Terrier, whose handler is from Panama, and was judged by Fabio Amorim from Brazil. Many times, in Europe, organizers add on national shows in an effort to draw a bigger entry, but that also brings problems with overcrowding and parking issues.

Show Entries

Across three shows, the total number of dogs attending was 16,615, an adjusted figure to account for absentees.

The Platinum one-day show on Thursday attracted 3,207 dogs, which meant all dogs attended on one day, hence some pressure on the halls, especially with the rain factor. The national show ran over two days and had 3,881 dogs, while the European show itself attracted 9,527 dogs, a decent total in this day and age.

Beautiful green Slovenia.

Best in Show judge for the Platinum show was Fabio Amorim from Brazil, who said, “I had 10 exceptional dogs in my ring, and I am very grateful to my fellow judges who selected them.

“With an exquisite attitude and movement, the beautiful Lakeland Terrier caught my attention from the first moment I saw her. When I touched her, I could see even more of the exceptional qualities, with special emphasis on her beautiful head and topline, without a doubt the best specimen of the breed that I have seen in 25 years of judging all over the world.”
From the U.S.? Just seven dogs in total. Maybe Slovenia was not a big draw from America, but it’s an attractive country that looked its best when the weather improved on Sunday and then Monday for the trip home! Top entry in fact was from Italy with 2,982 dogs, followed by Poland with 1,517 dogs.

The conflict in Ukraine has meant that many European countries do not accept Russian entries, but that was not the case in Slovenia, where 704 Russian dogs were entered, the sixth-highest number. In fact, Ukraine had 750 dogs present, the fifth-highest entry. Third highest was the Czech Republic, and the next European Dog Show will be staged there in Brno next April.

General Layout

As with the World Show in Zagreb earlier this year, the show was held in a fairly old venue in a number of different halls. A bugbear for me is always the shortage of signage around a show ground or the absence of “YOU ARE HERE” maps, until you have found your bearings. The central square between various halls became a haven for the foodies and drinkers with typical Balkan meats being grilled, and the local Lasko beer flowed to the backdrop of a resident DJ for the four days … quite an ambience. There seemed to be a lot of yellow-vested stewards around to help and guide people, although it was odd that admission to watch the groups and Best in Show was not possible if you were accompanied by a dog: Stewards stopped people from going into the main arena if they had a dog with them. (And a lot of people did, bearing in mind it was a dog show!)

Understandable if the venue was a high-class theater, but it wasn’t: largely wooden bleacher seats for the viewing public. That meant the day-one Platinum dog show finals had a sparce audience, and even BIS on Sunday night was at best half full. Disappointing.

Best in Show entrance for spectators ... but no dogs allowed.

The photographers who had paid their accreditation were also not happy with their allocated positions on day one, largely placed behind the bests of breed and other winners; the situation was rectified on day two, thankfully. It did seem to many that a number of these issues could have been ironed out and planned well before the show rather than reacting to avoidable and predictable problems.

The main ring.

Finals Day

By Sunday, the sun was shining and the mood improved, but not enough to stem a number of complaints on social media about the show. Yes, one of the downsides of social media is that you are on trial 24/7 it seems in life nowadays.  

It is always a pity for organizers who work so hard before any event when the negative aspects are the ones mainly in people’s memories after the event.
One comment online said, “Isn’t it such a shame when a fabulous event like this is marred with various costing issues around livestreaming and car parking access. I realize that these events are very costly for the organizers, but to expect folks to pay to watch online is a step too far.”

There are both sides to consider: Exhibitors travel many hundreds if not thousands of miles and want value for money and certain standards for showing. Organizers are running the show as a one-off and don’t have the luxury (like Crufts or Westminster) of fine-tuning year after year. And the costs of event staging are getting much higher every year. Hard to strike a balance for the Slovenian President Hari Arcon and his team, but maybe that gives an indication why there was only one candidate for the vote for the 2028 European Dog Show … that was decided to be Denmark at the delegates meeting on the Monday after the show.
This of course is not a problem confined to Slovenia, or Europe, but rather a worldwide issue for dog-show organizers, as venue, fuel and travel costs escalate for all.

Junior Handling Finals

International junior handling or showmanship is always a big feature of shows of this nature, and the finals were judged by the well-known Croatian judge and past handler Ante Lucin, organizer of the famous 4-night show in Split, where a number of American judges have officiated in the past.

“This was my third time to judge junior handling at the European shows and second time to do the finals, and what an incredible experience it was!” Ante said. “First of all, I want to thank to the Slovenian Kennel Club for the invitation, Anja Matić Butara and Polona Blatnik for their support, friendship and all the hard work, and wonderful Željka Fon Zidar, who did so much for junior handling in Slovenia, for the lovely gift and all the kind words after my judging.
“The quality of the 34 junior handlers I got to judge in the finals was high, and I did a very detailed pre-judging to be sure I knew what I wanted to do once they came in the main ring! I absolutely adored all six girls who made the final cut, but I must say I wish I just had one more place there for the representative of the Czech Republic, who did a great job with her Welsh Terrier!

“Sometimes it is just small details that make a final decision, but these seven girls were all fabulous!

“I want to say thank you also to Nikola Smolic for the lovely presentation and to all the amazing friends and people in the crowd for the incredible support I got when entering the main ring.

But I also want to thank everyone in the crowd for the exceptional support and cheering for all the junior handlers — it was nice to see their hard work, dedication and passion being rewarded so enthusiastically by so many people in the public!”

Best Junior in Show

Turning to Junior dogs now, Andrew Burt from Australia was honored to be given the opportunity to select Best Junior in Show.

“It was a marathon four days, with some big entries and quality dogs,” Andrew told me. “My line-up for Best Junior in Show was selected group by group over the three days — and what quality. Thank you to the group judges for such excellent, typical specimens.

Best Junior in Show (Old English Sheepdog): JWWW’24 Bottom Shaker Let’s Do It Again, Josef Koroknai, Hungary.

“While all 10 were worthy winners, my job was to select my top three. The winner was a top-quality young Old English Sheepdog. With plenty of maturing still to do, he presented with excellent bone and substance, a quality coat for his age, and an outstanding, capacious skull and a strong muzzle fronted by a large black nose. He demonstrated the typical OES movement.

“In second place was the standard Mexican Hairless Dog. This exhibit was so typical, correct overall shape with a lovely headpiece, well constructed, and with very sound movement.

“Third place went to the medium-size black Poodle. This exhibit had a very pleasing head and expression, good quality coat for age, plenty of body and ‘Poodley’ on the move.

“It was my pleasure to award these exhibits.”

There was also Best Baby Puppy, Best Puppy and Best Veteran in Show.

Best Puppy in Show (Siberian Husky): Winter Melody No Clue Where Is My IQ, Jose Luis Gomez Snachez.

Best Minor Puppy in Show (Clumber Spaniel): Big Booms Showman Pabbie, Joana Matos Correia.

Best Veteran in Show (Yorkshire Terrier): Guess Dark Luna, Natalia Pirkova.

Best in Show

The eventual line-up for Best in Show was commendable: Top winners from a cross section of countries from Lithuania to Spain, from the United Kingdom to Sweden!

Well-known international judge Stefan Sinko stepped forward into the big ring to a warm greeting from the audience and fellow judges in the VIP area, and the 10 finalists made their entrance.

Stefan gave me his thoughts after the show, saying, “Judging Best in Show at the FCI European Show, the second-biggest event of 2024, put me in a special position and mood as well.

“First of all, I found it a tremendous honor and once-in-a-lifetime occasion, and secondly also tremendous responsibility toward the dog world and general public.

“At the European Show 2024 in Celje I saw so many good dogs of top quality, which I found as an absolute positive trend, I am pleased to say.

“The group winners this year at Best in Show showed tremendous beauty and quality for me to judge, and I congratulate them all on the high standard. Any of the 10 winners could be on the podium; if the president of the FCI says that this was the strongest lineup he had seen lately, then we must believe him, and I am exactly of the same opinion.

“However, at the end we had only three positions on the podium and a decision had to be made.

"Taking the number-one spot was the superb Australian Shepherd Dog, who convinced me with superb construction and the wonderful performance of the lady handler, who showed him so naturally that the dog did not make any mistake standing or moving.

“He was strongly followed by Best in Show 2, a black Standard Poodle with outstanding coat condition, also perfectly handled. Best in Show 3 was an Afghan Hound also presented in top condition, perfect in type and movement.

“I felt sorry for all the other group winners, who also could be worthy winners on the podium, but the places are limited to just three.”

Final songs and music from a live band who had played all four days and the final photos before the showground emptied out, trade stands packed away, and thoughts turned to flying or driving home … and on to the next show.

We must all be completely mad!

Group 2 (Tibetan Mastiff): Ch Petro-Prestige Elizaveta, Victoria Savelyeva, Russia.

Group 3 (Yorkshire Terrier): Ch Estugo Amien Never Enough, Sergio Amien, Spain.

Group 4 (Miniature Wire Dachshund): Ch Almarxils Llimona, Noel Garrigós Mateo, Spain.

Group 5 (Alaskan Malamute): Contract with the Devil, Gintare Tamasauskaite, Lithuania.

Group 6 (Dalmatian): Ch Running Spot’s Dancing Bob, Agnes Biglarnia, Sweden.

Group 7 (Pointer): Ch You Are Thousand Dream Come True, Philipp Harrer, Austria.

Group 8 (Labrador Retriever): Ch Lab SPB Gazprom, Sander Nugteren, Woefdrams Labradors, Netherlands.

Group 9 (Standard Poodle): Smart Connection Darkness, Deivy Lozano, Spain.

Group 10 (Afghan Hound): Tells Kjavu It’s About Time, Brett Hamilton, Sweden.