I would strongly encourage any PBGVCA member that has
never attended a National Specialty to put it on your bucket
list. The event is very welcoming to all PBGV enthusiasts, and
even those who aren’t there yet. We are a small but great group
of people that like to see our dogs excel at the companion/
performance events and also have fun running around the
conformation ring.
This year the National was held in Kerrville, Texas, a small
(pop. 32,000) welcoming town that loved that we chose their
town to hold our event. Some attendees were able to take time
to horse back ride, visit wineries and local restaurants. I don’t
think any were disappointed.
We started the week with an agility fun match (open to all
breeds) Monday evening this was a way for PBGVs that don’t
normally compete in dirt arenas to get their feet wet prior to
running the next day. We had a great turn-out for the event.
On Tuesday morning, we held our Regional and National
Agility trial. Unfortunately, we had NO dogs with qualifying
runs at the Regional. The dogs got warmed up and in the sec-
ond trial (National) we had qualifying runs. I will say that the
dogs had fun whether they had a qualifying run or not. We
were fortunate to have local agility competitors that came and
helped make our trials run smoothly. They also gained appre-
ciation for what we are able to obtain from our crazy hounds.
Wednesday afternoon was the Regional Obedience and Rally
trials. Again local obedience competitors came and ring stew-
arded which is a huge help. We had some nice runs and a few
dogs that decided they didn’t want to be obedient. Rally had
many more entries and dogs that achieved qualifying scores
(this is very common).
Wednesday evening was the Welcome Party, this event was
held poolside and the weather was wonderful. After people
had a few drinks and food everyone was invited to help break a
piñata. It took some “arm twisting” to get people to volunteer
to be blindfolded and take a swing at the piñata. After some
pretty hefty swings the piñata finally broke. I even think there
is a video of Dave Esherick’s swings at the piñata!
Thursday was an extremely long day. We started with Nation-
al Obedience and Rally trials followed by 4-6 Month Puppy
competition. Nancy Simmons, our Obedience and Rally judge
was also the 4-6 Month Puppy judge. She had seven puppies
in the ring that day. Next was Regional Sweepstakes followed
by Jr. Showmanship. Katherine Howell judged the Sweep-
stakes and Jr. Showmanship. Linda Scanlon was the Regional
conformation judge this year. She had an entry of 60 dogs.
Once we finished Regional judging, the ballroom was setup
for the Top 20 that was held in the evening. The Top 20 han-
dlers were encouraged to dress in “Western Wear” and many
of them took on the challenge. Attendees of the Top 20 had
voting ability for a “peoples choice” for their favorite dog and
also a “best dressed” handler. The winning handler was Marina
Rose. She took on the challenge to a “T!” We ended the night
with a local country band, J.R. Herrera. They put on a great
performance for those who stayed and listened to them.
Friday was our first ever Scent Work trial. We held a Regional
trial and a National trial in the same day. This sport is made for
our PBGVs! We had a total of 111 entries for the day. Thank
you to everyone who entered your dogs, helped gate steward
and encouraged your fellow exhibitors. A special thank you to
Jill Otto who did all the timing of runs for the day and also
Katherine Howell who was the hide steward for the entire day.
This event had mostly novice handlers and dogs. When the
day started the nerves were high and it showed in the results
with many dogs finding the odor but the handler unable to
recognize it. Once the nerves settled the teams were more suc-
cessful. I believe in the end every dog entered acquired at least
one qualifying run. Since this event was such a success, it is be-
ing held again in 2020 in Wilmington, Ohio. If you have been
wanting to compete with your PBGV this is a sport, you can
train at home and be successful at a trial. Hopefully in 2020
we will see even more new faces in Scent Work.
Friday night, Megan Esherick offered a Trick Dog training and
titling seminar. This was well attended with PBGVs with all
types of experience. There were conformation competitors to
pet owners that don’t compete. We also welcomed a mixed
breed and a Havanese that were there to get a trick title. I
know there were a bunch of dogs that earned titles that night,
(watch in future Saber Tails for what dogs titled).
Saturday was National Sweepstakes, 4-6 Month Puppy and
Conformation competition. Jo Quintenz started the day judg-
ing the puppy and veteran sweepstakes. The 4-6 Month Puppy
competition followed judged by Nick Frost. Then Carol Doerge
took to the ring for the National conformation assignment.
This was followed by our Saturday night banquet and auction.
Thank you to Janice Hayes for putting together a fantastic si-
lent and live auction.
A National Specialty cannot be successful without a team of
great volunteers, from the show chair to all the behind-the-
scene volunteers. If you enjoy attending Nationals PLEASE
raise your hand to help.
In closing, I want to personally thank each and everyone of
you who were willing to help when I asked. I am not going
to list you individually because I would forget someone. Also
a huge thank you to the YO Ranch Motel, they were a great
group of people to work with and made my job very easy.
t
Regional/National win photos and candid photos by Malinda Julien Dog Show Photographer ~ Malindal Julian.com
Summer 2019 Saber Tails 13
It’s A Wrap!
by Lora Megli, 2019 National Show Chair