Summer 2017  Saber Tails 5    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

Celebrating 30 Years of 

PBGVCA National Specialties

By Bev Childs

Celebrating 30 years of PBGVCA Nationals was the theme 

for the 2017 National held in the Queen City of Charlotte, 

North Carolina.  When our club held its first National Spe-

cialty in 1987 in Louisville, Kentucky, only conformation 

competition was offered.  The 2017 National Show Com-

mittee focused on having something for everyone and I 

think we succeeded.  We even had a “Royal Rabbit Hunt” 

inside the hotel and a “Parade of Crowns” with PBGVs wear-

ing the crowns…(more about that later)!  

As hunting hounds from the Vendéen Region of France, 

we knew PBGVs were great hunters and would do well in 

the United States in that venue.  Most of the AKC perfor-

mance events currently available today were not available 

in the late 70s and early 80s.  In the early years, few people 

thought PBGVs would be suitable for any performance 

events other than hunting - but boy, were they wrong!  As 

the club membership grew, more members trained for a 

number of AKC disciplines and gained titles on their PB-

GVs – increasing the demand for performance events to be 

offered at our National Specialty.  For many years now PB-

GVCA has offered (along with Conformation) Agility, Obe-

dience and Rally.  In 2011, Hunting Tests were offered and 

continue to be depending on the location of the National. 

The Top 20 event made its first appearance in 2014 and in 

2016 the Triathlon was added to the menu of offerings.  All 

of these events made 2017 a multifaceted Specialty. 

Tuesday morning of PBGVCA National week started bright 

and early with our Regional and National Agility Trials held 

outdoors at the Piedmont Kennel Club.  Chair Vickie Will-

man had everything set up and organized with 19 PBGVs 

entered.  Judge Robert J. Jeffers judged 42 runs at each tri-

al.  Running agility outside is not the best situation for PB-

GVs and the 

nose to the 

ground was 

often seen 

during a 

run.  In the 

end 11 had 

at least one 

qualifying 

run and a 

different 

PBGV was 

High-in-Trial at 

the Regional 

and National. 

You can find 

a list of agil-

ity qualifiers at:  

https://www.

pbgv.org/im-

ages/PDF/Event

s/2016/16Result

s/2016AgilityRe

sults.pdf

By mid-af-

ternoon on 

Wednesday, 

March 29th, many PBGV fanciers began to arrive at 

the dog-friendly Sheraton Charlotte Airport Hotel.  The 

courteous staff was eager to help the National Commit-

tee set up.  Welcome Bag Chair Shelley Barclay and her 

committee totally outdid themselves and rocked out the 

Welcome Bags with many dog-related goodies. The cool 

clear logoed stadium bags outlined with purple fit the 

theme of the National and were sponsored in part by 

Sandy Bustin. These bags were a hit with all the regis-

tered attendees.    

The PBGVCA and the Carolina PBGV Club sponsored the 

Welcome Party on Wednesday evening.  This celebration 

was kicked off with a Carolina Hamburger and Hot Dog 

buffet, beverages and a cash bar.  Hospitality Co-Chairs 

Michael Edwards and Fran Keeley did an outstand-

ing job with the beautiful décor and fun decorations 

throughout the venue for every event.  The Welcome 

Party table decorations included PBGVs jumping for joy 

from the “crown” centerpieces. Everyone relished visiting 

with old friends and meeting new ones as they enjoyed 

the sounds of Ethan Uslan, a ragtime/jazz pianist based 

in Charlotte. 

After the Welcome Party, 87 PBGVs and their owners 

excitedly scoured the hotel to hunt “RABBITS” – no not 

the live hopping kind but cloth ones custom made and 

stuffed with treats by Chair Wendy Martin.  The “Royal 

Rabbit Hunt” had enough cute rabbits for each PBGV to 

Cont’d p. 15