I really thought that after my work deadline was over I would have time to relax, stitch and breathe. Nope. It has been another busy few weeks. Rory and I have been traveling and dog showing three weekends in a row. And we have three more weekends coming up. They are tiring. Both physically and mentally but, oh, so much fun! More on that later.
For the Lizzie Kate round B exchange on I stitched a pattern from Lizzie Kate's Spring crazy and finished it as a needleroll.
I stitched this small design from Prairie Schooler for Brenda for the Spring Seasonal exchange.
And this is what she stitched for me.
And then came Sunday. Yesterday. The day started out fine. Got up and ready to leave the house. A gray, damp and dreary looking day weather wise. But I made sure I had my extra sneaker to run in. Got Rory's collar on him and he was dancing and jumping and so excited to be going. Get out to the car and the doors won't unlock. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Then I notice that one of the doors isn't quite closed. Yup, you guessed it. The car won't start. The battery is dead. So back in the house we go. Rory is not happy about this. But I calm him down and call AAA. Thank goodness I am always ready to leave for a show extra early. Triple A shows up and gets the car going. We made it to the show grounds an hour later than I had planned but still in plenty of time to get Rory ready.
Now even though I have been stressing a bit all morning Rory looked great. The judge thought so too. The judge, a Mr. Geoffrey Kill from Australia, liked Rory so much that he picked him for the Best of Breed!!! And that meant Rory was the Best Irish setter at this show. Over other Irish that are mature champions. Talk about being in shock! I am still wondering if I dreamed it. Heck, when the judge pointed to me I must have looked truly puzzled and I didn't have a clue until one of the others (the one who went Best of Opposite sex) had to tell me "You won Breed! Congratulations!" I sputtered and stuttered and muttered, WHAT??? ME?? Then the judge handed me the ribbon and told me what a great looking dog I had. All I could do was mumble Thank you so much. Speechless. That's what I was. Speechless.
The sporting group line up.
Since this was the third show in as many days I was (and still am) a tad tired. I had figured that once we were finished with the classes we would head home early. But not after winning Breed. You see, that means Rory had to go back in the ring for the Sporting group. ( All those dogs that are bird dogs are classified as sporting dogs. The best in that group then goes in with the best of the working, herding, toy, terrier, non-sporting and hounds groups to vie for Best in Show. ) What an honor for Rory and I. To be chosen Best in Breed and try for a placement in the group. I was and still am thrilled to pieces. Now Rory did not win the group. But he made the cut. Meaning he was in the judge's favorite 5 to 8 in the group. There are only four place ribbons but to even be a possible candidate is awesome.
I only hope that Rory continues to win like this. We have shows coming up in Wrentham, MA, at the beginning of June. Followed by one in Norwalk, CT, the next weekend. I'm not sure yet but I think the one after that will be July in Rochester, NY. Anyone living in those areas and wants to watch us run in circles is more than welcome. Rory loves to hear the WOOOOOO WOOOOO of the crowd as we run around the ring.
I am having a blast showing him and he is everything I had hoped for. Showing and winning and doing it myself has been a long, long time dream of mine. One I had never thought would come true. But it is! Next step is for him to win his championship. Then we move on to win more Best of Breeds and with some more maturity he will start winning the group and when the day comes he actually wins Best in Show......... Well, folks, you will hear my scream of surprise and joy throughout blogdom. Then Westminster here we come!!
I'll leave you with one last photo. This is Rory and his sister Terri at the Easter weekend specialty when they both went winners for the 5 points.Until next time...........
Love and stitches
Kathy
and licks from Rory too