Tequila and Maya's First Show Results

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13th March 2012, 02:33 PM
LilyC

Tequila and Maya's First Show Results

First off, being a newbie at shows we have no clue as to how things work. No idea what the judges look for, didn't now that there were politics involved, and didn't know how the scoring system worked. We went into the show just for fun.

This is how they did. 3 days, 15 rings in total.

Maya was up against 3 others in her color class and 8 in total in her division.

In 7 rings -1st in Color
In 3 rings - 2nd in Color
In 4 Rings - 3rd in Color
In 1 Ring - 4th in Color

In 3 rings - Best in Division
In 2 rings - 2nd Best in Division
In 2 rings - 3rd Best In Division

In 1 ring - Best of Breed
In 2 rings 2nd BOB
In 4 rings - 3rd BOB

In 2 finals - 9th Best All Breed Kittens

Tequila was entered in the LH Alters. In his color class, he was up against a 2.5yr old Maine Coon with White and in his division was also up against a 9mth old brown tabby. Not a lot of competition but not exactly a level playing field either.

In all 15 rings - 1st in Color

In 4 rings - Best of Division
In 11 rings - 2nd BOD

In 1 ring - Best of Breed
In 6 rings - 2nd BOB
In 8 rings - 3rd BOB

No finals for my boy.

It was a definite eye opener, great experience on how cat shows work. Some of other MC exhibitors were nice and cordial but the MC breeders just ignored us but one. She was rude to us until we told her that we were not breeders, then she was more cordial. She didn't talk to us after Maya was outdoing her little guy. I guess they feel threatened is what I was told. We're taking points away from their kittens. Make sense?

The best part of the show was the spectators. To show off Tequila and Maya and receive all compliments that we got made them Champions already. Most said, they brought the wrong handbag cuz both of them won't fit into their little purse. And lastly, being able to promote the breed and educate people about them. It was awesome. I think we persuaded people to consider the Maine Coon breed which was nice.

So that's the short version of how our kids did at the show. Very proud of them. We have decided to keep on showing just for fun. This gives us an outing to brag about our furbabies.
13th March 2012, 03:38 PM
H&SWells

bitten by the bug just like me - dont know if i could manage 3 days of trying to keep mine looking good though, we were lucky and went withour breeder the first time so didnt get ignored, in fact a lot of people gave us advise and someone who loves reds even helped get eric looking his best , no easy task since his belly looks like it has been permed and he hates his back legs being groomed.
13th March 2012, 04:06 PM
LilyC

You are lucky that you got to show with your breeder.

Yup.. the show bug bit me.

3 days is very long. It was Fri, Sat and Sun. Friday started late afternoon, not so many spectators. Since we are really there to show and brag about them, we're just going to do Sat and Sun only.

It was really tough to keep the them groomed. I got fantasic show bath routine and grooming tips from my breeder which held up for the the 3 days. Most of the time when i knew it was time for Tequila to go into the ring, I would just give him a quick brush and that was it. There were some rings that we had just waken him up and put him into the ring without brushing him and he still placed well. Maya hardly got any brushing before going into the rings. Her coat was more easily to maintain.

Thankfully, neither of them minded the grooming.
13th March 2012, 05:16 PM
pralinehalo

Congrats, it sounds like they did really well! Bit of a shame about the other people showing being so offish, I've only ever gone with a friend but I have noticed that some people seem to think you're beneath them...
13th March 2012, 05:42 PM
YvonnePhoto

Congratulations to both cats and to you Lily, sounds like you are taking the show thing with the right attitude, but I understand what you mean. Many many years ago I worked for a BSH breeder and attended a couple of shows here in the UK - the politics and general bitchiness really shocked me at the time. It is also quite weird reading this thread - a friend of ours who owns a young Norwegian Forest Cat came round to meet Ella today [MC's were their other possible choice when they were looking at getting a kitten, so fancied meeting her] and we were chatting about showing. They are thinking about it and have a good relationship with their breeder who seems to be offering advice and support should they go ahead, which is good news. :thumbup:
13th March 2012, 06:34 PM
LilyC

Quote:

Originally Posted by YvonnePhoto

Congratulations to both cats and to you Lily, sounds like you are taking the show thing with the right attitude, but I understand what you mean. Many many years ago I worked for a BSH breeder and attended a couple of shows here in the UK - the politics and general bitchiness really shocked me at the time. It is also quite weird reading this thread - a friend of ours who owns a young Norwegian Forest Cat came round to meet Ella today [MC's were their other possible choice when they were looking at getting a kitten, so fancied meeting her] and we were chatting about showing. They are thinking about it and have a good relationship with their breeder who seems to be offering advice and support should they go ahead, which is good news. :thumbup:

Thanks Yvonne. My husband was the one that caught onto the politics and the favoritism of some breeders. It didn't totally surprise me about the politics but what i did that caught my attention was how the judges were biased. Some judges have known these breeder/exhibitors for a loonnngg time, they may have known them on a personal level and/or have worked as a judge hired by these breeders/exhibitors. I can see the favoritism in the scores Maya got. It was mainly in the kitten division that I saw this unfairness. But like I said, it doesn't matter to us as we are only doing it for fun. It's just not right for those who want a fair competition.

Having a good breeder willing to offer guidance, advice and support is huge. It makes it just a little easier than going in cold. I am so blessed to have my husband on board with the showings. I could have not done it myself with 2 furballs in different classes.

Good luck to your friend. BTW, at our show the NFC won the spectators award.
13th March 2012, 06:37 PM
LilyC

Quote:

Originally Posted by pralinehalo

Congrats, it sounds like they did really well! Bit of a shame about the other people showing being so offish, I've only ever gone with a friend but I have noticed that some people seem to think you're beneath them...

Thanks pralinehalo! It is unfortunate that those feeling can't be put aside and just share the love for these furballs.