By Peter Baynes

Fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, if you show dogs in Britain. Acquire a puppy from a famous kennel, train it, trim it, and show it yourself. After a few years you will have broken many records, and at its final show it will become the supreme champion over 22,964 other dogs.

That is the story behind the winner of Crufts this year, after Best in Show judge, Claire Coxall, declared the Giant Schnauzer, Ch. Jafrak Phillipe Olivier, the winner. Handled by Kevin Cullen, and co-owned with his wife Sandie, Phil was bred by the Jafrak Kennels of Mr. and Mrs. Krall. He was competing in Best in Show at Crufts 2008 for the third time, and it certainly proved lucky for him.

Crufts is hard to describe. It may have drifted away from the traditional dog show. It is a canine carnival, a wonderland catering for everything related to dogs. Its appeal to the general public cannot be denied, with 160,000 visitors this year. It may seem that the conformation section takes second place to the other activities, although it is claimed that these entertainments may encourage dog ownership. The show-dog numbers are also impressive with 183 different breeds on display, and nearly 23,000 in competition. Also, the number of foreign dogs competing at Crufts has grown steadily in the last few years since Britain relaxed its quarantine laws. There were 1,165 foreign dogs this year, 39 from the United States, and some people feel that the outsiders have changed the tone a bit

This will not be a full report. Due to flight cancellations into Atlanta, we missed our flight to England from there, and arrived in Birmingham a day late. Therefore we missed attending the first day, Toys and Non-Sporting. Not to worry, we thought we could watch the groups on television. Ah! But unlike Westminster, the television program is not live, but recorded highlights follow later in the evening. Always being ringside in the past, we didn’t realize this discrepancy, and we were eating dinner when the program was aired.

Anyway, we were available for the last three days of this gigantic show, and the following morning we again watched the masses of exhibitors, heavily loaded with dogs and their equipment, trundling past our hotel from the distant car parks. It was Gundog day (Sporting breeds); we couldn’t wait to get to the show. As you approach the main entrance, there is an obvious hint that this is going to be a big show as the largest inflatable dog I have ever seen greets you. Known as “Gromit” from the film series of Wallace and Gromit, he was an instant hit with visitors who took the opportunity of having their photos taken with him.

We immediately made for the Press Office where James Skinner could not have been more helpful. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues had already told him that I was a drag queen, and he was looking forward to seeing me in one of my winning outfits.

I asked him if there had been any shootings or other interesting incidents that I had missed. Fortunately there hadn’t, but I did learn that betting had been closed on the show, as an unusual numbers of bets had been placed, suggesting that the winner of Best in Show would come from the Non-Sporting Group

There are 5 halls, plus a pavilion and arena. Negotiating the outer extremities of the four aircraft hangars (as I refer to them) where the conformation judging takes place is not easy. You have to wend your way through the crowds flocking the 600 trade stands which have pride of place in the five buildings. I’m sure some visitors never make it to the conformation rings. There, however, breed enthusiasts will be glued to their seats watching their favorite breed all day, and probably criticizing the judging. They are wise; getting from ring 1 to ring 36 is a trek not to be envied, especially if you get lost on the way. To give you some idea of the enormity of this show, in Hall 5, the largest of the halls, there are 12 breed rings, and approximately 150 trade stands.

The most popular selling item amongst the children seemed to be large stuffed dogs of their favorite breed, which many carried on their backs after purchase.

At the dog show section I can't report that the situation has changed much; I reported last year that the informational blackboards in the corner of the rings were sometimes blank. It is obvious that my report did not reach the powers-that-be, because the blackboards were still void of information in many rings. Even if there was information there, I would hesitate to mark my catalog, as the numbers could be from the day before, or even last year.

Now to the good part. They have many excellent judges, and to watch them sail though large entries with aplomb is a joy to behold. They obviously have judged many times and know what they are looking for. The rings are also spacious, and can be used to advantage.

Unfortunately, Crufts also gives one the troubling opportunity to watch some breed specialists at work; some obviously carrying too much baggage into the ring with them, including their own pet hates and obsessions. Their decisions were causing a head-scratching eruption amongst those not familiar with the politics of the breed in question.

Nevertheless, some of this judging can also be quite entertaining. Some of the judges have such a haphazard procedure, it’s amazing how they come up with the right winners – or do they? In one breed it is claimed that an American Eskimo gained a placing, although the breed in question was a German Spitz Mittel.

I also saw several judges pull out five exhibits for final analysis, excusing the rest. This would be passable in this country (but not recommended) where we only place four. There they place five, and if one of the chosen ones begins to limp, what do they do? Being one who enjoys the pain of others, I was hoping that one of the five would give up, and I would witness the outcome.

Despite some of the below-par judging, some U.S. exhibits did quite well. An American Soft Coated Wheaten took the breed and won the group. An American-bred Cocker won the Gundog Group. A Cardigan Corgi came up third in the Pastoral Group, and a Basenji was fourth in the Hound Group. A dog and bitch, handled by Kay Palade, won both Challenge Certificates in Standard Poodles. Ernesto Lara won Best of Breed in Irish Terriers; Vaudo and Tobin’s Smooth Fox Terrier also made it to the Terrier Group. An Italian Spinone, handled by Daryl Cooper, won the reserve CC, as did the Slay’s Affenpinscher.

There may be others. I saw other Americans at the show, but do not know how they fared, missing the first day got my records all messed up — blame Delta. Two US residents were judging at the show – Peter Green judged Silky Terriers and Wire Fox Terriers, and Gehr Pedersen was judging Smooth Fox terriers.

For full results you can go to the website http://crufts.fossedata.co.uk/

Some of their group breed listings are different from ours; Anatolians, Kuvaszok, Komondorok, Great Pyrenees (Pyrenean Mountain Dogs), and Samoyeds are in the Herding Group (their Pastoral Group). Akitas, Miniature Schnauzers, Standard Schnauzers, and Toy Poodles are in the Non-Sporting Group (their Utility Group). Finally, Bouviers are in the Working Group.

To prove that the heart of Crufts is a serious dog show, the Groups and Best in Show terminate each day's activities in the arena which seats 6,000 people. Although many come just to watch the prior events of Flyball, Agility, Junior Handling, Dancing with Dogs, and finally “Friends for Life,” featuring extraordinary dogs that had changed the lives of their handicapped owners. The winner, Harriet Ringssell with her Wirehaired Vizsla, Yeppa, was chosen by television voting. The presentations were not as dramatic, or as long, as last year.

The Best in Show this year was judged by Claire Coxall, famous for her Tiopepi Poodles, and an interview with her was shown on the large arena screen before she made her appearance. Then seven members of the Royal Marine Band played an impressive fanfare before the Best in Show proceedings got under way. The seven finalists were the aforementioned Giant Schnauzer, a cute Samoyed, a Beagle from the famous Dialine Kennels, an American Cocker (American breeding but from Ireland), the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, an over-awed Chihuahua, and a typey Shiba Inu. The Samoyed went reserve to the Giant Schnauzer. I honestly can’t understand the award of reserve to Best in Show, unless you also bring in all the dogs that the Giant Schnauzers had defeated along the way. But as you know, I ponder a lot.

Another crazy thought that I think the Crufts committee should consider is that after Best In Show all the judges should take a bow (to cheers or jeers), form a chorus line, and do a high kicking performance to “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” — Remember, fairy tales can come true!

Peter Baynes