By Pat Gellerman

American & Canadian Ch. Efbe’s Hidalgo At Goodspice
Wins the 2008 World Show

Margery Good from the Goodspice Kennel in Pennsylvania beat 21,000 dogs at the 2008 World Show in Stockholm, Sweden. The dog was bred by France Bergeron in Canada and is owned by Marjery and Richard Good and Sandra Middlebrooks.

Reserve BIS was a Pharaoh, third was a black American Cocker Spaniel, and fourth went to a Dwarf Poodle.

Margery won the Terrier Group and sparkled in a bright red suit. The next afternoon, in another shade of red, she went BIS. One of the prizes for BIS was a Toyota auto which she might find to be a problem bringing home. Marjery also won the Terrier show with her famous Sealyham a few days prior to the All-Breed show.

The show was held in a huge convention hall with lots of room for large rings, grooming, numerous vendors, restaurants and an auditorium where groups were presented. Group time was 3:30 pm each day, and prior to the judging the Swedes presented a playlet each day on the four seasons in Sweden and their music and customs. The breeds of Sweden were also on stage and the judges were fed Swedish food and drink during the presentation.

The groups were pre-judged so judging was fast. Groups were Junior, Veterans, Brace, Team, and Working, Pastoral, Terrier, Companion, Dachs-hund, Scenthound, and Sighthound. Two or three groups were judged each afternoon. One of my favorite groups was the Veteran group for dogs 8 years of age and over. Most of these dogs could have been shown as three year olds. The idea of having groups start at 3:30 pm gave exhibitors and spectators time to have dinner after judging.

Dogs were kept on camping grounds a few miles outside of the city. The campers are much smaller than the large American motor homes and exhibitors also pitched tents for sleeping. There was also a “doggie” hotel in Stockholm for those who wanted their dogs with them.

The Swedes are elegant and dress well. However, exhibitors are more casual here and because of warm weather the ladies wore sundress, halters, and some strapless dresses. Some of the men wore jeans and a sport shirt.

Dogs were well-groomed and shown, for the most part, by their breeders and owners. One gets used to the undocked tails and ears since they are very prevalent. World Shows are great reunion spots. If you travel overseas to judge you will see old friends and have time to spend together.

We had a choice of two hotels on the Fresh Pond Travel Tour. One in the city and the other at the show site. We opted to stay in town for the Central Railway Station, three stops on a very modern train and a walk to the convention center.

Stockholm is an old and exquisite city with many interesting things to see. Many dog show people took cruises since the city is built on a number of islands protected from the sea by Skargarden, the Stockholm archipelago.

Since our American dollar is not worth much overseas, we found everything was expensive for us. A salad and a wine for lunch ran $40 and an ice cream cone and bottle of water came in over $10. The fish is a great treat as the Swedes have some varieties we do not find in the States.

Everyone in Sweden drives smaller cars as their gas is around $12 per gallon, but the cabs were Volvo stationwagons.

Summing up this World Show the Swedes did a super job and everything was run on time. Most of them speak English which is a great convenience and will gladly help you at the show or in town.