Impressions, 2003 USA Siegerschau
Impressions, 2003 USA Sieger Show
© May
2003 Fred Lanting
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For a number of reasons,
this year’s United Schutzhund Clubs of America (USA) Sieger Show was smaller
than usual, though there were sufficient world-class dogs there, that anybody
would be proud to own. The relative isolation of a West-coast location
kept many from east of the Rockies from attending, although last year’s
show in Las Vegas did not suffer to the same degree. Air travel is
down partly because of the post-9-11 syndrome, partly from fears connected
with Operation Iraqi Freedom and supposed danger of extremist-Islamic retaliation,
and partly the general economy which is marked by inflation and uncertainty
regarding layoffs by employers.
Add to that the reported
dissatisfaction with the choice of judges (something that one hears at
almost any event): this year complaints centered on this WUSV-affiliated
club only having one SV judge (Arno Humberdros) out of the five officiating,
while the WDA club usually uses only SV judges. This is only partly true,
as my friend Virgilio Garbin from Chile, while listed in the catalog as
from COAPA, is a retired SV judge. The SV has this stupid rule (as does
USA) about mandatory de-listing when a person reaches 70, regardless of
health or ability. But even then, some voiced concern that only one or
two out of five was too far from a majority for what should be the most
prestigious GSD specialty show in North America.
There was a disappointingly
tiny entry (12, after deducting the 3 who failed the courage test) in the
Open (SchH-titled) Bitch class. This was judged by Johannes Grewe, whose
club put on an over-all very well managed show at a good venue in Bakersfield
California, only a few hours drive from any major airport. He had probably
the best quality of any class to choose from, and awarded half of them
VA. Most felt that was far too may, given the number attending, in light
of the fact that in Germany there may be around 10 VA in an entry of well
over 100. It makes more sense to call 9% “Select” (Auslese) than 50%. In
my view, the top two placings were truly outstanding examples of the breed,
and like the others ranked in this class, they represented very good decisions.
VA-1 went to North
Carolinian Toni Brezel’s Acka v Seebachtal, bred by Gunther Nohe.
This Cash Wildsteiger Land
granddaughter is a well-pigmented, medium to upper-medium sized, very well
proportioned bitch with powerful outreaching and balanced gait, and other
qualities as described in the Standard. She has good width of the torso,
yet single-tracks nicely. She almost lost her lead in the off-leash gaiting
because of a poor decision to switch handlers; sometimes a dog does not
appreciate that, after establishing a team relationship with the primary
handler. Feminine and yet strong, she makes a worthy USA Siegerin.
VA-2 was the beautiful
dry and firm 5-year-old Alice Rochele-Ranch bred by Josef Erhard and owned
by Alethea Munsinger of Arizona. Despite the poor pigment seen in many
other Karly Arminius offspring, she nevertheless inherited his marvelous
front assembly, reach, and drive as well. Painted a more pleasing hue,
she might easily have been Siegerin. It was a thrill to watch her gaiting.
Upper-medium size and pleasantly stretched, she has a good croup (hard
to find) and very good rear angulation. One of the other VAs had poor feet
and pinched elbows, but the others were very worthy of high V and you’d
be pleased to have such in your kennel.
The 2003 Sieger is a son
of Wallace Agrigento named Hooper vd Rohburg, owned by John Henkel and
B. Campbell.
In this class of 28 (after
7 were disqualified as 'insufficient' for not performing the courage test
properly), he and the very last dog had the most staying power. Both were
as fresh as when the gaiting started, while the others began to tire. In
fact, the last-placed and only sable in the show, Rex Karthago from the
famous working-lines kennel and owned by super-trainer Dean Calderon, seemed
even more energetic and strong at the end. Hooper, bred by Manfred Fritz,
is a tall, lanky, somewhat narrow dog of excellent pigment, and is the
ideal of “trocken und fest” (dry and firm). He has a very good topline
and a powerful driving gait.
VA-2 Burschy zum Alten
Eichenhof, also owned by Toni Brezel.
Burschy was initially
in first place but after a long while of group gaiting, his couple of extra
kilos of weight may have tired him a little. He is a well-proportioned,
upper-medium size dog of very good substance and width, with an easy gait
that shows excellent reach and drive when fresh. Burschy was V-34
in Bremen in 2000, and WDA Sieger in 2001. He was pulled after the courage
test at the USA 2002 Sieger Show because, Toni says, he had a sore foot.
He is a son of Vando Moorbeck (Sieger Ulk son).
VA-3 was the exciting
Wildmarken’s Tito (Ursus Batu) owned by Mittlewest Kennels and Dennis Novak,
and bred in Denmark by Hansen and Joensen. Very good anatomy, bone, color,
and other attributes. Again, I would have cut off the number of VAs at
that point, as well as 2 in the bitches, but that is certainly not to intimate
that many others were anything but wonderful dogs.
The next generation of
great dogs for North America was well represented in the Youth (12-18-mo)
and Young Dog (18-24-mo) classes. I think the best of these was the
12-18 month bitches, with 17 present, one of which was excused as gun-shy.
SG-1 Rita Wilhendorf
- was a daughter of Yasko Farbenspiel and Whitney Agrigento, owned
by John Henkel and J. Lee.
She kept her vitality and
smooth gait all the way to the finish. SG-2 was a slightly smaller Dasti
v Bella, correct medium size like her VA sire Orbit Tronje; she moved very
similarly to her far-reaching father. SG-3, litter sister to the SG-2 male,
was the Henkels’ Tyra v Wilhendorf. A notable bitch was SG-8 Abba v Thurmont,
a very classy, typey VA Untox Ducati daughter owned and bred by Helder
Garcia of Maryland. I believe she may have taken a misstep or two at the
critical moment when Señor Garbin’s eye swept in her direction,
as she easily could have won this nice class. Over-medium size with breathtaking
overline and underline, she is a definite improvement over her dam Wondra
Godingerhofer-Weg, who I had seen in Germany during one of the annual Sieger
Show tours I conduct. These include visits to judges, kennels, and training
clubs as well as sightseeing. Helder was one of my group a couple of years
ago and I feel I was helpful in increasing his contacts and choices for
foundation stock. Breeders Theo and Angelika should be proud of Wondra’s
ability to produce such pups. Littermates placed 3rd and 6th in the male
class, too.
In the 12-18 mo. male
class, with 16 present, John Henkel (again!) and T. Farmer had the winner,
Quint v Wilhendorf. This CT kennel has been consistently at or near the
top in North America for many years. Medium in size and strength, very
well trained and controlled, and in terrific condition, this Benno Hohen-Haus
son made a great impression. The Henkels also had the SG-2 Ty Wilhendorf.
SG-3 was Helder’s Atlas Thurmont, litter brother of the SG-8 bitch and
the SG-6 male. Congratulations on such home-grown success, all!
The outstanding winner
of the 18-24-mo. male class was an Argentine-bred import, Dylon vd Herny
Lean, bred by E. Campos, owned by T. Suedhoff of Wyoming, and imported
for him by Ricardo Carbajal.
Excellent structure and animation,
could be a little deeper in pigment. He has a very bright future and I
hope the owner gets PennHIP data on him for the benefit of American fanciers
who are looking for good bloodlines and stud dogs to use. If he shows a
low DI and his ancestors have low ZW numbers, I would heartily recommend
him as a source of “new blood”. However, latest word from Ricardo is that
the dog has returned to Argentina. USA used to have a rule that the USA
Sieger had to live a substantial portion of the year in the U.S., but that
apparently was unworkable, so many USA Siegers do us very little good,
and only give their foreign owners some bragging rights.
I want to say something
more about Rex Karthago. While his topline was not great, his medium size
and correct height-length proportions and correctness coming and going
should have been rewarded with a V rating instead of his SG. This
son of the famous working dog Aly Vordersteinwald has many things to offer
the breed, including great drives and character. In a regional show, at
least, I would certainly have given him a V for the sake of bringing the
two wings of the breed closer together.
General comments might
well include the observation that several top dogs were a little too narrow
at the elbows. Hocks seem to be improving, but there is yet room for improvement
in pastern strength. However, the small entry at this show makes it difficult
to make any determination as to trends. I hope the USA organization
will make plans further in advance as to location and dates for the next
show so busy people can schedule better. Also, one Open male seemed to
have been de-barked; nothing specifically in the rules about this, but
it is surgery to artificially change the dog, and should not be allowed.
Mention should also be
made of the remarkable success that the Wilhendorf kennels have had over
the years. This Connecticut family enterprise has been ranked as the #1
German Shepherd Dog kennel in the USA Sieger Show for the past ten years.
Wilhendorf placed 6th in Germany recently as a kennel, which is the highest
ever by a non-European kennel. Nice work, John Sr., John Jr., Karen, and
partners!
Author Fred Lanting
is an internationally respected show judge, approved by many registries
as an all-breed judge with many years AKC and SV experience. He has
judged extensively in the Far East and Latin America, is the author of
“The Total German Shepherd Dog” (www.Hoflin,com), and is a world traveler
who annually leads a tour of training facilities and historic sites before
and after the German Sieger Show, walking the novice through the intricacies
of the “German Experience.” Fred presents seminars (slide-illustrated
lectures) worldwide on such topics as Gait-&-Structure, HD and Other
Orthopedic Disorders, Anatomy and The GSD. He also gives hands-on
help in improving training techniques and results, combined with analysis
of training problems. Fred lives part of the year in Alabama, actively
trains in schutzhund, and breeds for occasional litters. He can be reached
at:
Mr.GSD@Juno.com
or mrgsd@hiwaay.net
and his dogs can be seen
on his website:
http://vonsalix.faithweb.com
Most articles can now
be found on http://SiriusDog.com and http://realgsd.info
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