Kinta at the Royal

Well - that is the end of another busy weekend. Spent Saturday getting Kinta ready for her (and mine) first Royal show - I was quite excited about it actually! Getting Kinta ready for the show consisted of taking her to Ana & Ben's shop on Saturday to get all groomed and spiffed up 'properly' (ie: Ben groomed her!). I must say - he always does a great job with her! Ana mentioned she was quite pleased with how Kinta is turning out, so lets hope those points start rolling in soon. I must say- the more I see of Kinta, the more I like her - but that could be me, just getting used to her living with me and such :P

Early start on Sunday - Mum and Dad were coming to the show as I didn't know what it would be like/ how busy it would be, so planned that they come and we could walk around together if we had time, otherwise, they could wonder around on their own etc. Got to the show at about 8ish and set up Kinta's bench etc. Each dog is given a bench which is where they must stay prior to and after showing. All dogs must be benched from 9-5 each day.... so it was going to be a long day! We were told to 'dress' up our benches - and seeing as how creative I am, this is about as good as it got for me:


Kinta was entered in 2 events for the day - the Aussie breed judging and Puppy of the Year sweepstakes. For the sweeptakes, to be eligible for that, the dog must have won at least one Puppy in Group (all breeds) or a Puppy in Show (specialty). The Aussies were up first in breed judging. Kinta won her class, although wasn't really all that exciting as she was only up against one other bitch, who was withdrawn after gaiting around the ring as she was noticeably lame. Bit of a bummer as while I like getting 'first' I would have liked to get first after 'beating' another dog so to speak. Anyways - she *did* behave well and I think she looked very nice, if that accounts for anything. I actually thought that for the 'reserve challenge' and 'puppy of the year finalists' Kinta was getting a look in, but alas - it was always the dog 'next-door' LOL!

Lining up to go in the ring:
being judged (I think this is a really nice stack in this shot... I like her angles, topline, front, good neck etc,etc. Shows her off to her best IMO :) :
Setting off to 'gait':

Bitch challenge line-up:
Kinta & Marli:
Not the best 'gaiting' shot but... here it is -( I like it coz I look skinny!!!).. Photo was just snapped at the wrong time :p

'Nother stacked shot:

If you want to see more of the 'breed' judging (ie: all the dogs entered) - click here to see an album of it all.

Puppy of the Year sweepstakes:

Some cuddles while we 'wait' for the loong line to get through:


Stacked and ready to go - ugh - wind is NOT good for her ears :P

For the rest of the day - we sat around the benches and talked about the breed to passer-by's. I couldn't be prouder of the way that Kinta handled this. Kids with sticky fingers, big men, funny people, disabled people, elderly, people who don't know how to pat dogs, show bags, funny blow up things.... this list goes on. The good girlie took it all in her stride and NOTHING phased her! Compared to the usual live-wire that she usually is too, she was so well behaved - just nice and calm as she should be (and no, not from stress.... she was perfectly at home in the situation!).... even to the point where the obedience gang were wondering if it was the same dog VBG!

Pats left, right and centre:


Making it look like she owns the joint!

Kinta and Bec (Kinta is soo tired by this point :p)


I had a great time chatting and eating :P. Mum and dad had a wonder while I stayed around with Kinta as it was very busy with a constant flow of traffic. By 5pm we packed up to go and it took us around 1hr to get out of the city and onto the freeway! A drive that normally takes max 10mins!!!! WOW! Kinta slept the whole way in the car, which meant that by the time she got home, batteries were recharged and she was ready go play with Leo. My poor man Leo was left at home pretty much all weekend (you can't take dogs who aren't entered to the Royal.... pity as Leo would have been in his element!). Leo was extremely happy to see us home again and gave us a very cheerful "Welcome home" greeting :p. I was feeling guilty about leaving him all weekend so after dinner brought him inside and we curled up on the rug together and watched some "Road to Avonlea" before slowly drifting off (and deciding time to hit the sack!")....

So a very good, but very busy weekend for all!!!