Tracking Report

By Barbara Cecil

In the TD/TDX, held May 2 in LaGrange, Jody Baker's Papillon "Boodles" earned his Tracking Dog title by completing a nearly flawless 460 yard track in 12 minutes through high weeds and grass. (After he left the start flag, the gallery never saw Boodles again until Jody hoisted him aloft after he found his glove!) Boodles is now officially: Serna-Stedt The Boodle Bug, TD, owned by Jo Faith Baker of Jersey Village, Texas.  Bred by Ann Vradenburg and June Peterson, Boodles was born 3/2/99.

Our other TD entry was ARB'SM Treasure To Share, owned by Kathy Fish of Camas, of Washington. Treasure had a strong start, but ran into trouble on the 3rd leg.

Both TDX entrants, OTCH MACH Aerien Cadaga Bocca Baciata, UDX, TD (Bebe), owned by Barbara Cecil, of Houston; and CH Serna-Stedt Treasure, TD, MX, MXJ (Trey), owned by Judith Bowers, also of Houston, looked terrific and very nearly passed. Trey completed the entire TDX track, then missed the final article; Bebe completed three-fourths of her track before the noon-time heat made scenting too difficult. Both these dogs should earn the prized TDX title soon.

Agility Report

By Barbara Cecil

We had a great entry, great conditions, and fast, fun courses in our Papillons-only Agility Trial on Thursday, May 3. Our entry included 43 Standard runs, with 26 in Excellent Standard A & B alone, and 38 JWW runs. Coming out on top for High In Trial, as the only Pap to earn a 100 in both Standard and JWW, was "Sherman", Caraleigh's Little Tank, MX, MXJ, CD.  Sherman is owned, trained, and ably handled by Peg Franklin of North Carolina. The agility committee had had some concerns about whether or not the carpeting in the ballroom would provide adequate footing, but it turned out to be just fine. So with good, sturdy equipment in place, we cranked the air-conditioning down, and let the Paps rip!

Some of the blink-and-you-missed-it performances: Niko (Cathy Brown) 100 in 8" EXB JWW with a 37.91 on a difficult 41 second course; Star (Andrea Samuels) 100 in 8" Open JWW with a 25.59 on a 38 second course; Dylan (Angela Dominquez) 100 in 12" Novice B JWW with a 23.42 on a 36 second course - that's 3.89 yards per second; and Moochie (Sandie Comise) 100 in 8" Novice B JWW with a 25.30 on the 36 second course.

Our Agility Chairperson was Shari Heino, who kept our all-volunteer show running like a well-oiled machine. Thanks to judge Penny Winegartner for her patience, good-humor, and true appreciation of our breed. And a special thanks to all those non-agility Papillon people, who filled the ballroom and cheered every performance. Every Papillon was a winner!

Obedience Report

By Barbara Cecil

With 63 total entries, the obedience trial on Friday, May 4, was the biggest in Papillon Specialty history! Our ring conditions were just about perfect, our judge ever charming and cheerful, and the quality of the performances turned in by our Papillons truly awe-inspiring!

High In Trial was Jeannine Rash's Loteki My Funny Valentine CDX, with a first place and perfect 200 from the Open B class. High Combined was Barbara Cecil's Bebe, OTCH MACH Aerien Cadaga Bocca Baciata UDX TD, with a first and 198.5 from Utility B and a second and 198.5 from Open B. Other class winners were Judith Williams' Burnett Nadia in Open A with a 195, Edna Sillavan's Aislinn's Happy Young Man OA OAJ with a 198.5 in Novice B, and Connie Wardell's Buddy Squirt Potato Pie, with a 188 in Novice A.

In our non-regular classes, we had 5 entries in Veterans; there was one 7-year old, one 8-year old, two 9-year olds, one 10, and one 11 year old! All were given a standing ovation when they returned to the ring at the end of their class. Turning in a lovely performance for first place with a 199 was Denzel Rapscallion CDX, 9 years young, owned and loved by Kathryn Bryant of Denver, Colorado.

Following the agility trial on Thursday, Laura Gibson, well-known obedience trainer and "Rally pioneer" from Houston, had presented an entertaining and educational seminar on Rally Obedience. In the crowd, and hanging on Laura's every word, were the 19 people who had entered the Rally competiton the next day in our obedience trial. Proving that not only are Papillons quick studies, their handlers are too, what followed were some great (and some creative, and some quite entertaining) performances Friday in the Rally ring!

Coming out on top in Rally 1, with a perfect score and the fastest time, was Stacy Harris' Domino's Wild Card CDX. Both entries in Rally 2, Peg Franklin's Caraleigh's Little Tank MX MXJ CD, and Kathryn Bryant's Denzel Rapscallion CDX, turned in fast and fun performances.

Huge thanks to our judge, Hal Kohlman, who was still smiling even after 7 hours of judging, to our Obedience Chairperson, Lynda Bowman, who did a great job managing a myriad of details, and to our ring stewards and my friends -Jody Baker, Judith Bowers, Patti Hecht, and Lanelle Rachel - what a great group!

Kansas City, you're going to have a tough time topping this trial!