On a morning which saw the first real cold
snap of the autumn, Keeshond and other Breed enthusiasts
gathered at Harewood Village Hall near Leeds to attend the
North of England Keeshond Club’s Judges’ Seminar
which had been called the Waakzaam Memorial Seminar. It
was given this title because it was funded in part from
the bequest left to the Club from the estate of the late
Mary Smyth. Mary had expressed concerns about falling standards
within the breed, so what better way to use the funds than
to hold a seminar for aspiring judges?
Unveiled for the first time were the Club’s 2 new
banners, which adorned the outside of the hall to welcome
all those attending. The weather outside may have been cold,
but the participants were soon warmly welcomed with a cup
of hot tea or coffee, and a selection of Ruth Burgess’
homemade biscuits. In total there were 18 participants in
the seminar, 7 of whom attended just the morning session
and the remainder took part also in the examination and
hands on assessment in the afternoon.
On behalf of the Club, Chairman, Gordon Lister,
had the honour of introducing the main speaker of the day,
Jean Sharp-Bale (Neradmik), who travelled all the way up
from the South Coast to give her valued insights into the
Breed Standard in a very open and precise presentation and
“live demonstration” involving two of her Keeshond
bitches.
Her talk was preceded by a brief presentation on the history
of the Keeshond, given by Ian Stubbings (Vandersee), who
said that he had the fun slot in the proceedings –
showing pictures and telling stories. There was of course
a serious side to it since to appreciate the breed as it
is today and to determine where it should go in the future,
judges must have an understanding of where it has come from.
Jean’s talk was followed by a very lively
question and answer session which in turn gave rise to an
impromptu demonstration of grooming techniques from the
master (or should that be mistress?) herself.
Lunch of hot Pie and Peas followed by Apple Cake & cream,
washed down with Anji’s legendary elderflower cordial,
was served by the hard working kitchen staff led by Christina
Barton and Nicola Barton-Hope. They had prepared the meal
under the somewhat trying circumstances of having to share
the small kitchen and its facilities with the Village Tea
Room which was doing brisk business in another part of the
Hall. The meal was much appreciated and it certainly fortified
those who went on to be examined in the afternoon.
The candidates were put through their paces
in a multiple choice exam and a hands on assessment in which
they each judged a “class” of 5 dogs, placed
them in order and wrote a critique on the first 2. This
process was overseen by two panels of assessors –
Jean Sharp-Bale, Irene Howe and Steve Brown and Gordon Lister
with Ruth Burgess. The Club President, Sheila McIntosh was
due to have been a member of this second assessment team,
but ill health prevented her from being there. Finding ten
dogs and handlers to put in the ring wasn’t easy,
but in the end they were all a credit to the breed, showing
their socks off for the whole afternoon, and, in several
cases, getting used to being handled by complete strangers.
A special vote of thanks must go to Mary Fallas
(Dalsetter) who, in addition to attending the morning session
as a participant, helped out during the day especially in
the afternoon in the role of exam and critique writing invigilator.
The seminar ended promptly just before 16.30 pm with the
Chairman thanking all those who had attended both as participants
and as helpers. All in all this was a most successful event,
enjoyed and appreciated by all those who took part, and
one with which we hope Mary Smyth would have been proud
to be associated.
