After the final decision of the time frame (Mom comes down here on Wednesday, we leave on Thursday, arrive in Paris on Friday), it was packing time. I was told that UKC shows are much more laid back, but that didn't help me in deciding what to take. The weather there had been in the 80's and really humid with lots of rain. I decided on taking pants with tops both summery and some a bit warmer, just in case. I packed all the grooming stuff and Cooper's stuff and we were ready. I packed Mom's trunk with her stuff, my stuff and Cooper's stuff. She had brought some fruit for us to eat and was planning on putting it in the back seat. I said that was where Cooper was riding, so we put that in the trunk as well.
And, we're off! (thank goodness for GPS) Cooper rides well and was immediately asleep. We stopped in Lubbock to eat and potty and continued on our merry way. We got as far as Gainesville, TX and stopped for the night. We called for directions to a Motel 6 south of town. It was new and about 10 miles out from where we were. The room was very big. It had 2 queen size beds and a large flat screen TV. There was plenty of room for Cooper to run and play. What a nice place! We left early the next morning and was in Paris by noon. I drove out to the show grounds just to make sure I knew the way. It was only a few minutes from my mom's cousin's house.
I went out to the show grounds to enter for the shows. It was relatively painless. Just fill out the form, put in the temporary number I received over the phone and pay the money. Easy Peasy! I was told to be back at 10. There were 2 shows each day. I mistakenly thought that one show would finish and then they would start the second show. Boy did I have a lot to learn. The show started almost straight at 10 like they said. There was no ring times, however. They just put up a schedule of the breeds entered and the order they would show. Cooper was in the Northern Group, which was after Juniors, Terriers, Guardians and Gun Dogs. There are a lot of breeds in UKC that are not in AKC, so I saw some dogs I had never seen before. Like the Spanish Water Dog. It looks kind of like the Portuguese Water Dog, but is is not combed out and is left all curly. They evidently come in a lot of different colors. As the morning wore on, I noticed that as soon as a breed finished in one ring, they would go into the second ring with another judge. So, they did both shows simultaneously. After all breeds in one group had shows, they did group judging. At times I was really confused as to what was going on, but everyone else seems to think things were going very smoothly. Of course, they decided to take a lunch break right before my group so we had to wait some more.
Cooper goes into the ring like a pro. This is, of course, his third time at a show. The judges all wanted me to show them the bite rather than handling the mouth themselves. That worked out best for me. Cooper stacked and remained still while I show the bite and the judge went over him. He got first in his class, Best Male, and Best of Breed. Three ribbons! Of course, he was the only keeshond there, but still. Then into the group where he got Second to a cute little Eskie. He got a nice red and black rosette ribbon. Next, we went into the ring and did it all over again with the same results, except he got second in group to a different eskie.
Sunday seemed easier since I knew what to expect. Of course, the weather couldn't cooperate two days in a row. It was raining. It really came a downpour during the night and there was water standing everywhere. The show site was a concrete slab under a cover, so was pretty dry. It was, however, really wet in the parking lot and there was no dry place for Cooper to potty. Not that the little mud puppy minded. He would have loved it if I had just let him go play in all that wet grass. He looked great. The coolness and the humidity made his coat look even better than it had the day before. The results from the two shows were the same as Saturday, but the judges both said some very nice things about him. The second judge asked me to show to her again when he got older. She said he was "Stunning!"
All in all, we had a great time. My mom got to visit relatives that she doesn't get to see very often. I got to do something I had never done before and meet some very nice people. Cooper had a blast and got to play with some cute little dogs. He got a new toy to celebrate his wins that he just loves. We saw lots and lots of wildflowers. I have heard about how pretty the Bluebonnets are this time of year in east Texas, but have never seen them before. How beautiful they were! Plus, there were lots of other types of flowers that we didn't know what were.
