Heading to Sweden for the Curly Olympics :)

[UpInTheAir:)]

Speed 192 km/hr is what Swedes would call 'full fart'

Actually got to 205

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

I've arrived at the Curly Olympics
And there is a beach
Weather is perfect

 

[Austman]

I've arrived at the Curly Olympics

At a camping ground? Are you mad??

Actually it can be a great Swedish experience. Really great.

I hope you booked sheets and towels because in Sweden it's usually BYO.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

At a camping ground? Are you mad??

Actually it can be a great Swedish experience. Really great.

I hope you booked sheets and towels because in Sweden it's usually BYO.

Yes.. All booked

 

[drron]

Actually got to 205

So it went farter.

 

[Anna]

Stockholms beautiful archipelago

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

My little cabin in the woods




And some new curly friends

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

This is what registration at the Curly World Seminar looks like

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Today while the Curlies were working I took a walk.. it was a good interesting walk with different surfaces and terrains.. in 3 hours I only saw one other person

And a snake

 

[Matt_01]

Anyway.. I know that this is a flying/ travel forum so I will try and keep the dog pictures to a minimum

Feel free to post the curly (hound) pics in the dog thread.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Feel free to post the curly (hound) pics in the dog thread.

There's a dog thread

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

So there were 105 entries in the conformation show yesterday

And an extremely impressive standard

Two rings operating with puppies then boys in Ring 1 and girls in Ring 2.

For the very few people that don't attend dog shows regularly it kinda goes like this.. each breed competes in different classes (eg baby puppy, puppy, junior, etc and in this case working dogs, open, champion and veterans) for each sex. Then the winners of each class compete for best of sex.. then the winners of each sex compete for Best of Breed. Each country is a bit different but hopefully you get the I idea.. it's not that they run 105 dogs around at once and get a judge to pick one

It's the handlers job to try to make sure the dog looks as much like the breed standard as possible.. and provide the dog with leadership and keep them interested while the judge critiques them. In Breed Shows like this one each dog gets a written critique at the time of judging so it can take some time.

Judges take a number of things into consideration.. mainly appearance (curly coat is usually the most important feature for this breed), conformation, movement and temperament (the judge needs to be able to look in the dogs mouth, feel them all over and then the dog should look like it's happy to be there lol).

It's funny.. in Australia, USA and UK handlers dress in suits to show their dogs.. in Europe it's all about the dog.. people run bare foot, in jeans and shorts.. they look much more practical

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

So now I've explained it I'm sure you're all very excited to see who won

Well it's these two

Best in show was the boy on the right and best opposite sex in show is the girl on the left.



Now I know that you are all thinking these are a pair of very attractive dogs

But what makes this even more fantastic is that the girl is from the working class.. that means that she can retrieve and look amazing at the same time

As a breeder this is fantastic news.. it means that we are not branching into two types of Curlies - working and show.. our show dogs should be able to work and stay true to the characteristics of the breed that were developed in the 1800s

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

And because I like to have a boy in every port

I fell deeply in love with this handsome guy


He is also a working retriever who won his class, got his CC and made an Australian woman's day

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

And for the 3 people following this who don't care about Curlies (weirdos ) here is what I got up to today

Drove to Dalarö..



Then to Nynäshamn for lunch

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Then back to Stockholm where I'm staying at the Hotel Reisen (Hyatt) in the old city

Got a room with a balcony and I'm really glad I did.. beautiful weather

 

[Anna]

You're making me blacksick, as Swedes would say when they are well jelly

 

[AIRwin]

Tack! It was grey when I was in Sweden earlier this month... So jealous! But at least I got to try playing indoor floorball.

 

[Anna]

I got to try playing indoor floorball

Innebandy?

 

[AIRwin]

Innebandy?

Ja! That's it...