On June 26-27, my Pyrenean Shepherd Hemi competed in her first conformation show.  It was held in Hutto, TX and was sponsored by IABCA -- International All Breed Canine Association.  For friends and family unfamiliar with conformation, this show is like Westminster that you see on TV.  Each dog is compared against the breed standard, which is a written description of the ideal specimen of that breed.  Every breed has its own breed standard.  Unlike AKC shows, in IABCA, the judges give you a written critique of your dog so you can see their opinions.

I had practiced a few times with Bev Neason, one of my students who is active in conformation with her Goldens.  She gave me lots of good tips, including that I should wear all black clothes so that Hemi's beautiful coloring would really stand out.  (as seen in the photos!)  I taught Hemi how to stand properly and bought a little hand-held squeaky toy that would make her look alert and give a nice facial expression.

At IABCA shows, dogs are given various ratings, as compared against the breed standard.  V-1 is the highest and means "Very Excellent".  V-2 is the next, meaning "Excellent but not as good as V-1" and so on.  In order to finish an International Championship, a dog must receive (3) ratings of V-1 from different judges, at least one of which is not from the US. 

At the Hutto show, Hemi was reviewed by two US judges and two international judges.  They *all* gave her the highest rating!  That means she is now an International Champion!  I was thrilled that Hemi did so well at her very first show.  Comments about her included:

Overall Impression:  good breed type, well presented, healthy, energetic, good proportions, nicely balanced
Coat:  excellent, good texture
Head:  great expression, very nice head
Bite:  scissors, excellent
Eyes:  good dark eye, soulful, great liquidity, almond eyes
Ears:  natural, good ear set and placement
Chest:  good strength, good depth of chest
Front Angulation:  excellent, good reach in front
Back Angulation:  good rear drive, excellent strong hocks, well let down
Top Line:  excellent, firm
Tail:  excellent, well-carried
Movement:  very attractive, moves free and easy

After winning Best of Breed (meaning she was the best Pyrenean Shepherd at the show - which was pretty easy since she was the *only* PS at the show!) we went to compete in Group.  This is when the best dog of each breed within a particular group (like Herding, Terriers, Toy, etc…) come together.  The judge reviews all the dogs in the Group and picks first place, second place and third place, which is called Group 1, Group 2 & Group 3.  In the Herding Group at this show, I think there must have been 10-15 dogs ranging from a German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd, Border Collie, Corgi, Sheltie, Shiloh Shepherd, Miniature Australian Shepherd, Bouvier, and more.  Whichever dog gets Group 1 continues on to compete for Best in Show, which is the best seven dogs in the whole show.  Competing for BIS is a real honor!