We never dreamed of joining the show world when looking for our new Samoyed. When asked by breeders if we planned on showing, my usual quip was, “I’ll show it to any one who wants to look!”
Our criterion was for a much beloved pet to share our home with us. All we wanted was the Samoyed spirit, the lovely temperament that makes these dogs so special.
When we got our puppy from Snowsapphire and signed the sale contract we agreed to one show. Please note the emphasis. This was the first litter sired by Tyke (CH Roybridge Ruff Diamond, JW Sh Cm) and both kennels wanted the puppies to be seen.
As I said previously, the litter was amazing. All six puppies were absolutely gorgeous. Every one of them had unbroken black pigment where they should have. They were all fat and sassy, tumbling around, getting into mischief. They were so difficult to tell apart. Okay, except for the dog, he was easy. ;)
Well, neither Mark nor I have ever had any show experience. Neither of us had ever been to a show. I can at least claim I used to watch the Westminster Dog Show on TV at home in the US, but that’s as close as it came.
So we, I, needed a crash course in showing. However before that, we needed to get our girl used to some things.
As soon as Misha was able to go out in the wide world after her last injections, we started to expose her to all sorts of stimuli. Traffic, people, other dogs, trucks, buses. The more unusual the better. We took her to Puppy Parties the vet held to get her used to being handled by strangers, and to socialize with other dogs. After those 5 weeks were up we started with organized puppy obedience classes,when those ended she went to beginners’ obedience.
Simultaneously we were taking ring craft lessons. This was a bit hard since most of the people there already knew what they were doing. As a complete beginner, I had no clue about anything, not even the proper show collar and lead.
We were told that Samoyeds are free stackers. They do not need to be manually stacked and head held up, tail held extended. Samoyeds can virtually be walked into position and stand in a natural stack. Boy, was I happy about that!
Indeed, Misha showed me at almost ten weeks old that she was a born natural!
This was all so new to me and I needed a very quick, very intensive crash course in showing. I read whatever I could get my hands on.
One thing that gave me great hope was the moment we stepped foot into the ring craft class that night in February ’06, the judge went into absolute rapture over Misha. He has been in love with her since that night.
After a two week disruption in our routine, (we went back home to the US for a family wedding), our chosen show date approached, 28 May 2006, the Bath Championship Dog Show. Misha was seven months and twelve days old.
I won’t bore you with all the pre show nerves and the preparations, but they were many!
Finally it was time to enter the ring for the Minor Puppy Bitch class. There were five entries, including one of Misha’s litter sisters, Snowsapphire Cool Emerald, aka, Natasha.
It’s all a blur except for Misha barking her head off, and her Great Escape. The judge had gone over Misha and asked me to do a triangle movement around the ring with her. At the end of the triangle he asked us to run down the length of the ring, turn and come back. This is so he can see her rear movement straight on as well as her front coming towards him. On the down part Misha slipped her collar and started to run away. She turned and gave me such a cheeky look, as if to say “Haha, whatcha gonna do ‘bout this?!”
I just started to laugh and held my arms wide, which is my signal to her to come to me. Misha stopped dead in her tracks and came straight to me allowing me to put the collar and lead on once again. I walked back to the judge and told him my worst nightmare had just come true. He chuckled and told me to continue.
When the judge indicated us to take first position I went completely weak in the knees. I was stunned. The very first time out, and in spite of having a human that had no clue what she was doing on one end of the lead, our little jewel took a First place. With that win Misha qualified for entry in the UK’s prestigious 2007 Crufts Dog Show.
Following on from that we had entered a couple of other shows and always placed in the top three spots. We had judges keep telling us that Misha had ‘it’, the complete package.
At ring craft the various judges who came in for class would ask me “Are you showing her? Where?” I would reply and then they would ask if she had been winning. When I would tell them yes, they would smile, nod and tell me they weren’t surprised in the least.
One night I overheard two judges talking and both agreed that out of the twenty some dogs there at class that night, Misha was the finest.
So, with everyone telling us how special Misha was, we decided to continue to show. She enjoys the entire process, from grooming the day before, to getting into the ring. She knows that as soon as I wake in the morning it’s show day. She can’t wait to get into the car. She will start to bark as soon as we pull into the venue. She loves it.
We’ve done very well with our girl. We don’t always win, we finish second, third, fourth or even fifth. There are times we don’t make the cut at all. But, there are so many gorgeous Samoyeds out there, so many who should win! It all comes down to the dog on the day and the judge.
But, I do have to say, to us we have to us a very impressive amount of wins for a couple of people who never thought they would ever show a dog. ;)
To date, besides our very first win, the most memorable win was at Crufts this year. 
We were entered in Special Junior Bitch. There were seven entries, three were litter sisters, Snowsapphire Cool Emerald (Natasha), Snowsapphire Royal Ruby (Yuki), and Snowsapphire Ice Diamond (Misha).
Stefania from Italy who owns another litter sister, Snowsapphire Royal Gem, handled Natasha. (Gemma didn’t make the trip, but she is making a name for herself in Europe!) The sisters’ sire’s owner, Donna handled Yuki, and I of course had Misha.
The Snowsapphire sisters took places one, two, and three! Misha won, Yuki second and Natasha third. It was a proud moment for our breeder Sheila.
I’m afraid when the judge, Averil Cawthera-Purdy, indicated us for first place I burst into tears. I had never been so proud of Misha. She was sixteen and a half months old. I never expected a win at Crufts, I was just honoured to be there with her. She was such a little star in the class. Looking out at Mark ringside I could tell he was a bit misty-eyed as well.
We have been showing Misha for just over a year now. In April at a championship show she received her first Reserve Challenge Certificate, another proud moment for us.
Following on from that, almost a year to the day, at the same show Misha made her debut at, she took a second Reserve Challenge Certificate, with compliments from the judge.
Misha still has some maturing to do. She is not quite two years old at this writing, and she looks very young. She is slow to mature, but that’s fine. We know our gal has it in her to win, and we know she loves to show.
At the end of the day, we always take home the winner – Misha.
