European Winner Show 2025 - Impressions
A look behind the scenes shows how much goes into such an event. Without so many helping hands, it would be impossible. We would like to express our sincere thanks once again to all the helpers, without whom such a show would not even exist. And in order to be able to manage such an event in the future (plannings are already running) we are grateful for everyone who will be there next year, not only for assembly and disassembly, but also to make the show procedure possible.
Day 1 - Setup & Food
What would a Show be without protection from too much sun and rain? Leaving the judge and all the organizational staff, including the technology, out in the rain is impossible. The same goes for the spectators without own equipment. And what would a Show be without a designated ring? So there's something for everyone, no matter their physical fitness.
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Cold drinks, coffee, cake, and a delicious dinner, along with the joys of seeing each other again and getting to know each other, ensure everyone spends a wonderful afternoon together. A heartfelt thank you to the Oberhausen-Rheinhausen Dog Lovers Association, who not only provided us with the wonderful venue, but also always provided excellent catering every day.
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Day 2 - Completion & Seminar & Meal with a Cozy get-together
The next day is dedicated to completion and preparation, as well as the running of the seminars.
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This year's judge, Joe Reno (USA), presented a fantastic handling seminar. With his humor and wealth of experience, we all not only learned a lot in a relaxed atmosphere, but also shared a lot of laughs.
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Afterwards, we met in a restaurant for a lovely, cozy get-together with delicious food and drinks.
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Day 3 - Preparations & Exhibition & Dismanteling
On the day of the show, the necessary preparations begin two hours beforehand. The mandatory entrance check must be completed, as must the registration office. After all, what would a show be without the issuing office for starter numbers, show catalogs, and later judge reports, certificates, and awards? It's also the organizational hub and responsible for all questions.
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What would a Show be without ribbons and trophies? They all have to be unpacked and set up in order, so that they can be short-term reached later. This also requires people later, as place the placement Collies. Likewise, the sponsorship, in many small and some large packages (thanks to Royal Canin), has to be fully prepared in the morning.
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While the setup work ist still underway, the first participants have already arrived and need to be looked after.
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Meanwhile, preparations continue in parallel. The sound system also requires a lot of work. It has to be brought along, set up, and configured, including the power supply and all the cabling. After all, what would a show be without microphone announcements, if only for calling out the starter numbers and the show's schedule? This also requires people to provide support and make announcements throughout the day. The judge has also arrived in the meantime and wants to be briefed on the procedures.
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The two hours passed by quickly. Those who had time were able to help themselves to coffee, sandwiches, and cake. The VdH Oberhausen-Rheinhausen has, as always, made perfect provisions. More delicious food is served at lunchtime. After the welcome and introduction of our judge, the judging begins. As part of the assessment, Joe Reno dictates a judge's report for each individual dog. We are very grateful to Ken for agreeing to write them all. But that's not all. Copies must be kept, and the place numbers for the placed Collies must be entered on the prepared certificates. The rest receive participation certificates. On the prepared award certificates, the appropriate awards must be checked for the two first-place finishers with sufficiently good conformation scores. All documents still have to be signed. And let's not forget the important role of the ring steward, who assists the judge during the Show, helps with any communication issues, an ideally also translates the judge's comments when describing the merits of the winner dog of each class, making the event much more interesting for the spectators. Throughout the Show, the photographer takes pictures of all participants.
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The spectators and participants made themselves comfortable or used the time in between for walks and to enjoy delicious food and drinks in the catering area.
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The Show then ended in the afternoon. The board would like to extend its sincere thanks to Joe and Ken for their valuable work, the expertise they imparted, and the joy they brought us with their friendly, humorous manner. Thank you in particular for taking the long flight, the effort, and the time to judge here with us. It has been an honor for us!
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Unfortunately, the work doesn't end there, because everything that's been set up also has to be taken down again, only it's done much faster. At peak times, with enough helpers, we've managed it in well under an hour. Here, too, everone is needed. Jens is always kind enough to load everything onto a truck and store it at his place later, so he can load it all up again and bring it back the following year for setup.
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As you can see, it is not something you can just do. Even if, as a participant, you hardly nice the effort it requires. It's all the work you don't see, but it still has to be done. Ultimately, it only takes a few days of work, compared to everything necessare beforehand, whish is then already done. Such as organizing and supporting the judges, creating the entry form, processing the entries and creating and ordering the exhibition catalogue. Added to this is the laborious task of ordering ribbons and trophies, each with its own unique inscription, as well as preparing all the forms to the judges reports, certificates and award cards for each individual participant, each with their own data, and preparing for the seminar. All of this work is something I loke to do, but on the three days surrounding the show, we rely on every bit of help to keep the Show going. We welcome everyone, wether member or not. Please let us know if you'd like to help us next year.
(Thank you very much for the photos to Gerda & Christoph Huvers, Karin Kimling and Beate Rosenbach)
