Congratulations Bliss!

We are so proud of owner/handler, Jen Boyd for handling her lovely girl, Bliss, Grayhart's Launch My Line, (Clay x Trixie) to a Group 2 at the Cook Inlet Kennel Club show.  This is Bliss' 4th Sporting Group 2 placement this year and she also has a Group 4.  

Bliss and Jen's great show weekend continued and they garnered a Sporting Group 3 on Sunday!

Competing at the Group level is very difficult, especially for a virtually unknown team like Jen and Bliss, as many of the dogs are "campaigned".  When a dog is campaigned, they are shown by a professional handler with a lavish full color advertising campaign featured in the trade journals like Dog News, to help create a "brand" to make the team recognizable to help increase the chances of future wins.  They also travel across the country, making strategic decisions on which shows to enter based on how many points the wins carry and their chances of  winning based on the competition.  We are talking about big money, hundreds of thousands of dollars to back a dog and it is serious business.  The dog that won the Sporting Group, beating Bliss, was a Clumber Spaniel named Semour, who is currently ranked as the #2 Sporting Dog and #8 All Breeds.  Semour and his handler, Jorge, flew up to Alaska and not only won the Sporting Group but went Best in Show!

Bliss is a beautiful bitch and shows well.   Due to the lack of Weimaraner entries in Alaska, Bliss earns few if any breed points towards her AKC show championship by going Best of Breed, even though she earns group placements amongst top competition.  She is on the Top 20 All Breed Weimaraner list, the only non-champion.  Having earned a 5-pt major during the WCA Nationals week and winning the Open class at the WCA Nationals, we know that Bliss is a very special girl and would have finished easily in the lower 48.  A road trip is planned to finish her championship,

Congratulations to Jen and Bliss, our Alaskan Princess!

Another Sporting Group 2 for Bliss!!!

Huge congratulations to Jen Boyd for handling Bliss, Grayhart's Launch My Line (Clay, BIS GCH Bzyfeet American Idol x Trixie, CH Grayhart's I'm Not Really A Waitress, CD, RN, AX, OAJ, V BROM) to a Group 2 under judge Elizabeth Muthard at the Alaska Kennel Club show on Saturday!!! This is Bliss' 3rd group placement! 

Beautiful Bliss was WB/BOW (Winners Bitch/Best of Winners) for 5-pt major at the Chattahoochie Supported Entry during  the 2013 Weimaraner Club of America Nationals week and won the Open class at the WCA National Specialty!  Bliss is a littermate to Savi, our girl, who is home with puppies.

Bliss get back-to-back Group 2s!!!

Huge congratulations to Jen Boyd and Bliss, Grayhart's Launch My Line, for winning back-to-back Sporting Group 2 placements at the Alaskan Kennel Club and Kenai Kennel Club shows this weekend!

Very proud of this awesome team and we can't wait to see their official win photos!

Best of Breed Win for Jam!

 An exciting day at the Shawangunk Kennel Club show, where Jam, CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, JH, CD, OA, OAJ, SD, VX, went Best of Breed, owner/breeder/handled over the #1 ranked Weimaraner bitch in the country.  Thank you to judge Carol Esterkin.  I was proud of how well Jam showed in the extreme heat, with temps almost 100 degrees.

 Jam stacked beautifully in the Sporting Group and gaited nicely around the ring.  It was a very competitive group with some of the top dogs in the country shown by professional handlers.

Bravo: Show Circuit 5/26-6/10

Update from Bravo's two-week California roadtrip:

Bravo, GCH Grayhart Crescent's Bravo, CGC, won Best of Breed 3 days at Hangtown Kennel Club and in addition won a Sporting Group 3!

The following weekend, Bravo won Best of Breed 3 days at Gridley CA shows and a Best Opposite.
This weekend, Bravo went Grand Champion Select at majors each day.
Bravo's "winnings" are proudly displayed by no other than Bravo himself.

 

Lots of ribbons, a towel, backpack and Sporting Group 3 medallion and yellow ribbon.

 

Final show day today was hot at WoofStock, Vallejo, CA. Bravo getting groomed by Amanda.

Bravo, (top left) in the presentation line-up for the Judge with handler Michael Stone.

Congratulations to owners Jay & Ron & handler Michael Stone on Bravo's winning trip!

Bravo wins Sporting Group 3!

Bravo's ad appearing in the May 26th issue of Dog News.  Ad design & photos by SaraRenee

Bravo, BIF GCH Grayhart Crescents' Bravo, CGC, (Clay x Trixie) had a terrific weekend at the Hangtown Kennel Club of Placerville, CA.  On Saturday, he was Best of Breed under Judge Robert Redhead.  Bravo then went on to the Sporting Group earning a Group 3rd place under Judge Doug Johnson, defeating 114 dogs!!!  A very exciting win and Bravo's first group placement.  On Sunday, Bravo continued his winning streak and went Best of Breed under Judge Doug Johnson.

Congratulations to Bravo's owners, Jay Logan & Ron Goularte and his handlers, Michael Stone & Collin Stone.

Gray-t Weekend for the Grayhart Girls! Delaware Water Gap KC Show

 Sunday was the Delaware Water Gap Kennel Club show and the Weims had an 8:00 am ring time.  No sleeping late for the princesses.  Trudy stayed with Pat in his room and my girls enjoyed going back and forth between Kel's room and mine in our suite.  They are truly creatures of comfort!

 Sunday was a repeat performance of Saturday.  Ike was Winner's Dog and both Savi and Trudy won their classes.  Pat stayed on Trudy and I took Savi in for winner's.  I was thrilled when the judge pointed to Savi and she was Winner's bitch.  There was a major in dogs so Savi would have to go Best of Winner's to get the major.  Again, Michelle, our Weim friend, took Savi in for me while I showed Jam.  Michelle worked hard to show Savi off.

Jam showed really well and was full of attitude.  After all the champions were examined and lined up, the judge had the one dog special and Ike gate around together.  She then pointed to Jam and had us go to the front.  Then placed Savi second and then Ike.  She had the group go around together and the final results....Jam won Best of Breed, Savi was Best of Winners and Ike was awarded Best of Opposite!!!

This gave Jam a Grand Champion major and also earned Savi her second major.  Savi now only needs one single point to finish her AKC championship title.  We were just floating after the judging was over.

Jam - Best of Breed (unofficial win picture)

Since Jam went Best of Breed, we needed to wait around for the Group competition. The Sporting Group, was the last group before Best in Show. We had a lot of time to kill, so Kel and I bundled up and took the dogs for a long walk and then went out for Chinese food for lunch. We then visited the many vendors and did some shopping. It was a thrill to watch our friends show their Vizslas and see Jenna go Best of Breed with her special, Miles. Miles won the breed on Saturday and had gotten a Group 2.

The Sporting Group was late in the afternoon and since it was full of professional handlers and some of the top dogs in the country, my goal was just to have fun with Jam and make her shine.  Kel got some terrific shots of Jam and Miles in the group.

 It takes about 20 minutes for each of the seven groups to be judged.  It is a long time for the dogs and you want to make them look their best when the judge is looking.

Congrats to Jenna and Miles for winning the Sporting Group and competing for Best in Show!!!

A wonderful end to a great weekend!  We look forward to the dog shows in 2012 and finishing Savi and Trudy's championships.  We plan to breed Jam in January so she won't be back in the show ring until after her maternity leave and she's in shape.

Another Southern Sweep: Mia gets Point # 14 & Open Obed Debut & Sky goes BOB!

Sky in the Sporting Group with handler Susan Wise

Congratulations to Jessica and Mia, Grayhart's Special Request,CD,RA,NSD, (Zeke x Trixie), for going Winner's Bitch and Best of Opposite on Saturday at the Western Carolina Dog Fanciers Association! On Sunday, Debbie and Sky, Grayhart Lightfoot Early Morning Rain,RN,JH,TD,NSD,V, (Parker x Trixie), went Winner's Bitch, Best of Winners and Best of Breed!!!  This is the 2nd weekend in a row that Mia and Sky have won the points both days at North Carolina shows.  Very proud of my Southern girls!

From Mia's blog:
We traveled back out to Waynesville, NC this weekend to compete again in conformation.  Mia went Winner's Bitch and Best of Opposite on Saturday to earn point number 14.  She just needs 1 more single point to finish her bench championship.

We also made our Open A Obedience debut.  Open A is considered the "heartbreak" class because it's difficult to qualify and many people NQ several times before the get their 3 legs to earn the CDX title.  We didn't qualify either day (Mia decided to go around the jump instead of over) but I was beyond thrilled with her performance.  She showed a ton of drive and enthusiasm and I had a great time with her in the ring!  We have some things to work on but we are definitely well on our way...and she's only 2 years old.  Here are some clips of our runs

Saturday: Mia's debut in Open A

Sunday - Open A again, even though she went around the high jump, I still loved her attitude!