The 2018 American Whippet Club National Specialty, Baltimore MD
Well it’s that time of year again, time for the biggest whippet show in all of North America, the American Whippet Club National Specialty!! This year’s show was hosted in Baltimore Maryland, and run in conjunction with the 2018 International Whippet Congress, a one day educational forum for breeders that drew attendees and presenters from around the globe. The presentations at the Congress were excellent, and included talks on the breed standard internationally, whippet health issues and the latest studies, and a wonderful presentation on the history and greats of the breed. The presentation on the results of the whippet heart health study was so interesting and important, perhaps I will write another post about that separately when time permits.
We also had lots of fun showing the dogs, and the girls were recognized with some very nice placements under breeder judge Christy Nelson. Evie won 3rd place in a strong American Bred class, followed by Minnie who completely knocked our socks off winning 1st place in the extremely competitive Open class. Minnie went on to be named AWC National Specialty Reserve Winner’s Bitch among 153 class females in competition, runner up to a gorgeous Byerley Savile Row daughter bred by Iva Kimmelman of Merci Isle fame. To say we were honored and thrilled is a total understatement!!
There were so many highlights of this National; the excellent presentations at the Congress, the opportunity to connect with other breeders from around the world, watching front row as the thrilling sibling duo of Whiskey and Bourbon won the People’s Choice AND the Top 20, the support we felt from the crowd as Minnie showed her way to RWB, and so many other fun moments. No wonder I love this event so much! Like I say every year, I can’t wait for next year already!!!!
