Rabbit Run at the National!

Ann said:
There's a lady at the show who makes wonderful wood Sheltie things...sculptures, bookends, etc. I have one courtesy of missjennygirl that sits on my mantel and wanted one for the other end. They are very reasonable, considering that she designs and hand paints them all herself. I found a link to her website -- here it is. I may have to go back today and do more damage to my charge card! :uhoh:
http://www.brangayshetlandsheepdogs.com/
Click on the link here that says Wood Artistry by Gayle.

There's loads more great stuff there that I haven't explored yet. Stay tuned!
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thanks for the link- I knew you'd come through for all of us :winkgrin::yes:
 
Hi everyone!

Well, today was a pretty good day... we got to the show site early (before the Futurity began) and got to spend some time visiting. It is so, so much fun for me to go around and see all the wonderful people I've known since I was a little girl. Many of these are people who I only see at the National, and it's great to be able to catch up.

We got Izzy all groomed up and looking good! We had a really great time showing (she looked like a million bucks!), but she wasn't this particular judge's cup of tea (we were sort of expecting that - that's ok!). Ann snapped a few very nice pictures of the two of us in the ring, and hopefully we can get those up soon.

I got to watch Best In Futurity from the best seat in the house (next to a dear Collie friend who runs Shelties Online!) and the final lineup was very lovely.

We're all pretty bushed... Mom and I from grooming, and Ann from shopping! :lol: (Sorry, Ann, I couldn't resist!)

Tomorrow we're going to the AKC Museum of the Dog. Mom was there last time the National was in St. Louis, but I've never been. Should be good.
 
thanks for the update. Glad to hear that Izzy looked good and had fun :smile2:- sorry that the judge couldn't appreciate her beauty. can't wait to see the pix :yes:
 
Well my mom Noah and myself finally made it! What a long day is an understatement!! We left at 5am and after several delays we made it to mo!!!! At 5pm. We were supposed to be here at noon! Noah is very happy to be out of a crate and we quickly popped by the show site.... Wow is all I can say! It is beautiful and ohh the vendors! I can't wait till they are open tomorrow to do some serious shopping! Just hope the weather holds out supposed to be strong storms tomorrow night! I'll try to post some pics my laptop won't let me connect even though it says I am and I'm too tired to argue with it:)
 
I was just watching the Futrity video..what are you wearing? What excatly does Futurity mean? I hear the shopping is fantastic at Nationals. My breeder already bought us t-shirts.
 
Sumac3890 said:
I was just watching the Futrity video..what are you wearing?
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I was wearing a tan suit with a purple top underneath - I had the second puppy in line in the 9-12 month bitch class.

Sumac3890 said:
What excatly does Futurity mean?
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Good question!

Here's how it works: the Futurity is a competition open to puppies bred by American Shetland Sheepdog Association members.

If you're an ASSA member, and you breed a litter, you send in a nomination form (along with a little money) to nominate the breeding... then, when the litter arrives, you nominate the litter (and send in a little money). As the puppies grow, you nominate individual puppies from the litter (and send in more money!). You keep nominating and sending in your fees until you decide to stop, or until Futurity entries are due!

A lot can happen along the way, of course. You nominate the breeding... but it doesn't "take", and there aren't any puppies born? You decide that your oh-so-promising puppy isn't so promising and stop nominating? Your handsome young male puppy has an undescended testicle (and therefore cannot be shown)? You're out of the running, but the ASSA Futurity fund keeps the money.

Now comes the fun part - where does all the money go? It gets paid out, to the puppies who place in the Futurity classes at the National. There may be ten puppies in the 9-12 dog class... but think of all the puppies who "didn't get there" but whose nomination money did! Each class placement (1st-4th) gets a percentage of the nomination money that was sent in for that class, and the lucky breeder of the Best In Futurity winner gets a 5% cut of the total nomination pool.

So - it's a special competition for the year's "crop" of puppies bred by ASSA member breeders, with a nice monetary incentive. :biggrin2: The Futurity is all about just that - the future of the breed in the US. Ideally, it's the best of the best Sheltie puppies of the year.
 
Futurity is interesting to watch because you can see who is breeding those fast to mature *adult* looking puppies, and who has the nice slow to mature dogs (current trends dictate that people who breed dogs to be mature at 8 or 10 months tend to win). I like to go back in two or three years and see what the Futurity winners have done. Are they finished? Are they out there for people to see as adults? Or are they hidden away or sold because they are overdone, clunky adults?
 
tofu pup said:
Hi everyone!

Well, today was a pretty good day... we got to the show site early (before the Futurity began) and got to spend some time visiting. It is so, so much fun for me to go around and see all the wonderful people I've known since I was a little girl. Many of these are people who I only see at the National, and it's great to be able to catch up.

We got Izzy all groomed up and looking good! We had a really great time showing (she looked like a million bucks!), but she wasn't this particular judge's cup of tea (we were sort of expecting that - that's ok!). Ann snapped a few very nice pictures of the two of us in the ring, and hopefully we can get those up soon.

I got to watch Best In Futurity from the best seat in the house (next to a dear Collie friend who runs Shelties Online!) and the final lineup was very lovely.

We're all pretty bushed... Mom and I from grooming, and Ann from shopping! :lol: (Sorry, Ann, I couldn't resist!)

Tomorrow we're going to the AKC Museum of the Dog. Mom was there last time the National was in St. Louis, but I've never been. Should be good.
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I'm learning so much about what makes a great sportsman from you, Megan. Yes, sometimes judges just don't like a particular type as well as another. Even in Rally, some judges like a particular approach better than another, so you have to roll with the punches! :biggrin2:
 
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