There was more success for Flint on 3rd December, when he went Reserve Best in Show at the Hound Club of East Anglia Open Show.
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Exciting news came at the end of November, in the form of confirmation that Flint had achieved his Junior Warrant. He will now be known as Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro JW.
He is the first male Norwegian elkhound since 2008 to be awarded this title by the Kennel Club. It is probably the hardest title to attain in the breed these days, as there must be 3 dogs in each of the qualifying classes and there is a time limit on a dog's eligibility for the award - they must be between 6 and 18 months of age at the time of the class wins. The poor registrations in recent years have had a negative impact on the number of young dogs in the lower classes, and it has been all but impossible to achieve the title. A young bitch belonging to another exhibitor attained her JW just a few weeks before Flint (congratulations to her also), so hopefully this is a sign of a resurgence in numbers. Of course, where there are at least 3 dogs in the class, you do still need to have an exhibit that is good enough to take the others on and beat them! Fresh from his success at Midland Counties last week, Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro) returned to the ring today and was awarded Best of Breed and Group 4 under Bill Browne-Cole (Travella) at Coventry & Foleshill.
Thank you to Georgina White for this lovely shot of Flint in action at the show. On 30 October, the NECGB Open Show was held on the same site as Midland Counties. The Championship Show classes for elkhounds started at 9 am. Judge Serena Parker awarded 1st in half of the classes to Grasilva-bred dogs. Mason (Grasilva Eric's Gift) and litter-mate Tia (Grasilva Silver Vine) both won their classes. But the kennel's stars on this occasion were the mother and son duo, Siri (Am Ch Kamgaard Kiamesha) and Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro), who took both RCCs - in Siri's case, for the second year running - and Mya (Grasilva Cruggleton With Laakso), who was awarded Best Puppy.
In the afternoon, Debs Moughton officiated at the Club Open Show. The littermates Flint and Tia both won classes again. But, this time, Tia went one better and scooped up the award of Reserve Best Bitch. Watch out, Flint, she's going to catch you! Mya (pictured above with owner Tanja Mortimer and the lovely rosette made by Moocraft) was awarded Best Puppy in Show. This is surely the start of an exciting show career for this lovely young lady. As the babies made their debut in the summer, the 'puppies' from Siri's litter, born earlier in the year, continued to go from strength to strength.
None more so than Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro). After a flurry of good wins in the spring, he went to East of England (see picture) and came home with the RCC under Gavin Robertson, who wrote "Compact dog with lovely balance, blunt wedge shaped head, neat ears, moderate angles, lovely topline with high set tail, free easy sidegait, lovely rear, nice type with bright future." As it happened, that bright future wasn't far away. At the Houndshow the following month, he went one better, winning the CC under Finnish judge Leila Karkas, who wrote "Excellent type, lovely head and expression, good construction, topline and tail. Excellent body and bone. Moves well. Balanced good working dog, CC." To win such an award under a Scandinavian judge was a huge honour and her comments testify that Grasilva is producing Norwegian elkhounds that are true to type and able to perform the function for which they were bred. Flint's siblings also performed well in the ring. Mason (Grasilva Eric's Gift) took home some Hound Group placings and a Reserve Best in Show at Open Shows. Sister Etta (Grasilva Faithfulness), ably handled by young owner Lucy Cullen, set about learning her craft and on the way scooped up several wins, including 1st in Junior Bitch at Driffield. I think Lucy may now have been bitten by the showbug! Meanwhile, Bryony's own Tia (Grasilva Silver Vine) rivalled Flint's impressive record with some nice wins of her own in Junior and Post Graduate classes. Watch out for your sister, Flint, she's creeping up on the rails! Crufts 2016 saw revered breed specialist Elspeth Wallace (Elsken) on the woolsack. The day proved very successful for the Grasilva connections.
Both Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro) and his litter sister Tia (Grasilva Silver Vine) won their Puppy classes, with Flint going on to win Best Puppy in Breed, as depicted above. But that wasn't all. Tia's kennel mate Ren (Strom Footloose For Grasilva) won the RCC, much to Bryony's delight. Well done old man - you showed the youngsters a thing or two! Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro) scored another run of good wins at Open Shows over the last couple of weeks.
At Lichfield CS on 23 January, he was Best Puppy in the breed classes under breed specialist Will Croxford. The wonderful image above was captured at the show by Wolfhound Photography. The following day, at Coalville & DCS, he was Best AVNSC Puppy and Puppy Group 3 under Maureen Blanks (Westmount). Another Best Puppy In Breed, coupled with RBOB and Puppy Group 3 came at Rugby & DCS under Ian Byrne (Kunniakas) on 6 February. Flint (Grasilva Little Rock Avec Gilkaro), owned by Helen Tress and Kath Gilluley, kicked 2016 off to a good start with a Best Puppy and Puppy Group 2 at Nuneaton. His litter sister, Etta (Grasilva Faithfulness), owned by the Cullen family won her first ever class too. Well done!
At Manchester, Flint beat 9 other puppies to take Best Puppy, giving a sterling performance that belied his tender age. He's looking like a real chip off the old block! |
AuthorBryony Gray is the owner (some might say slave) of the Grasilva Norwegian elkhounds. Archives
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