With last year’s show (our first ever) generally agreed to have been a great success, we knew we had something to live up to this year.  With 40 cats in competition and two more on exhibition we had another good entry and were delighted that most of last year’s exhibitors had come back again.  We were sharing once more with the Seal & Blue Point Birman Cat Club, also holding their 2^nd Exemption Show.

Show day was cloudy and overcast, with heavy showers – not ideal for those exhibitors who had long drives to the venue (Churchdown Community Centre, near Gloucester) but a pleasant temperature all day for the cats in the show hall.

Exhibitors arrived to find their pens full of gifts, including a special edition cat bowl to commemorate the club’s second show, lots of food samples and goody bags from Smylee Pets and from the club (including a toy mouse in red, white & blue, the colours of the Norwegian flag and hence also the club’s colours).

By 9am the club table was piled high with cat duvets and catnip bags made by our hard-working membership secretary Beverley Spooner’s mother.  In scenes reminiscent of the January sales, most of this was snapped up immediately by eager exhibitors and by 10am it was nearly all gone!

The Best in Show pens had white drapes, and red, white and blue rosettes together with lots of wonderful prizes awaited the winners at the end of the day – bags of food from Royal Canin, Burns and Techni-Cal, litter from Worlds Best and Bob Martin, a Smylee Pets goodie bag, and a bottle of Cava (at last! something for the owners!)  There was also a special polo shirt donated by Broadwater Sports Embroidery for the Overall Best in Show to commemorate this success.

The Birman Club arranged for bacon butties to be available to exhibitors and helpers in the morning, then the Norsk Skogkatt Society took over the catering arrangements in time for lunch.  Our thanks go to committee members Julie Macpherson and Ali Ross for preparing lots of filled rolls – and for tempting us all with some delicious cakes as well.

With so many beautiful cats and kittens on show, the judges were never going to have an easy job.  Our oldest exhibit was Carol Kemp’s 7 year old neuter, Pr Snowscape Storm while at the other end of the scale, litter mates Catwo Eros (owned and bred by Jenny Sedgwick) and Catwo Anglelena (owned by Mr A Rowberry) were the two youngest competitors, just three months old and at their first show (not that you would ever have realized this from the relaxed way the pair of them handled the whole event).

Left: Carol Kemp’s PR SNOWSCAPE STORM, at 7 years old, the oldest exhibit at the show

Right: Jenny Sedgwick’s CATWO EROS, joint youngest entrant and making his show debut

By mid-afternoon the judges had selected the Best Adult, Kitten and Neuter – Coscathas Muzzi, Vanaheim Merlin and Smylee Scarlatti respectively, were called to the stage for Philippa Holmes to judge.  It must have been a very tough choice, but Mark and Karen Kestle’s Coscathas Muzzi was duly named overall Best in Show. 

OVERALL BEST IN SHOW,

Mark and Karen Kestle’s COSCATHAS MUZZI

Muzzi had had a Red Card day and Mark and Karen were naturally delighted with the success of their homebred girl.  Muzzi, together with her sister Coscathas Gwithiall (who also had a successful day at the show) will both soon be going to a new home.  Mark and Karen will miss the two of them very much, but know that they are going to a new home with a wonderful family, where they will be continuing their show careers.

Debbi Figueiredo and Simon Weightman had a great day at their first ever show, with Vanaheim Merlin being named as Best Kitten.  What a wonderful start to a show career for all three of them, with hopefully many more successes ahead.

BEST IN SHOW KITTEN,

Debbi Figueiredo and Simon Weightman’s

 VANAHEIM MERLIN

BEST IN SHOW NEUTER,

SMYLEE SCARLATTI 

owned by Mr E & Mrs H Fishlock-Lomax

Above: Jenny and Darren Handy’s NORSKMAGI HENNESSEY relaxes at the end of the day

Sandra Moore’s steward, Colin Wood, with GR CH & PR KYRREKATT KINGHAAKON (owned by Keith and Julie Welch)

Another happy exhibitor was Jenny Sedgwick who had supported the show with six entries, and was particularly pleased with the success of Ch Catwo Artimus, who won his Grand Class and went on to be Best in Show Adult Male. Mr & Mrs Fishlock-Lomax also had a good day.  They brought four cats to the show and were rewarded with Best Neuter for their Smylee Scarlatti, and three red cards for Pr Vieuxtemps Vixen.

Above: Sam and Anne Harper’s HINDARFIALL HAPPY MONDAY (seen here with Sam) had a red card day at the show

Mrs H Fishlock-Lomax with 

VIEUXTEMPS VANQUISH

Bridget Beavil with 

FIORDFELINES MAGIC MAN

Our Show Manager, Carol Pike, was very happy with how the second show had gone, and everyone I spoke to on the day had enjoyed themselves, whether their cats had been successful or not, and have all said they will be back next year.

As well as a big thank you to Carol for all her hard work in ensuring that the show ran smoothly, the Society’s thanks must also go to Maureen Savage for her kind donation which enabled us to buy a commemorative cat bowl for each exhibit; to Jenny Sedgwick for her donation of Celtic spoons, dishes, decanters and bells as “specials”; to Royal Canin, Burns, Smylee Pets, Techni-Cal and Worlds Best Catlitter for Best in Show prizes - additonally to James Wellbeloved for providing samples for every competitor; to Lindsey Grant who ran the table; to Sam and Anne Harper and Beverley Spooner for all their hard work getting the club stall, Best in Show pens, and all the goodies in the pens ready on Friday afternoon; to our judges (Daphne Butters, Philippa Holmes, Sandra Moore and Jonathan Cohen) and all their stewards - and to everyone else who helped at the show and made it such a great success.

So now the Committee are looking forward to next year when we hope to see you all again at our third exemption show (same venue, 29 July 2006).

BEST IN SHOW FEMALE KITTEN, Lindsey Grant’s VERDICATZ FINN

Ali Ross’s NORDLYS FALLOW

Mark and Karen Kestle’s 

COSCATHAS GWITHIALL

Full Best in Show results

OVERALL BEST IN SHOW/Best Adult/Best Adult Female:
COSCATHAS MUZZI
Owners/Breeders: Mr M A & Mrs K J Kestle

Best Adult Male:
CH CATWO ARTIMUS
Owner/Breeder: Mrs J Sedgwick

Best Kitten/Best Male Kitten
VANAHEIM MERLIN
Owners: Mr & Ms S & D Weightman & Figueiredo
Breeder: Mrs L J Grant

Best Female Kitten
VERDICATZ FINN
Owner: Mrs L J Grant
Breeders: Mr S W & Mrs E A Harper

Best Neuter/Best Male Neuter
SMYLEE SCARLATTI
Owners: Mr E & Mrs H Fishlock-Lomax
Breeders: Mr M D A & Mrs J E Bewson

Best Female Neuter
CH & PR KYRREKATT LILIBET
Owner: Miss S Startin
Breeders: Mr B & Mrs E Hancock