Since the AKC announced the Grand Championship Program in 2010, I have not been very interested in showing enough to obtain the title on each and every one of our dogs who already holds the CH title. Since Casino finished 2009 as the #1 dog in the country, we thought it fitting for him to gain this title from the Veteran's class in 2010, which he did with ease in just a few shows. Maestro earned his by getting ready for the FCRSA National in 2012 but needed one point to finish which he did at the Sir Francis Drake KC shows in September of last year.
Obtaining this title for our girls has never been a priority. Pinga finished her Championship on the first day of a 4 day circuit in 2010 and I told her handler to move her up to Best of Breed and show her the rest of the weekend. She came away with her first Breed win and 10 GHC points over the following 3 days. In 2012, we were thrilled when she won Select Bitch at the National in Wisconsin and received a 5 pt GCH major! So I decided that since she had 15 pts and 2 majors, we might as well finish the title in 2013. She picked up two single points at Cow Palace in January, and another 5 point major by going BOS one day at the Woofstock shows in early June, leaving just 3 single points to finish.
Even though I knew we had puppies going home the same weekend, I entered her in the shows at the Queen Mary in Long Beach and she went down with our handlers, Laurie, Larry & Liz. On Thursday she had the day off as it was a Golden Retriever Specialty so she got washed, groomed and pampered. On Friday morning, my phone rang and it was Larry to say that Pinga and Liz had won Best of Breed at the Southern California Sporting Dog Fancier's big show, defeating 7 other Champions and finishing her Grand Championship! What a lovely start to the weekend and what a fine way to finish her title, with her 4th major, another 5 pointer!!
Not only did she win a big pretty rosette, but she won this lovely cutting board with Flat-Coats etched into it! Shame that when you win something so useful, you can't use it! LOL I wouldn't dare let it get all scratched up! Words cannot express our pride in this little girl. At only age 4, Pinga has produced beautiful puppies and far exceeded our expectations in the show ring. She finished the weekend off by going Best of Opposite Sex on Saturday and another Breed win on Sunday! What a fantastic weekend for our beautiful girl! Now she gets to take the rest of the year off to work, play and maybe have some more pups!
