Show day

So I guess it is really about time I told you all about the show on Saturday. It’s been a very busy week this week, being back to work and all. Hence the lack of entries. Sorry!

Last Saturday was the Bedford show in Cambridgeshire. It was Kidd’s last show as a kitten. Which basically means we were just going for the experience, as a win doesn’t really count for much at this point.

The journey up there was going fine. Both Kidd and Kyla (who was going to try and get her first Grand Premier certificate) like to sing in the car. To be honest Kidd doesn’t really travel well, although he gets better with ever journey. The first show we ever took him to, he screamed all the way there. I swear I have never seen a cat looking green before but the poor chap was definitely looking slightly seasick.

Anyways the trip was all going as planned. The navigator was actually staying awake for a change. And then we take the turning off the motorway, and it all goes horribly wrong. As we turn off we are faced with the unexpected choice of picking the westbound or eastbound road. The navigator doesn’t know and I’m forced to pick one only be told once it’s too late that it’s the wrong one. What then follows is one hell of a row and driving around in one huge circle for forty-five minutes. When we finally get back to were we started we discover that I did actually take the right route in the first place and we should have just kept going instead of pulling off.

After a bit of, please Mum don’t look at the speedometer, driving we actually manage make the show just in time. And even better for us the queue for vetting in is huge and we quickly find a friend half way up the line who lets us jump in. The argument firmly behind us we concentrate on getting the cat’s in their pens and settled before leaving the hall for judging.

Now the fun starts. Showing always sounds like a very good idea until you get to this part. And then quite frankly it becomes the stupidest hobby ever invented. You patiently, or not so patiently in some cases, wait for some complete stranger to judge your pride and joy and then tell you if they think they are beautiful or not. Unfortunately in this case the judge said Kidd was not. To be fair it was the first time he had been beaten in an Open class, and I do not really expect everyone to agree with me that he is the best most, hansom red ori in the entire world.

Besides any disappointment was quickly dispelled by the news that Kyla and won her first Grand Premier certificate. For some reason our girl has really had to fight for this. Everyone who has ever met her has totally fallen in love with her, except for the judges. But now someone has finally seen what we see and said she is worthy of the title.

When the open judging is over, us owners are allowed back into the hall. By this point I just wanted to get back and check that Kidd was all right, which of course he was. I gave him a big hug and told him he was still the best in my eyes and that was really all that mattered. I brought him a toy suede mouse, which he happily played with before falling to sleep. He really does handle shows so well and takes after his aunty Kyla who just sits back and enjoys all the attention.

After the Open come the side classes. Again these don’t count for anything but it is a good way to see what other judges think and maybe collect a few more rosettes. Again ‘not’ in Kidd’s case. Unfortunately, as he had done so well in other shows there were only three classes I could enter him into. Two off which were the same judge as his open. She really didn’t like him and didn’t give him any rosettes at all. The third class, although a different judge was huge.

Kyla did extremely well and her pen was covered in rosettes. Again this made the whole day worth it. And I wouldn’t have missed that for the world.

Both cats slept on the way home, and I must admit so did I. Although I hasten to add I wasn’t driving. Once home Kidd was rewarded with a raw chicken drumstick and Kyla celebrated with her favourite fishy treats. And we went out for a celebration of our own.

All in all it was a good day, with some wins and some losses. Not to mention a good chance to spend the day with friends talking about our favourite subject. But most importantly, what ever the judge said, I still got to come home with the best red ori in show.