Ooooer, what a palaver! I’m not going to forget today’s ESCS show in a hurry as it was a truly bizarre experience.
Pearl won her open (eventually) and had a first, two seconds and a third in her side classes, but it’s a loooooong story. The fickle gods of cat showing have really got it in for me at the moment… (Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me!)
Put Pearl in her pen and gave her a quick brush before judging. She had Sue Sue (a white girl) and a bunch of kittens to her right and three tortie & whites to her left. Didn’t think anything to it and went to pick up my catalogue and watch the judging from the side of the hall. It was when I went to look up the results on the board and mark up my catalogue that I and a few other exhibitors noticed that one of the torties had been entered in the AOC class under the description of “calico”.
Invariably I got that same sinking feeling that I had at the National.
Of course, the said cat (which was white with some black and ginger splotches) had gone and won the AOC open class, with Pearl second and Sue Sue in third. Along with this open win went a trophy and a BIS nomination...
So I decided to go and have a quiet word with the show manager about it, whereby the reply to my query was that all he has to go on what the person describes the cat as – in this case a calico – and thus take it as given. All he did was say it was a fait acompli and offered apologies but little else.
It then transpired that someone had their hands on a catalogue from last year which showed that the cat in question was actually entered in the tortie / tortie & white open last year.
An experienced HP exhibitor went back to bend the ear of the show manager and after a long discussion, all the open class rosettes and prize cards were removed, not just from all the cats in the tortie class, but also for the AOC class. The tortie cat that was in the AOC class was moved to the tortie class and both classes were then rejudged – this time with all the cats in the correct classes. Apparently some folks weren’t happy…
The cat that was originally entered into the AOC class ended up winning the tortie class – a shame for the cat that won the tortie open originally, but had all cats been entered in the correct classes in the first place, the result wouldn’t have been any different.
Of course the AOC class was rejudged as well (poor Pearl was at the end of her tether by then, bless her) and she beat Sue Sue for a second time to win the AOC open for the second year running and retaining the trophy that had originally been awarded to the other cat. Her other first place was in the shorthaired cat shown in best condition class – of which I am ineffably proud.
Pearl also got considered for BIS but missed out on best shorthaired adult in a head to head between her and that bloomin’ tortie… Actually, this tortie was a truly lovely cat and she went on to take the overall non-pedigree BIS.
But it was a frustrating and bizarre day, but in the end, things did get straightened out some. I think it proves that showing can be a strange experience sometimes and that well, you can’t take anything for granted – every time I’ve gone showing, I’ve experienced something different. But after today, both Pearl and I are tired and frazzled and poor Pearl’s patience had worn a bit thin with all the shenanigans.
We’ll feel better in the morning, I’m sure.
Amusing moment of the day was capturing a red silver tabby and white Exotic that had decided to take advantage of his mummy’s moment of inattention and go for a constitutional around the show hall...
He didn’t object in the slightest to being picked up and he purred like crazy as I cuddled him and held him like a baby and he purred away, bless him. They’re such plush cats I can understand why they call them teddybear cats…
Anyway, have attached some pics of madam from today.
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