August 24 the caravan was clean and tidy again and we left for Göhlsdorf, near Berlin. CC2000 was asked to run the coursing on Saturday and so almost the entire team was present. On Thursday and Friday we still walked around in the shining sun in a T-shirt, but very bad weather was predicted for Saturday and we had to remove the rain gear out of the mothballs. Fortunately it was not that bad in the morning and also in the afternoon when the Deerhounds ran for the second time, it was still dry. Only later in the day it erupted and everyone was soaked in no time. There were 8 Deerhounds entered including my 4. It was quite a challenge to get Cranston and Crumbaugh to the start because it was at least 100 meters from the entrance of the site, walking neatly is not in their genes! After the first round, Charlaigne was first and Cytaugh last. Crumbaugh in a tie for  the fourth place and Cranston was sixth. In the afternoon Charlaigne ran with Islay’s Rhiann from Silke Eichhorn and this was a very nice course, the ladies were well matched but Charlaigne had lost too much energy before starting and lost a few points. She finished second, Crumbaugh fourth, Cranston sixth and Cytaugh last.

Sunday was the CAC show for which I only entered Charlaigne. Only three Deerhounds were entered; 1 male in the youth class, 1 female in the youth class and Charlaigne in the intermediate class. She did a good job and showed herself well. She became BOB and at the end of the afternoon she was selected among the three best in the group, despite not really wanting to show herself! With these two results of the coursing and the show, she obtained the title Schönheit und Leistung! She’s doing well, my little girl.

The following weekend we were at a campsite near Arnhem because Saturday was Swift’s coursing and Sunday was the Young Dogs/Veterans Day of the Stichting Rasgroep Windhonden (the Dutch Sighthound Foundation) in Heteren. Swift’s coursing went like a train and Maarten had laid out a nice course on which the Deerhounds could also run well. My complete foursome appeared at the start again and this time Crumbaugh took the credit.

Charlaigne and Brandir were entered for Sunday. I just really enjoyed showing such an old, fit male one more time, but I had promised him that this would really be his last show. There were 5 Deerhounds entered for the brand new Borsoi-judge Sybiel Schroeder but unfortunately only 3 were present. The young male, John Falstaff from Jan Scheer and Joke Groeneveld, Charlaigne and Brandir. Charlaigne became Best Young Dog and Brandir was logically Best Veteran. At the beginning of the afternoon all judgements were ready and we had to show up for the group. To my surprise Sybiel chose Charlaigne as Best Young Dog of the Day and when Brandir had to compete for Best Veteran, he won too!! Leon Scholten judged this group and he thought Brandir was so good for his age. And he is! I was so proud of him!!!

And then …… on September 17 there was finally, after 26 years, a Dutch Championship Coursing for the Deerhounds!!!!!

On October 26, 1996, the first NKC in Een, also the first competition that the current WvCNL, was organized on RONOstrand. We had 6 Deerhounds together so that the title could be forgiven. At that time, it was still customary for the participants to make the dividing themselves so that you could see beautiful equivalent courses. We had expected that this would also be possible with the Dutch National Championships, but unfortunately the committee decided that they would make the dividing and we did not agree with this because the males of Dick and Wil Bults and Jacqueline de Kok showed such aggressive behavior at the finish, that the Hawkins family and we were forced to withdraw our hounds. We absolutely did not want our hounds to become the bobbin of a fight! So we withdrew our Deerhounds with the result that no title could be awarded. Well, then the dolls were dancing!!!!

Dick, Wil and Jacqueline thought differently about aggression at the finish, they thought that was normal, so the two aggressive dogs ran their rounds that day and they made sure that about eight men were ready to catch their dogs after the course. What a display, I would be ashamed of myself!!!

Anyway, luckily the regulations both National and International have finally changed for the better, so that such antisocial, unacceptable behavior results in a fat disqualification. We hardly see any aggressive behavior at the finish nowadays, with any breed. Happy!

This year, on September 17th, 61 sighthounds were entered and 8 judges had to show up for the Dutch Championship Coursing in Oude Pekela. Each hound is judged by 6 different judges and it is always a puzzle to have the right judges judged at the right time, as they often have dogs at the start themselves. A few years ago, the Dutch regulations regarding the numbers that must appear at the start for a Championship were adjusted. It was realized that there would never be a National Championship for a number of breeds in the old way. So instead of 6, only 4 have to appear at the start and that worked for the first time this year with the Deerhounds!!

They were all four my hounds but I can’t help that and the battle was no less. The three youngsters are all very fanatic, so that results in beautiful courses. The enormous power with which Cranston thunders across the field, the interplay of Crumbaugh and Charlaigne and the displayed intelligence of Cytaugh (she was completely back after her heat) make it a real party. In the first round Cytaugh ran with Crumbaugh, not such a good combination. Cytaugh cuts the corners and only thinks while Crumbaugh goes after the hare diligently. Cranston and Charlaigne is also not a good match because Cranston also cuts a lot but also shows enormous strength and agility. After the first round, Crumbaugh and Charlaigne both had 257 points, Cytaugh 252 and Cranston 248.

In the afternoon Cytaugh and Cranston first ran, a nice combination for the lure operator! The one cuts even more than the other and it is very difficult to stay ahead with the lure. Crumbaugh and Charlaigne, on the other hand, show the interplay, beautiful to see! But Charlaigne had to lose out to her brother, with two points less she came off the field. And with this, Crumbaugh became the first Dutch Deerhound with the title Dutch Coursing Champion!!

On July 23 we left for the north again. The first night was at the campsite between Bremen and Hamburg, always nice to wake up with a herd of fallow deer in the front yard. From here we continued to a campsite in Sweden where we would stay for two nights. But on arrival we were amazed, it looked like a dump of old caravans with sagging and broken awnings. The people who walked around didn’t look much like campers either. At the beginning of the evening a number of cats appeared and boldly sat a short distance to watch the hounds and a couple of large hedgehogs waddled past on the other side of the path. This was of course very exciting for the hounds but very difficult for us and in the end we decided to go into the caravan together. Partly because of this we left the next day to the next campsite where we would be three days. This was a very spacious campsite with a beautiful large forest next to it where you could walk for hours but it was also infested with ticks. Despite the hounds being treated against it, I picked dozens of ticks off them every day! On the last evening we were treated to ‘golden trees’, a very spectacular spectacle.

On July 28 we left for Västerås where on Friday and Saturday the Skokloster Summer Show and on Sunday the Swedish Deerhound Club Show took place. The campground we ended up on was a 20 minute drive from the showground and had a decent outlet area. Unfortunately, quite a lot of hares ran around here, which again required the necessary attention! Before Friday I only entered Charlaigne in the Intermediate class for judge Vlastislav Vojtek from Slovenia, she was the only one in this class, got an excellent and had to come back for Best Bitch. To my great surprise she became second Best Bitch out of a total of 14 bitches! Best bitch was Galerita’s Fiona van Mikael Nordström (husband of the breeder Cecilia Nordström and showed by Ylva, their daughter). I have always admired the Galeritas and this bitch was also lovely! So sound and well-balanced, while maintaining a beautiful topline during a very nice movement. Best of Breed was Grayrory’s Irresistible from  Maria & Åke Käck.

For Best Intermediate Charlaigne had to compete with Ray Lindholm’s Necesse’s Faust Fortunatus. A beautiful male but he still needs some time; is still a bit loose in its movement. Charlaigne also won this battle. I was so proud of her!! the more so because she behaved well and allowed herself to be touched.

Saturday we had a rest day and that was a good thing, it was very hot, especially on the showground and that would have been unbearable for old Brandir. We had to break everything up again at the end of the day because we had to check out early on Sunday morning. So as late as possible, when the sun had already set behind other caravans and the temperature had dropped, the tent and awning dismantled again, packed and everything prepared for departure.

Sunday the Club Show. I entered everything except Cranston. The judge was Barbara Heidenreich from Canada and I really enjoyed it to show my hounds to her. A total of 21 males and 26 females were entered, of which 19 males and 24 females were present.

My 122 month old Brandir was the first to go into the ring, he did well but clearly showed that showing is still not his thing!

Second, Crumbaugh entered the ring along with 7 other males between the ages of 15 and 24 months. Despite the fact that he has never been shown he showed himself quite well and ran nicely. He found everything very interesting and wanted to greet everyone who sat at the ring. Barbara had a hard time with this class but in the end she made my Crumbaugh best!

Number two was Necesse’s Faust Fortunatus by Ray Lindholm, the male from which Charlaigne had won on Friday!

After judging all the male classes, Crumbaugh and the old Brandir had to come back for Best Male. Brandir of course stood for bacon and beans in the ring and was clearly disappointed but Crumbaugh loved it and showed himself to FIRST PLACE!! Best Male, who would have expected that???!!!  

After this it was Charlaigne’s turn, she misbehaved again but still ended up in second place behind another beautiful Galerita.

Finally, Cytaugh was alone in the class of 7 to 9 year old bitches. Not that hard to get first.

Best bitch eventually became Lawton’s Eqvizzical Exuviance from Stefan Hagstedt.

Several males and females entered the ring for the battle for Best of Breed. I don’t understand the Swedish judging system and certainly a Club Show has its own rules, all very complicated. Anyway, after a lot of deliberation, Lawton’s Eqvizzical Exuviance took Best of Breed and Crumbaugh came in second. A very nice achievement for such a young male!

After this judgement, Crumbaugh still had to come back for Best Intermediate, which he lost against …. a beautiful Galerita bitch, Galerita’s Athelas, who had won from Charlaigne. Charlaigne had to go back for Best Head but she wouldn’t show her head, she was constantly looking the other way. Brandir was Best Veteran and Cytaugh Best Senior and Best Working Dog. The Paar class with Charlaigne and Crumbaugh was also for O’Cockaigne! Unfortunately they had canceled the battle for Best Movement due to lack of time, which is a shame because Crumbaugh won every time also because of his movement.

We went home with a mountain of rosettes and four well-filled Goody Bags with very original gifts, it’s great how they do that there! All in all it was a very successful Club Show and it was very nice to talk to Barbara again.

After the show we had to drive another 200 kilometers to the south, to Olerum (who hasn’t heard about it?) where the coursing, for which Simon was invited to judge, would take place. We arrived around eight and quickly rebuilt everything.

Since my hounds were not allowed to participate because Simon had to stand there for two whole days in the field, Crumbaugh, Charlaigne and Cranston would do a test run. Cytaugh would run as a companion dog with the three officially entered Deerhounds. Before we walked to the coursing field on Monday morning with the three youngsters, Simon prepared Cranston’s slipline and put it on him. Unfortunately not quite according to the rules with the result that when I started him he ran off with me after him – the line didn’t slip! I made a huge thud to the ground and was dragged along. From now on it is forbidden for Simon to ever prepare a slip line again!!

Anyway, the hounds were restarted and again showed a beautiful spectacle, nothing more beautiful than three Deerhounds in ‘full speed’ over the field.

Cytaugh ran with a bitch later that morning but after a few hundred yards she stepped on a pulley and was done with it right away. Well, she was two weeks after her heat so it was understandable.

The next day the three monkey-heads did a test run twice, they had made up for the lack of free movement!

It were very nice days and we sat together under the party tent until the late hours, luckily the Swedes speak good English because you don’t understand anything about that Swedish!

Wednesday morning we packed up again and drove to Gothenburg. We stayed here until Friday morning and then took the ferry to Frederikshaven to cross. From there a short drive to Nørresundby where Simon again judged the coursing for two days. Here the hounds were officially allowed to participate and I had entered all four of them. Let’s hope Cytaugh would do a good job too!

We stood with the caravan close to a wild area where a herd of cows, Scottish Highlanders, Lakenvelders and their crosses, were walking around. The crosses were very special and resembled wire-haired Lakenvelders. One of the yearlings was very interested in Crumbaugh and he in her. She was also very beautiful and they stood looking at each other for minutes, there was clearly a Scottish click!

The hounds ran on Sunday and Hanne from the Eikica Sighthounds would help to start. Cranston and Cytaugh were the first to run and…. Cytaugh did run! She anticipated a lot and should have had the highest number of points for intelligence, but unfortunately this part has been deleted. In the second Deerhound course Crumbaugh and Charlaigne started and that was a really fantastic course! They followed the hare with devotion and Crumbaugh ran just a little better than Charlaigne but she did not show herself off and took 4 points more than Crumbaugh and took first place with the Certificate! Cranston was third and Cytaugh fourth. They had had a great run again and had come off the field without injury. It was again a super well organized coursing that ran like a train.

Monday August 8 we went to Camping Ringkøbing. We had been to this campsite twice before and it was great. Partly because of the large forest right next to the campsite where the hounds can run free, it is an ideal place to stand for a few days. And … we were lucky with the temperatures, not above 30°C!

On Thursday we went to the ‘Sandskulpturfestival’ in Søndervig. The impressive sand wall of 200 meters long and 7 meters high was decorated with the theme of the Middle Ages. Real works of art made by different people from many countries. i.a. a few Dutch, English, a Russian, Ukrainian, Belgians and Swedes had a great time in this huge sandbox with a beautiful result!

And yes, the sky really was that blue!

After a wonderfully relaxed week we returned home on Saturday 13 August. But not for long because at the end of August we had to be back in Göhlsdorf where Simon had to take care of the coursing together with Maarten and Willem. To be continued.