04/07/2025
The Saturday before the Melbourne Cup is always marked as a special day on the Aussie Shepherd calendar, and it’s a day I look forward to every year. It’s the Australian Shepherd Club of Victoria’s annual championship show, and they always put on an absolutely fantastic day.
This year I had an extra special reason to look forward to it......Cash. How incredible it was going to be walking into the show ring with the very first Mainstreet puppy.
The day started with a bit of a bang, I pulled up into the car park at the dog show grounds, next to a big white van with dark tinted windows. As I got out of my car, there was a loud thump from inside the van, the side window shattered and fell out and I got about 20 years knocked off my life when a massive Great Dane tried to hurl itself out the broken window, and barked madly at me. It was like a scene from a horror movie, and I scarpered quick smart before it managed to escape and hunt me down!
There were lots of people at the show, and 150 Aussies entered. It was an amazing sight to see so many beautiful dogs all in the one place, including some of the top show dogs in the country. I set up our little gazebo and we settled in for the day. The weather was bright, sunny, warm and Melbourne really put on her best spring show.
The show started with a parade of veterans. Three dogs who have contributed a lot to the breed, in the areas of showing, breeding and performance. It was simply fantastic to stand and applaud these precious old dogs as they opened the show, went around the ring, met the judge and were each presented with a prize.
Next up was the baby boy class, and because Cash was the youngest puppy in the class, he was last in the ring but my goodness, I just about burst with pride as I took my little man around the ring for the judge, then stacked him up for her to go over her. Cash wasn’t at the end of the line for long, once she’d finished going over the four male puppies in the class, she moved Cash and me to the front of the line and sent us all around together, and awarded Cash 1st place.
The judge was highly respected breeder and breed specialist, Nannette Newbury, from California, USA. Nannette has owned, bred, shown and judged Australian Shepherds for over 40 years, she also presents breed lectures to other breeders and aspiring judges, and to win a class being judged by her is an honour for which there are no words to describe. To win a class judged by Nannette Newbury with the first puppy bearing my prefix was a dream come true.
Shortly after Cash’s class was judged I got a lovely surprise when two of my puppies arrived at the show with their owners. Mack and Kenzee (Tilly) came for a visit and it was so, so lovely to see them! They were peas in a pod when they were little and they still are. They look fantastic and they are very much loved by their owners. Mack remembered me and came straight up to me for cuddles with his bum wiggling madly. Kenzee wasn’t so sure but she had a good play with Mack. I got Jess out to meet them and she took one look at her offspring and growled. Hahaha, yeah.....I’m sure she’s not the only mum who feels like that when the kids come home.
The show went on and Isaak and Jessica were in the largest classes in the show and were overlooked for the placings but Isaak went on to take out second place in the best headed male class. He is now to be known as Isaak the Second Head. I always knew he was a handsome devil, now it’s been confirmed and he even has a sash to prove it. Instead of Miss Australia or Miss Universe, he is Mister Second Head.
The day was a whirwind of catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, watching dogs being judged, talking, talking, talking, and it culminated in a dinner and presentation of trophies. Cash won a very nice glass trophy for his first place, as well as a purple sash and a frilly rosette.
We moved on to Gisborne where I’d booked accommodation in a motel for three nights so we could attend the three very prestigious dog shows being held over the Cup weekend.
By the time we got there, it was very late at night, pitch black and my GPS couldn’t pick up a satellite signal and I couldn’t find the motel. Anyone who knows me knows I have no sense of direction whatsoever, can’t read a map and don’t follow vague hand waves and spoken directions of “turn left here, right there and you can’t miss it!” Cos by god, yes I can miss it. And invariably do.
In the end I gave up, rang the motel and the owner took pity on me and came and rescued me.
All of those interstate visitors who came for the Aussie show, then stayed on for the Sunbury shows probably got the shock of their life when they discovered Melbournes cruelest trick. The weather went from absolutely glorious on Saturday to sideways rain, icy wind and at one stage, there was even a spot of hail on Sunday. We were very happy not to be in the winners circle, because it meant we didn’t have to go back in the ring and stand there in the freezing wind and rain to be judged again.
After the show, I went to a grooming demonstration and breed lecture held by Nannette Newbury, the judge from the specialty, and learned some new grooming tricks (much to Isaaks horror, because he’s now my crash test dummy), and learned more about our beautiful breed.
The rest of our long weekend was simply fabulous. Cash had another win, being awarded baby of breed in a very strong class at the Victorian Womens Dog Club show on Monday; Jessica suddenly remembered she hates dog shows and put on her grumpy face again, and Isaak was the same little trooper I love taking into the ring.
But the best part was spending the whole weekend with friends I only get to see once a year, and meeting Facebook friends for the first time. We talked a lot, ate a lot and had a great time catching up.
My dogs once again proved to be the best travelling companions I could ever want. They coped very well with being crated, or in the car for most of the time, with short walks and not much exercise. The first night, Cash slept in the covered show trolley outside the motel room door, but the other nights it was too cold and wet and because I couldn’t have dogs in the room with me, he had to sleep in the car with Jessica and Isaak. There was no room for a crate so he had free access to the whole car interior, and I was very pleased to find there was no carnage. Nothing chewed, nothing piddled or shat on. He’s not just a pretty face, he is a perfectly well behaved little puppy!
It was four fabulous days of gorgeous dogs, wonderful friends and lots of things to laugh about. Not the least of which was Jessica’s lack of ability to use her legs when I bought her a new silver mesh cool coat and put it on her to protect her from the sun. She just flatly refused to walk until I removed it.
Photo very kindly taken by Karen Edwards.
