Texas
Report July 14-17, 2005
We
arrived in San Antonio, Texas in the early afternoon
on Monday after a long flight from Stockholm via
Chicago. We had been away from home for 2 weeks
already and had thoroughly enjoyed our first visit
to Sweden. We were scheduled to judge at some Specialties
on Wednesday followed by four days of All Breed
Shows. We arrived early and would spent the extra
days in San Antonio doing some sightseeing and enjoying
the Texas hospitality.
The shows are more
commonly called the River City Cluster of Dog Shows
and consist of an opening day on Wednesday of Specialties
and 4 days of All Breed Shows sponsored by the Bexar
County Kennel Club and the Austin Kennel Club. Thank
heavens they were located in the spacious air conditioned
Henry Gonzales Convention Center as the sunny beautiful
south Texas weather with it's 100 degree plus temperatures
was the forecast for the week. The club had booked
us into the beautiful Hilton Palacio Del Rio located
directly across the street from the convention Center.
As well as being ideally located for the dog show
it was also located in the main tourist area and
in the famous San Antonio 'Riverwalk' district.
We checked into our
hotel, unpacked, had a power nap and immediately
began our Texas adventure by exiting the hotel lower
lobby directly on to the famous 'Riverwalk'. The
system of canals and rivers wanders around the downtown
core and is well planned, constructed with wide
sidewalks on either side and quaint archways to
get from one side to another. The original canals
and walkways were first opened in 1926 and since
then the development on the 'Riverwalk' has been
extensive. Not only have all the major hotels constructed
facilities on the river, but every type of restaurant
from Mexican to Texas Bistro is located there. There
is also a multitude of shops selling everything
from souvenirs to art. Along the way you could buy
souvenirs from transient vendors, listen to the
music of the Mariachi bands or just relax on the
many benches watching the wildlife and various species
of birds along the river. Another very popular attraction
was the riverboat rides along the canals with running
commentary of all the history of this colorful,
carnival like setting.
We wandered around
the 'Riverwalk' for several hours and stopped at
a quiet riverside patio for a light snack and the
compulsory 'Margarita' which we quickly adopted
as our standard drink. There are several variations
and flavours to enjoy and we reluctantly admit we
tried everyone....several times in the following
days. The next couple of days afforded us an opportunity
to further explore the 'Riverwalk', the nearby Rivercenter
Shopping Mall and take a couple of Riverboat rides....one
during the day and a more romantic one after nightfall.
We enjoyed the relaxation, shopping, great food
and beverage. We also found time for a trip to the
pool and the spa for a massage. The shortcomings
of being a dog show judge which are primarily the
travel, airports, security concerns were far from
our minds as we enjoyed the perks of the profession.
On Wednesday evening
we dressed up into our professional attire and walked
over to the Convention Center to judge at the Specialties.
The air conditioned venue was well organized, the
rings spacious and stewards very professional. We
were greeted by good friend and fellow Shih Tzu
breeder Jeanette Stimpson who was also Show Chairperson
for the Austin KC shows. She introduced us to Norman
Gruber who was the Chairperson and President for
the Bexar KC shows and John Lucas, the President
of the Austin Club. We observed over the next few
days that both of these clubs worked extremely well
together and their efforts and those of their members
are responsible for staging a well run exhibitor
friendly event which has proved to be successful
and popular and will continue to be so under their
guardianship.
Over the next few days
we were treated like royalty by the clubs. The judges
lunches each day were culinary delights of several
excellent local hot delicacies presented in a five
star restaurant atmosphere complete with formal
clad waiters. Definitely not your 'sandwich and
soup' fair available at many shows. We enjoyed the
camaraderie of several longtime friends and judges,
as well as several new faces including Alvin and
Bettie Krause, Chuck and Pat Trotter, Michele Billings,
Sandra Goose Allen, Steve Keating, Houston &
Toddy Clark, Donald Sturz, Lee Reasin, Dr. Edna
Martin, Stanley Sohn, Luiz Silva from Brazil and
Terry Nethercott from England.
The dogs were of varying
quality with some breeds much stronger than others.
We personally felt the Toy, Terrier and Working
Groups to be the strongest. The eventual winners
at the Best In Show level was the Pekingese, Ch
Yakee If Only who won three and is owned by Kit
Woodruff and shown by David Fitzpatrick and a lovely
Airedale bitch Ch Oldiron Margaret River owned the
Lindner and Terrydale kennels and shown by Peter
Green won one.
On Monday we had an
opportunity to do some serious site seeing and visit
several main attractions in San Antonio. The highlight
was the visits to the Mission of San Jose and the
shrine at the famous 'Alamo'. Learning the history
of the settling Texas from the Spanish Missions
to the present day Texas was interesting and enlightening.
We also visited several other attractions including
Imax movie of Alamo, Hemisphere Park, the site of
the 1968 World's Fair, La Villita an arts and crafts
community and shops and Market Square, El Mercado.
Our final dinner was at Boudros Texas Bistro on
the Riverwalk. It came highly recommended as one
of the best. We started with an unbelievable guacamole
dip prepared right at the table and followed it
with a delicious beef filet smothered in grilled
vegetables. A fitting end to a fantastic visit to
a special city.
The River City Cluster
of Dog Shows is definitely a great group of shows
to attend from both the exhibitor and judges point
of view. Everyone enjoyed the well runs shows, with
excellent judges ;)))))), large air conditioned
venue with friendly club members and stewards. All
of this in the beautiful city of San Antonio with
the dog shows, hotels and restaurants situated in
the middle of the main tourist area and Riverwalk
district.
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