My Week at the Poodle National Specialty
The Poodle National; The Greatest (Poodle) Show on Earth!
Pali gets ready for her ring debut at the Poodle National Specialty
Olivia and Ethan grooming a black standard poodle just before ring time.
I’m still coming down from the high that is the Poodle Club of America’s National Specialty. I got to spend a great week with friends and fellow poodle enthusiasts.
I ate a lot of junk food
I bought a ton of stuff
I didn’t sleep a wink
And I laughed with friends until I cried.
SUCCESS.
No Sleep ’til… Purina Farms!
The Poodle National is held at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri. If you haven’t already, and you ever get the chance, make a stop by this wonderful facility.
Remember when we were kids and our parents would tell us that our old dog went to live on a farm?
Well. Purina Farms is THE farm I imagine all our old dogs went to live. The property nestled in a quiet countryside with acres of land for dogs to run and play. The indoor event facility is packed with everything one would need to get their dog ready for any performance sport or conformation show.
And when Poodle Club of America shows up for our annual National Specialty?
ALL BETS ARE OFF.
PCA prides itself in setting a magical stage for the best breed national in the country.
The best? You say?
Oh… I say!
Poodle Club of America wins National Specialty of the Year!
Poodle Club of America even has a trophy and official title to prove it. PCA puts on the best breed national specialty in the country!
Live flower gardens are brought in to transform the conformation ring into a lovely summer park. I noticed many a dog in the ring, stopping to, literally, smell the flowers while they waited their turn for the judge’s exam.
We even have our own green floor with extra cushion and great traction. The floor adds to the wonderland look of the rings.
On the whole, I spent the vast majority of my time inside the Purina Farms facility. And walking into that space, decorated bright and happy, with clear love for the poodle breed demonstrated everywhere I turned… I wasn’t regretting my lack of sleep. I was just happy to be soaking in all the grandeur.
Sitting ringside; my impressions
Reading old copies of The Poodle Review. This one is from 1978!!
PCA week isn’t just fun and games for me… I mean…mostly it is fun and games… but there are some serious parts, too.
I made a point to sit ringside during most of the conformation show days. I studied the standards ring with a sharp eye, looking and learning as each standard poodle moved along in the ring.
My handy show catalog, which lists all the poodles entered in the show, got a lot of use through out the week. Any time I saw a dog that caught my eye, I would look it up in my catalog. I marked down a few prospects for breeding and made notes to study their pedigrees.
Sitting ringside also gave me a strong sense of my own preferences when it came to style. And by the word, style, I mean; style of poodle… the look, the movement, the attitude… everything that fits together to create the ideal poodle.
Observing the masters
Allison Foley hard at work in the grooming space at Purina Farms for the Poodle Club of America’s national specialty.
I did a lot of learning observing the beautifully coiffed poodles as I sat ringside. But equally as valuable was my time in the grooming space. Pali’s handler worked tirelessly through the week. Allison ran her grooming set-up like the captain of a ship. She effortlessly guided folks through the care and styling of their poodles before taking the dogs into the ring.
Allison was a wealth of knowledge and shared her knowledge openly with everyone in her set-up.
Kluane in the ring with handler, and great friend, Lindsay Gorder. This shot was snagged with a smart phone from a good distance away. Please pardon the quality!
My friend, Lindsay Gorder, is another source of information and wisdom. Lindsay showed Kluane for me and I could not be more proud of how my poodle girl looked at the end of Lindsay’s lead! PCA 2019 was the first time I had the opportunity to see someone else spray up and present my Kluane. It was an education, for sure! I loved seeing the potential that was available to me in my little Klu. Lindsay is a true master of her craft!
The cupcakes!
Perhaps the best kept secret of PCA week is the cupcakes.
YES! The cupcakes!
Another low quality smart phone photo! This time of Pali waiting for her judge’s exam at the PCA Specialty in Missouri.
I have no idea where they come from or how they get there. But at the end of each conformation show day, boxes and boxes of truly decadent and delicious cupcakes arrive at ringside.
These aren’t your typical grocery store cupcakes. These little cakes are mouth watering bits of art. They came in a myriad of flavors…. vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, red velvet cake, almond-something-or-other, yellow cake (it’s a flavor in my book!)… with decorative frosting and bobbles also in a multitude of flavors.
I do not feel an ounce of guilt when I tell you that the cupcakes were absolutely a top three favorite reason for going to PCA.
I am inspired for the poodle year to come.
My week at PCA feels a bit like a blur. My mind is overloaded with information about all things poodle. And I’m still not fully recovered from the lack of sleep (or laughing- thanks, Tawnya!).
But I can say for sure; I am so inspired for the upcoming year.
Kluane and Pali posing at the Ted Stevens International Airport in Alaska. We are home!!
I love this poodle breed. I get a bit prideful when I think about what a magnificent club we have to protect the legacy of the poodle dog. And I feel very strongly about doing my part in making sure this dignified, versatile and longstanding breed is represented to its fullest potential.
Until next year, poodle on, my poodle friends!