Hollycrest Index > Holly & The Jet


"Jet! Jet! Have you seen my dog?"

Georg Issekutz is a local to St. Gallen, an ancient Swiss town in the Rhine Valley, where Penny and I met him in 1997. It was during our first show in Europe. Jet? Well Jet was his black and white Springer Spaniel bitch (Swathdale Beanos Lady of Hollybrook).

Georg invariably let her wander throughout every dog show, while we ate at one of the restaurants or bars in the huge exhibition centres before returning to one of the thirty or more tiny show rings.

Fortunately Jet was recovered, in time for his owner to make a casual appearance in his class. Georg and Jet performed a brief circuit, barely above a shuffle and stood a full three minutes in front of the steward's table, where the judge dictated critiques to a typist, for every dog.

Nothing looked familiar to us. The scene would be comical but we could not speak German, could not understand our numbers being called or even the names of the classes. I am not sure how many times we presented Holly (Ch Wongan Secret Seraph) at the side of the ring and enquired "Champion class?" until the steward responded "Ja." Penny made the most of the undersized ring and when the confusion died down we received a First Excellent, Reserve CACIB with a critique that Georg had to translate. The locals assured us our Holly was "shern" so we kept entering more shows. The following weeks, Dornbirn (Austria) and Friedrichshafen (Germany) completed the Central European Cup and for Holly, an embarrassingly large point score trophy.

Friedrichafen involved a ferry crossing of lake Constance. At 7:00 in the morning Holly slept in the car while we had breakfast on the upper deck and watched the sunrise, definitely the way to go to a show. We met Georg again and helped him find Jet, who had wandered from the outdoor bar, back into the show crowd. Shows are infrequent in Europe and cost as much as $70 per entry but they are enormous affairs and can take up five floors of an exhibition centre. They are also well catered with most owners expecting the options of a sit down meal, a beer and some healthy take away. Professional handlers are common (earning up to $300 for B.O.B. and $1000 for B.I.G.). Most Springer people use a salon for grooming their dogs.

The most interesting shows were in France; St Etienne, Evian, but we rarely saw Georg. We received BOB in Besançon. By now my French was improving and when a couple of the locals turned up with extremely woolly dogs, they spoke briefly to us and looked at Holly then disappeared for a while. Penny later spotted them, in a far corner, spreading balls of fluff all around them, having quickly caught on to the secret that you are allowed to groom a Springer.

Penny, now an expert on the internet, rejected hotels that did not have a web site and booked three days in a small room in Paris. Holly hated the elevator but loved going out to cafes and walking along the Seine. Near the Eiffel Tower, a rough looking Asian man we could not shake off, finally offered draw the dog; one less starving artist.

The Hippodrome de Longchamp, the venue for our dog show, is Paris' largest race track. It was one of the few out-door shows we found in Europe and canopies were erected over reserved cages for each of the thousands of dogs. Every kind of apparel and accessory was offered at the stalls. (After the judge's comments in the ring we wanted a smaller bowl for Holly. C'est la vie.) Many dog clubs had their own stand, complete with an example of the breed and a colour brochure. The French Springer Club invited all competitors, in that breed, for a glass of wine during the morning break; not uncommon in France.

For the most part Penny and I showed within 3 hours of home, which covered parts of four countries. While we kept our papers with us, mostly we drove across borders without stopping. But a couple of times, crossing at a small border village, a Customs Officer did signal us to stop. On both occasions they waved our passports away and patted Holly, whose head would stick out the window just at the right time. To our surprise one Officer reached in and held up the trophy, we had won in France that day. "Champion du Australie," we mentioned but there was no need -- Holly had sorted things out and we were sent on our way.

But Holly was happiest walking with Penny, along the paths around Worb, our village, past the Sternen Hotel and the deer park, carefully examining every duck on the pond and staring back at the strange "good mornings" from the locals. "Grootsee" they would say and Holly would stop, confused, with her head tilted to one side. In the snow she took delight in turning a postcard vista into the aftermath of a stampede.

The last time we saw Georg was at a show in Mulhouse. We often shopped there but it is actually in France and Holly had to stay home, as she was about to be exported to Australia. Jet could be a good chance. Georg asked, "What do you think of my dog," by which he always meant grooming. I accepted the invitation and thinned out a few patches. Pretty soon I was going at her coat like a Frenchman. A small crowd gathered around us and Georg explained we were Australian (or from Barcelona). He was proudly fielding questions about Jet and the grooming. I am not sure which impressed them: the mad Australian or Jet but it seemed to be the "magic stone," they insisted, suddenly transformed her outline. Georg stepped into the ring full of confidence and Jet won best of breed. I'd never seen Georg happier. He walked her on a lead for the rest of the day.

It was hard leaving when my contract wound up. We were in Switzerland from 1996 to early 1998. In our last month we were travelling, planning the next city the night before. Holly had to miss all that and fly directly home from Zurich. We gave her a last walk around the village and took her to the airport. We did not know her departure time but we stood on the roof and watched a jet take off, anyway. We did not see her again until we landed in Australia.

To wind up the Holiday we stayed with some friends in England. We borrowed their car and toured the Springer kennels: Shipden, Bomaris and Mompesson (what else do you do in England?). These are some of the most important kennels to our breed. But their owners are as warm and accommodating as you would hope to meet anywhere. We flew home and continued to show Holly until she retired, that chapter of our lives complete.

Perhaps?

Ron Murphy