We arrive at the venue of the next Hungarian exhibition in our illustrated series presenting the world of dog shows. We are in a wonderful natural environment where as far as the eye can see, vast mountain ridges rise above the horizon, alternating in places with gentle hillsides.
The trees look down on us like grown giants, travelers, in this picturesque region. We find ourselves on the edge of Hungary’s largest forest area, at the foot of the Bükk Mountains, whose scenic beauty and wildlife are both extraordinary. This view is worthy of being painted on a painter's canvas from nature’s multicolored palette.
We have arrived in Szilvásvárad, a settlement embraced by these mountains, where even the air is much cleaner and fresher than usual.
Szilvásvárad is one of the most beautiful excursion destinations in the country, offering a special experience to visitors with its stunning natural attractions. The Szalajka Valley, belonging to the municipality, is the country’s most beautiful high mountain-like valley. Besides the wonderful natural features and unique sights like the picturesque Fátyol Waterfall, the Rock Spring, and the trout lakes, visitors can also see the Istállós-kő Caveman Cave and the Open-Air Forest Museum.
We can enjoy a breathtaking view if we travel around the Szalajka Valley on the 5-kilometer long Szilvásvárad Forest Railway. Attractions are easily accessible from its stops, and during the journey, we can enjoy the beauty of the wonderful landscape. Due to its stunning natural beauty, hundreds of hikers visit this region all year round.
Szilvásvárad is famous not only for its natural beauty that delights both eye and soul…
... but also for its magnificent and magical Lipizzaner horses and their stud farm. The breeding of the Lipizzaner, a breed with more than 400 years of history, can be traced back to the early 1800s in Hungary. By the mid-19th century, after several detours, the breed reached its current habitat in the Bükk Mountains. Since the 1950s, this wonderful region, Szilvásvárad, has become the breed’s home because this area’s natural conditions are most similar to the breed’s original homeland; from a breeding perspective, the soil conditions, vegetation, and climate here best meet the breed’s needs.
Currently, the State Stud Farm of Szilvásvárad maintains the Lipizzaner stud in Hungary and is responsible for keeping and raising the Lipizzaner horses purebred, for gene preservation purposes. The Lipizzaners bred in Szilvásvárad mostly represent the type suitable for carriage use, which is reflected in outstanding domestic and international results in the carriage driving sport. Each year, the Lipizzaner Horse Festival is held at the riding stadium of Szilvásvárad, one of Europe's most beautifully located equestrian stadiums, where visitors can get to know equestrian sports, the horsemanship, and the Lipizzaners.
This Equestrian Stadium in Szilvásvárad was also the venue for the 8th International Dog Show series, which promised to be a great program for exhibitors and dog-loving families and people visiting the show over three days, on Holy Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, one of the most beautiful holidays. The organizers opened the gates early each day and welcomed exhibitors, mostly from abroad and partly from Hungary, with their dogs, as well as visitors interested in dogs.
The 3-day show held many exciting moments for the exhibitors, since on the second day, Sunday, in each breed, for both young and adult categories, the most beautiful male and female qualified for the grand Crufts Dog Show to be held in March next year. The international dog show series under the motto “Dog Show for the Lipizzaner Horse” traditionally awarded the Best In Show winners with a Lipizzaner foal as a gift for years. This year, however, this tradition changed somewhat.
"According to previous tradition, the owner of the Best in Show winning dog at the Szilvásvárad show won a Lipizzaner foal. However, this year the tradition was changed, and the winner received a challenge trophy. This is none other than a crystal sculpture depicting a Lipizzaner horse, generously provided by the Ajka Crystal Manufactory. The proud owner can keep it for two years and is granted free entry for every day of the next Szilvásvárad show series by the organizers. On that occasion, the statue must also be returned." – we learn from Bonifác Létai, breeder of the Bear from Castle kennel, who arrived at the Szilvásvárad International show as an exhibitor with his Leonberger dog.
Bonifác and his dog, Casey, have participated in countless shows over the past 2 years, achieving great success together. Bonifác tells us about his experiences in Szilvásvárad in the following:
„For us, dog activities are a family program. My parents, two siblings, and I always go together to various dog shows, and it was no different for the Szilvásvárad CACIB event.
We arrived at our accommodation late on Friday afternoon and were warmly welcomed. Besides us, there were many other dog-owning guests, creating a truly friendly atmosphere. On Saturday, the 3-day show series began. We entered with a Leonberger, so on the first day, our judge came from Uruguay, and for the other two days, from Great Britain. Despite the gloomy weather, we had a great time, especially since our dog, Casey, performed excellently. On the first day, she earned CAC, Res.CACIB titles, and on the next two days, she achieved CAC, CACIB, BOS titles, which means she was chosen as the most beautiful female. We are very proud of her for performing so well.
To guard against possible rain, the organizers set up huge tents where one could find shelter from rain and wind. Numerous vendors were present to meet the demands of the many exhibitors and visitors, whether they were dog enthusiasts or not. During the judging, families with young children and onlookers could enjoy various equestrian shows and performances.
Overall, everything was very great; I believe we attended one of the best shows of the year. Szilvásvárad is a fantastic place, with plenty to see, which should be taken advantage of when you are there. I recommend that anyone who can, should visit this beautiful place once; you won’t be disappointed, I guarantee it.”
At this year's show, a charity event was also held thanks to the dog groomers of Grooming Team Kft. The program called “Dog groomer competition for orphan dogs” involved beautifying five dogs brought from shelters daily by the groomers, who then presented and walked them before the Best In Show. The dogs were available for adoption on-site, and by the end of the exhibition, all 15 dogs found loving homes.
The international dog show this year also held surprises for children, as the Ebtenyésztők Heves Megyei Egyesülete announced a children’s drawing contest for ages 0-14. The theme was currently “The relationship between dogs and humans.” More than 50 wonderful drawings and paintings were submitted for the contest, which can be viewed on the Ebtenyésztők Heves Megyei Egyesület’s Facebook page>>. The prizes for the top three winners will be delicious Stühmer gift packages.
The “World of Shows” holds plenty of interesting things for visitors and families attending the show. István Kovács (who loves dogs and is also the owner of Kutya Portál – editors) gladly told us about their experiences at the show:
“As a simple visitor without a dog, one may feel somewhat like an ‘outsider’ at a dog show. Dogs, cages, stands, buffets as far as the eye can see. Huge hustle and bustle, barking, a mixture of different commands. Of course, this is only the first impression; then, once you are there, you realize that dog people are incredibly friendly and outgoing, which is not a disadvantage, especially if a family visits the show with an active 1-year-old girl.
We arrived on the second day of the Szilvásvárad CACIB; the weather was only moderately kind to us, but this did not affect our mood or spirits at all. I leave the professional review to the experts; myself and my little family came mainly for the beautiful dogs and the characteristic atmosphere of the show. Without bias, I can say that no matter the breed, we only encountered beautiful dogs.
As a miniature schnauzer owner, I have a personal favorite, so that breed was our first stop! A special experience was seeing a white schnauzer live for the first time. My honest personal opinion is that this color variant does not appear as lively and spirited as the other variants, though I would not call them ugly either.
The next stop, befitting Szilvásvárad, was not about dogs but about horses, where we were fortunate to watch a musical performance.”
After that, we visited the larger dogs and watched the reviews of the Leonberger and the Dobermann. By the second half of the day, many evaluations had already taken place, so it was interesting to see how the exhausted dogs rested in the tents beside their sleeping owners. I could almost see the dogs' thoughts: “Just sleep, my owner, I will watch over you.” Of course, we didn’t miss the evaluations of the Hungarian breeds either, spending more time with the Puli among them.
The exhibition was not only a great experience for us parents; our little daughter, incredibly inspired and fearless, tried to pet every dog, although we tried to avoid those about to be evaluated.
Unfortunately, we missed the Best In Show presentation due to the weather, but all in all, we had a wonderful experience, got acquainted with great dogs and their owners, who willingly answered all our questions.”
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- Annácska, don’t touch the white dog with chocolate hands before the judging!
On the Saturday of the international dog show, the I. Amstaff Major Show was held simultaneously with the exhibition, where American Staffordshire Terrier dogs competed for wonderful prizes. One of the goals of the exhibition was that those who had reservations about this breed so far could get to know it. The I. Amstaff Major Show welcomed more than 300 dogs and their owners. The show featured some of Europe’s most significant breeders, many of whom came from abroad. This was not just a breed club show, but a major international event, where winners of the junior and adult classes, both males and females, could return home with the World Winner title.
As an interesting highlight, we can watch a video about the selection of the I. Amstaff Major Show Breed Winner – BOB dog:
Over the 3-day international dog show, nearly 300 different dog breeds arrived from 32 countries, judged by 33 international conformation judges from 16 countries. During the 3 days, 3500 dogs appeared at the exhibition together with their 3000 exhibitors.
For those who could not attend, we also recommend this short video, which gives a taste of the atmosphere of the Szilvásvárad show held in a beautiful natural environment:
Congratulations to all exhibitors, and especially to the winners for their excellent results at the show!
Many thanks to Bonifác Létai from the Bear from Castle leonbergi kennel>> and to István Kovács, owner of Kutya Portál, for the interesting report and beautiful photos, which once again gave us insight into the “Colorful and Special World of Dog Shows.”
If you are a dog show exhibitor, or if you are interested in the world of dog shows, I recommend the author's official website, where the dog show calendars of recent years, the official 2020 MEOESZ dog show calendar, and all 2020 MEOESZ dog shows' Hungarian and English language recommendations will be available in the usual format!
Visit Ildikó Vámosi's official website, dog article writer, author:
Http://ildikovamosi.hu/
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