Travels and Adventures
This year's adventures began with the Foretravel Great Lakes Chapter rally held in conjunction with the annual GLASS rally in Berrien Springs. We co-hosted the rally and set a new bar for worst rally - weatherwise. It stormed almost every day, forming what we called "Lake Foretravel" around our coaches. By the time we left, 5 of our coaches had to be towed out of the mud. Our business meeting was held under our EZup in a torrential downpour and was a very short meeting.
The balance of our summer centered around showing Piper as a Special in Best Of Breed.
We began on August 4 at shows at Canfield, OH where Piper won a Select Dog Award (a five Grand Champion point major) at his first show as a Special. We met many wonderful Westie people and can't wait to return next year. A huge thank you to Courtney Kniola who grooms and presents Piper to his very best.
Then we were off to shows at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY where Piper won four consecutive Best of Breed awards (all five Grand Champion point majors), his Grand Championship title on September 4 and a Best of Opposite Sex Award. He also earned 45 Breed points on his way to being "ranked" with the top winning Westies in the country. It was worth the fractured left elbow and right wrist, as well as bruised ribs when I slipped in a puddle on the way back to the coach from the final show.
On September 24 & 25, we went to shows at Columbus, IN, where Piper won two more Best of Breeds, for 8 more Grand Champion points and 16 more Breed points.
We returned to Michigan for the Michigan Terrier Club Specialty at Monroe on September 30 where Piper won Best Of Opposite Sex and the Monroe County Kennel Club shows where Piper won two more Select Dog Awards, for a total of 10 more Grand Champion points.
Wahoo!!! Piper was ranked as the 17th top Westie in the country on the Breed and Grand Champion Westie lists as of September 30 after his first 2 months of being shown as a Special!!!!!
Next was our first "Montgomery" shows in PA, including Hatboro, Devon and, of course, the Montgomery County Kennel Club. Piper did not win anything but showed very well. More new friends and wonderful memories.....
We headed next to shows starting October 21 at Springfield, IL where Piper won 4 more Best of Breeds for 6 Grand Champion points and 10 Breed points and his first Terrier Group placement, defeating 83 other terriers.
Our final motorhome trip was to shows starting on November 3 at Knoxville, TN, where Piper won 2 more Best of Breeds and 2 more Select Dog Awards for 14 Grand Champion points and 14 Breed points.
Once home, the coach is settled in for the winter. WHEW!!!!