I would like to start my report by expressing my appreciation, as a visiting judge, for the prior consultation in regard to any requirements, for the warm welcome at the airport, the outstanding quality of the accommodation provided and for the general hospitality shown to me over the weekend. Judges are often away from their own homes regularly and the consideration of all these details is greatly appreciated.
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| Janis Christison |
I also really appreciated having an itemised itinerary sent prior to the show setting out in full detail all the arrangements and bookings for the weekend. Thank you to the club members/committee who contributed their time and skills in any way towards the smooth running of the show. My judge's gift was special and truly appreciated.
The show venue was the same as where I had previously judged for the Club and it is certainly a great venue with excellent lighting for judging. The show ran to timetable which is a credit to the show management - congratulations! Show catering was outstanding as is par for the course in New Zealand - I ate my way through as much home cooked fare as I could both days - thank you, it was amazing!
I would like to officially thank my steward/clerk Marion Petley and my handlers Rex and Jan for their expert and friendly assistance over the weekend. Good stewards and handlers are worth their weight in gold and make a judge's job flow as it should. It was a pleasure to work with all of you and I hope we can do so again in the future.
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This show had a wonderful entry overall. The Domestic and Companion section was well represented and featured many stunningly beautiful cats, much loved pets that were all in excellent condition - this was a very difficult section to rank as they are all so beautiful.
Shorthair Section in the pedigrees was not as large in number as I had expected but the quality was high - I was particularly impressed with the general quality of the Orientals and Siamese on show - beautiful balanced type, stunning bodies, superb coat textures and fabulous personalities. It was wonderful to see beautiful expressions with correct eye size, shape and colour. Other shorthair breeds excelled as well of course. In the Neuter/Spay section I was thrilled to judge a fabulous, mature Sphynx which won my Best in Show - apart from his overall outstanding features, he displayed a rarely seen excellent profile with strong chin and clearly defined nose stop. A stunning Japanese Bobtail (longhair) was my Runner-up - groomed to perfection and displaying such pizzazz. In the Shorthair Kittens I was very pleased to award a beautifully balanced Burmese as my Best in Show.
The Longhair Section was huge and full of quality, strongly featuring Exotics, Persians and Maine Coons as well as other lovely breeds. I was blown away by the quality of the best Exotics - so sound and conforming so closely to standard. My Best and Reserve Longhair Entire Cats were litter brother Exotics! - both absolutely stunning. They were followed by two fabulous Persians and then another lovely Exotic. My Best and 3rd Longhair kittens also were litter brother Exotics! They were split by a stunning Maine Coon kitten winning Reserve in Show and 4th was a fabulous Birman. The Neuter/Spay Section brought more stunning Persians, Exotics and Maine Coons taking top honours with an outstanding Ragdoll winning in the Neuter/Spay Kitten Section in a strong competition.
When judging in New Zealand I am always reminded of the outstanding body conformation of the Persians/Exotics and the wonderfully small, well placed ears along with great boning and strong eye colour. I hope breeders are able to hang on to these strong features.
I am a tough judge on condition, grooming and general presentation in every breed as well as temperament and I was not disappointed in these respects with the quality of the exhibits overall.
The cat fancy is diminishing everywhere in general so it was an absolute pleasure to judge a large entry show with such high quality exhibits. In whatever way the Palmerston North Cat Club is going about business, it is doing a great job and I sincerely hope the committee and members can keep up the enthusiasm and stage more wonderful shows in the future. I would like to thank all the exhibitors for supporting this wonderful show and for showing your cats in wonderful condition. Good luck with the remainder of the show season and the next breeding season. Congratulations and very special thanks to the show team on a job very well done.
Best wishes to all from
Janis Christison, Brisbane, Australia
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