# Winning Open and Losing the Points



## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Thank you- I think he's the bomb... such a sweet boy. 
I'm sorry- of course that's happened to most of us, the one that killed me was Fizz losing after winning Open, to go RWB to the BBE bitch. I was just gutted. It cost me another month of showing, and I never EVER like being shy a single, would much rather be shy a major since my dogs do better in large shows. The BBE bitch belonged to a friend, and of course I was happy for her, too, but of all the RWBs Fizz got, that one was the one that really bugged me... I suppose a bit because the judge had relationship w my friend..


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Thank you for commiserating with me and I'm sorry that happened to you. I can only imagine the frustration of having one single left and losing the point on a day she could have finished. The other two times we won Open, but lost the points were also to the BBE bitches. The most recent one (prior to this past weekend) was actually Eevee's half-sister, so I was genuinely happy for her owner, but still a bit disappointed.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I'm sorry for your frustration. I have to say that my hat is off to anyone who learns the dog show game with Goldens the way you have. I have spent the first half of the year researching and looking for a quality Pointer breeder for my oldest daughter. (This experience is a whole nother thread  ) We are bringing home a puppy next week and the breeder asked if I'd be willing to show him. I told her I've never seriously considered it, I don't have thick enough skin nor am I a glutton for punishment. She laughed and said showing Pointers would be nothing like Goldens - she finished her first Ch in less than a dozen shows. I told her if she thought this puppy could get points, I'd be happy to take a handling class at my club and give it a go. She thinks he would finish easily and there's no grooming trick required  I hope it turns out to be fun, but learning something new will be good for me. And maybe it will show me if I might one day put on my big girl pants and try a Golden. Hang in there, you are my hero for jumping into the deep end


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

Been there done that. Poor Tilt never finished but was a Major Reserve queen (she’s minored out). We would show in BBE and she would get placements but not first. So, I moved to open and low and behold she would win open. Then the puppies or BBEs would beat her in winners every time a major was on the line. Finally I had to decide between showing or breeding. 😕

Being disappointed doesn’t take away the happiness you feel for friends who are winning but it is sure odd to be happy/sad on top of frustration.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Thank you Kristy! I am so very lucky to have fantastic friends that have taught me how to groom and show my dog and how to play the game. And they keep me encouraged because they have all been where I am: First show dog and learning how to compete against the pros. We are taking a few weeks off before hitting two bigger weekends in a row and hoping for majors. 

You can definitely show your daughter's Pointer! It will be fun and you're right, no crazy grooming required.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

LJack said:


> Being disappointed doesn’t take away the happiness you feel for friends who are winning but it is sure odd to be happy/sad on top of frustration.


Thank you Laura. This is exactly how I feel and it's such an interesting combination of emotions. I'm sorry your girl Tilt never finished. Bitches are so much more competitive and difficult to finish, and I am learning this first hand right now.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Oh, Maegan, I can't tell you how many times I have felt your pain.  And, of course, I always feel that my dog should win every time he/she steps in the ring, so there are lots of opportunities for disappointment.  Sometimes it seems very unfair, sometimes it seems random, and sometimes there's a dog you just have to continually battle it out with. But I try to remember that it's "just a dog show," and there will be another one along shortly. Every championship-worthy bitch gets her turn.

Last weekend we had 6 shows in 4 days, including two specialties. We had entries of between 76-88 Goldens depending on the day (specialties were 88, Sunday was 76). A different dog won WD every show. A different bitch won WB every show, except one bitch who won 2 of the six. If it were truly about quality and everything was equal, you'd think the same dogs would win every show. But no. When you have 6 shows with essentially the same entries, and 6 different dogs win, there's a lesson to learn there.

I had an "almost" experience with my 9-12 girl, Splash last weekend, where she was pulled out with the open bitch, but the judge ended up giving the points to the open girl and Splash got a 5-point major reserve. I hate reserves! Just give out the points and that's it. For me, a reserve is particularly painful. Especially when you get a number of them in short order. We have a saying for that, with the initials AFR, if you get the drift. LOL! 

I also had a disappointing weekend with Deuce. He never won the breed. He got multiple BOS and SEL, but he missed out on the breed every darn time. A bitch gets the breed, he goes opposite. A dog gets the breed, he gets select. Show after show. And in 6 shows, 6 different dogs won the breed, while Deuce was never the bride but sometimes the bridesmaid. Like, a dog would win the breed one day but not get anything else the rest of the weekend, while Deuce was always in the ribbons but never got the breed. It was highly frustrating, especially in how random it seemed with a different dog winning every show. (I console myself that even though he never won the breed all weekend, he came home with lots of GCH points from BOS and SEL, but it's not the same.)

I feel your pain. But it's just a dog show, and there will be another one along soon.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Maegan, you are doing amazing with your girlie. Don't let these shows get you down. I completely agree that there will always be days where your dog is having their best show ever.... and the judge doesn't see it. >.< 

Worst that I have would be the day after my dog won what was 1 dog shy of a 4 point major.... I went out into the ring buzzing with adrenaline and after the first trot around thinking that my dog was going to win his 2nd major in a row and FINISH.... and the judge kicked us out of the ring because she was convinced he was limping (which he wasn't and all the breeders outside the ring and were actually watching him said the judge was full of it). 

The pro who handled that 9 month has come up and reassured me more than once over the years when she saw my dog get ignored in the winners ring. 

And then my Jovi was a reserve king most of 2019. >.< 

When you are looking ahead and wanting those points - it's easy to look past what your dog is doing and even not see what the judge is locking onto. 

One of the judges you had this weekend (Cole) - a past show, he kept moving Bertie around the ring and bumping us up in possible placement until we were all the way up in front and possibly winning a major.... if based on movement, we probably won that day. But it came down to the judge walking the line and getting "expression" from the dogs as he walked past. 

Bertie always hated doing "food face" and when the judge was right there, Bertie stuck his nose in the air and deliberately looked AWAY from the bait I was holding and even away from Cole's fingers (I think he was crinkling something). We got knocked down the line and a friend won points when the dog she was putting last points on TURNED ON THE CHARM. I happened to glance back and saw the golden smile that dog gave the judge and basically knew her dog had won even before she was moved up ahead of me. 

Anyway - bad days happen. Sometimes your dog loses because of stupid things. Keep showing. You have done better than most starting out with their first show dog. You've done great!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DanaRuns said:


> But I try to remember that it's "just a dog show," and there will be another one along shortly. Every championship-worthy bitch gets her turn.


I have been trying to remind myself of this, but also caught myself thinking that only the people who don't win say "it's just a dog show." LOL But it is still true. I know my bitch is worthy and ready to win.



DanaRuns said:


> We have a saying for that, with the initials AFR, if you get the drift.


Oh I definitely get the drift. LOL Felt that way the last two times I got reserve to the BBE bitch, even when it's people I like that beat me.

It sucks that we both had a very frustrating weekend, but at least we aren't alone. I'm sorry Deuce never won the breed! He's a lovely dog and he'll have his day. Dog shows are just wild sometimes. My friend that won the Group 3 went directly into the Owner-Handled Group after the regular Sporting Group and didn't even get a placement. 

We have another 4 show/3-day cluster in a few weeks and then a 4-show/2-day weekend with three breeder judges the following weekend and I'm hoping we will do better at these shows. Especially now that I've corrected her racing issue. It really only took about one go around on a short, tight lead for her to realize that she was going too fast. The rest were still on a short lead, but she wasn't pulling it tight. Here's to better weekends in the future for both of us!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Megora said:


> Maegan, you are doing amazing with your girlie. Don't let these shows get you down. I completely agree that there will always be days where your dog is having their best show ever.... and the judge doesn't see it. >.<


Thank you Kate. That really means a lot!



Megora said:


> Worst that I have would be the day after my dog won what was 1 dog shy of a 4 point major.... I went out into the ring buzzing with adrenaline and after the first trot around thinking that my dog was going to win his 2nd major in a row and FINISH.... and the judge kicked us out of the ring because she was convinced he was limping (which he wasn't and all the breeders outside the ring and were actually watching him said the judge was full of it).


What in the world? That is a crazy thing to happen! I'm sorry that happened to you. 



Megora said:


> When you are looking ahead and wanting those points - it's easy to look past what your dog is doing and even not see what the judge is locking onto.


This is exactly what happened with Bettyann Hale. She was really zeroing in on foot timing and I didn't realize it until later. Eevee was trying to go too fast on too long of a lead so her head was getting pulled up and it threw her front foot timing off. We didn't even make the ribbons. I think the foot timing thing cost us at least 2nd place under Cole. The bitch that won Open under him is Eevee's second cousin on her sire's side and is being shown by Maddie Peterson. She is not small, but she's smaller than Eevee and of course perfectly presented. 

Eevee does really well with putting her ears up and giving good expression - I just have to keep her from offering fronts for food on her free stacks. LOL She did that a couple of times in class recently, so I told the instructor that we had been working on Obedience in the off season and she said "I can tell because she keeps crowding you." Needless to say, we have chilled out on working fronts for a bit. 



Megora said:


> Anyway - bad days happen. Sometimes your dog loses because of stupid things. Keep showing. You have done better than most starting out with their first show dog. You've done great!


Thank you, Kate. Really. Hopefully we will see you in Hamilton if you come down! We've got three more bigger shows lined up between now and the end of June and still deciding on a couple of smaller ones.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

DanaRuns said:


> We have a saying for that, with the initials AFR, if you get the drift. LOL!


Ya'll... I have spent too much energy trying to make AFR into a clever saying.. I think after all these brain push-ups, it is Another * reserve? Please let me know if it was cuter than that so I can incorporate it into my set of sayings, I call reserve 'best loser'.....


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

A forum friendly way of saying it would be “another effing reserve”. I also call it best loser or first loser. 

AFR in my mom’s house stands for American Family Radio. Lol


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## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

I’m sorry this happened. You’re such an inspiration to me and I can only imagine how he’s it is to be SO close, especially when you and Eevee are showing your heart out.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Tagrenine said:


> I’m sorry this happened. You’re such an inspiration to me and I can only imagine how he’s it is to be SO close, especially when you and Eevee are showing your heart out.


Thank you Ashley! It's just part of the territory when it comes to dog shows. And I've been the one with 6-9 puppy to take the points from the Open bitch in the past, so I'm guilty of doing exactly what happened to me. LOL 

You have all made me feel better. I know it happens to everyone, so thanks for sharing your stories and reading my rant.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

Prism Goldens said:


> Ya'll... I have spent too much energy trying to make AFR into a clever saying.. I think after all these brain push-ups, it is Another * reserve? Please let me know if it was cuter than that so I can incorporate it into my set of sayings, I call reserve 'best loser'.....


Nope, not cute. Someone will shake their head and sigh, and say, "AFR!" meaning, yes, Another F* Reserve!


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

ArkansasGold said:


> I have been trying to remind myself of this, but also caught myself thinking that only the people who don't win say "it's just a dog show."


LOL! It's true that the winners never say that. 

You know, the difference between winning and losing can be something very subtle that has nothing to do with the dog and everything to do with the amateur handler. I saw one owner with an absolutely gorgeous boy in the open class. He was stunning and moved like a dream. But he kept placing 2nd in the class, over and over and over (which meant he got a lot of reserves). One thing I noticed ringside is that the owner would stack him with his head pulled a little too high and too far forward, and that absolutely destroyed his top line. When he free stacked, he had a gorgeous, flat top line. But when the owner stacked him, it was sloped every time. When a judge is looking at the line, taking one last look before making placements, that sloping top line stands out like a sore thumb in a line of perfectly level top lines by professional handlers who know how to present a dog its best.

It can be the littlest thing that makes the difference, and owner-handlers like us are at a disadvantage in the ring with the pros. That sounds frustrating, but the good news is that it can be corrected with just the littlest thing, and good judges will see the dog past the handler. It's part of what makes folks like us have a harder time winning, but it also makes the win soooo much more satisfying.

Somewhere along the line, that owner learned a better head placement that leveled out the top line, and BANG!, that dog finished its championship with four wins (and 2 majors) in a row. And when he finished that dog, the whole ring erupted in cheers and applause for him, and he was surrounded by pro handlers hugging him and clapping him on the back.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

@DanaRuns That’s a wonderful story. I’ve been guilty of lots of little things that have cost wins. Usually it costs me the class, not the points. Eevee now gets to free stack since apparently I was setting her up wrong at our fall show and creating what my friend described as “not a pretty picture”. 😅


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

So close! Been there--Coop won an open class of 20 dogs and then a puppy won the 5 point major from 6-9 I think and may have been the only puppy or one of 2. UGH. It stinks. Harper had a few huge open class wins too, specialty reserves and I have something like 9 of those AFRs for Cooper. Sometimes I wonder why I love dog shows so much. I'm so impressed with how well you've done with Eevee. You're knocking at the door. People who say it's all about the ride obviously don't get it hahaha. I'm here for the win. hahahaha.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Been there. It sucks. HARD.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Christen113 said:


> So close! Been there--Coop won an open class of 20 dogs and then a puppy won the 5 point major from 6-9 I think and may have been the only puppy or one of 2. UGH. It stinks. Harper had a few huge open class wins too, specialty reserves and I have something like 9 of those AFRs for Cooper. Sometimes I wonder why I love dog shows so much. I'm so impressed with how well you've done with Eevee. You're knocking at the door. People who say it's all about the ride obviously don't get it hahaha. I'm here for the win. hahahaha.


Thank you Christen! I wonder that myself pretty often. lol


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DanaRuns said:


> You know, the difference between winning and losing can be something very subtle that has nothing to do with the dog and everything to do with the amateur handler.


I don't think this was the case the weekend I won Open and lost the points, but it definitely contributed to not winning this past weekend. Yesterday during the judge's initial scan of the class of 10 or 11 Open bitches, I noticed the handler that we were set up with this weekend watching me and I had a feeling that I was doing something wrong and couldn't figure out exactly what. Most of the things that I do differently from the typical handler set up are for a good reason, but it got in my head that I was the only OH in the class, so I held up her tail like everyone else, which I don't normally do. Well apparently this made her lean back and get posty, which made her topline look bad and just didn't present a pretty picture. Ugh. I hate losing, but I hate it even more when it's probably my fault. Thankfully she told me what I was doing wrong afterward and we talked about ways to fix it and present her best attribute (her front assembly) next time. She had nice things to say about my girl and that I should be able to finish her myself with a few tweaks to the way I show/groom her.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

ArkansasGold said:


> I don't think this was the case the weekend I won Open and lost the points, but it definitely contributed to not winning this past weekend. Yesterday during the judge's initial scan of the class of 10 or 11 Open bitches, I noticed the handler that we were set up with this weekend watching me and I had a feeling that I was doing something wrong and couldn't figure out exactly what. Most of the things that I do differently from the typical handler set up are for a good reason, but it got in my head that I was the only OH in the class, so I held up her tail like everyone else, which I don't normally do. Well apparently this made her lean back and get posty, which made her topline look bad and just didn't present a pretty picture. Ugh. I hate losing, but I hate it even more when it's probably my fault. Thankfully she told me what I was doing wrong afterward and we talked about ways to fix it and present her best attribute (her front assembly) next time. She had nice things to say about my girl and that I should be able to finish her myself with a few tweaks to the way I show/groom her.


That's great that she gave you some tips. I found many of the pro handlers to be very helpful and supportive, and their advice invaluable. I'm very happy to hear that at least this handler was helpful to you, too. And while you lost the points, you learned a valuable lesson and can do better next time. I think for folks like us it's all about learning "on the job" to get the most out of our dogs. And more importantly, learning what _not_ to do, sometimes.

It sounds like you're doing great!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DanaRuns said:


> That's great that she gave you some tips. I found many of the pro handlers to be very helpful and supportive, and their advice invaluable. I'm very happy to hear that at least this handler was helpful to you, too. And while you lost the points, you learned a valuable lesson and can do better next time. I think for folks like us it's all about learning "on the job" to get the most out of our dogs. And more importantly, learning what _not_ to do, sometimes.
> 
> It sounds like you're doing great!


Thank you! We didn't even place yesterday or the day before, which is the first time in awhile we've been completely out of the ribbons. If I can just stay out of my own head, I think we will get there. This particular handler is very nice and we had a great weekend hanging out with them and helping out. We're all showing again together this coming weekend too, so she'll be able to tell me if I've fixed it.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

ArkansasGold said:


> Thank you! We didn't even place yesterday or the day before, which is the first time in awhile we've been completely out of the ribbons. If I can just stay out of my own head, I think we will get there. This particular handler is very nice and we had a great weekend hanging out with them and helping out. We're all showing again together this coming weekend too, so she'll be able to tell me if I've fixed it.


Not placing can be so dispiriting. And it can make you doubt everything: you, your dog, advice you've gotten, etc. There was a time when my boy Deuce didn't even win his class 15 shows in a row (four of them when he was one of only two dogs in his class!). I was really down in the dumps. But then he got a win, and then another, and then he finished his championship just two months later. And now (with a pro handler) he's winning a lot, and in just the last four days he won 3 Best of Breeds, one Select, and two Group 2s. So don't take it too hard. Every dog has his day. And so does every owner-handler!


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

ArkansasGold said:


> We didn't even place yesterday or the day before, which is the first time in awhile we've been completely out of the ribbons. If I can just stay out of my own head, I think we will get there.


Sometimes it's just things did not click or the dogs were SLUGS out there because of heat or who knows. 

Sometimes it's the judges.  

I've had shows where I made enormous mistakes out there.... one example I can think of is in the winners ring, I moved Bertie around the ring and had him pace the WHOLE WAY and I didn't realize it until I got back to the line. >.< Judge was smiling as she pulled me out and told me to go around a second time - which we did with Bert trotting his heart out. And handed my dog the win and later best of winners. 

Other judges out there they apparently don't have the time to give a good dog a second chance. I've heard crazy things about judges forming opinions of dogs based on what they see OUTSIDE the ring! Other judges deliberately look into other rings so they can't see what you are doing outside the ring. 

It's kinda why many of us have judges that we won't go out of our way to show to. And you can't really go by what other people say about certain judges. 

I've had judges that people have told me not bother showing to - and my dogs have won under them. 

Other judges - you think that they would be great based on what is said about them, and they turned out to be the rudest and blindest judges you've ever shown to.  

You never know - but don't let things get you down. Just keep good notes on what you see in the ring with certain judges and keep trucking.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DanaRuns said:


> Not placing can be so dispiriting.


It really is dispiriting, but I do feel encouraged by the handler’s words about Eevee. I guess it’s better to lose because of handler error than because you don’t have a nice dog. Lol one of those things can be fixed, the other cannot.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Megora said:


> Sometimes it's just things did not click or the dogs were SLUGS out there because of heat or who knows.
> 
> Sometimes it's the judges.
> 
> ...


Things were just not clicking in my head I think. In my own defense, I was exhausted from sleeping in the most humid hotel ever and showing in the heat for three days in a row. Eevee holds up fine when it’s hot. Apparently I am no longer adapted to heat like I was when I moved here from Texas 3 years ago. 😅


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

Ohhh...sorry I haven't been on here in a while, but yes, we've received the AFR Reserves.  SUPER frustrating. I commend you for showing your own dog, though. I am still in the "handler for AKC, me for UKC only camp." I also spend a ton more time on obedience with him than I do on conformation - because that's just my thing (so I understand your story about fronts well ). As much as I enjoy showing my own dog, I just do not feel good enough at it! It sounds like you just need to hang in there - she's knocking on the door! All the best!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Rion05 said:


> Ohhh...sorry I haven't been on here in a while, but yes, we've received the AFR Reserves.  SUPER frustrating. I commend you for showing your own dog, though. I am still in the "handler for AKC, me for UKC only camp." I also spend a ton more time on obedience with him than I do on conformation - because that's just my thing (so I understand your story about fronts well ). As much as I enjoy showing my own dog, I just do not feel good enough at it! It sounds like you just need to hang in there - she's knocking on the door! All the best!


She actually offered a front on her free stack during the first show on Friday, but the judge thought it was cute so it ended up being ok.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

ArkansasGold said:


> Things were just not clicking in my head I think. In my own defense, I was exhausted from sleeping in the most humid hotel ever and showing in the heat for three days in a row. Eevee holds up fine when it’s hot. Apparently I am no longer adapted to heat like I was when I moved here from Texas 3 years ago. 😅


Funny thing to share - that show I described above where I moved a pacing dog around the winners ring? I believe that was the same show Anney was at? I think -

I was dripping sweat and wilting from 85 degree temps and Anney was bouncing around with her dog and talking about how it felt like spring to her. LOLOL.

When you see me this weekend - I guarantee I will not be at my best if temps are over 80. It's why I'm really trying to make sure we have electric for fans - because both my dogs and I wilt in the heat.


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Well… I’m back to post about WINNING OPEN AND WINNING THE POINTS!!!

Now that I’ve been home for more than 12 hours and have had some time to digest everything, I am proud to turn this into a shameless bragging thread instead of a venting thread - at least for now. Lol I’m writing this in story form so I don’t forget everything that happened. If you don’t want the whole story, just skip to the happy ending.

This past week/weekend I went to New Castle, PA for the Greater Pittsburgh GRC and Cuyahoga Valley GRC independent specialties. The first two days were pretty frustrating. We got placements in 2 of the first 4 shows, but nothing that got us into the Winners ring. Day 3 rolls around and we get a whole lot of nothing in the morning show. The afternoon show starts and the judge is putting up moderate, compact dogs of both sexes. This description does not apply to Eevee as Kate (@Megora ) can attest. LOL She is not overdone by any means, she’s just tall. Basically everyone in my show group said that the judge probably wasn’t going to like Eevee so I should just go have fun.

And that is exactly what we did. I didn’t even really do anything to her as far as grooming. Just dried some crate kinks out, but didn’t redo her legs or anything. So, I load up my bait, bring a toy into the ring for the first time ever, and we go have fun. I stood a little taller than usual in the lineup to try and make her look smaller and then made sure to gait nice and slow so her foot timing would be nice. And then bam! We win the class!

I’m like “oh no, we can’t lose in Winners again.” So, I took a pro’s advice and made sure not to let down in the Winners ring this time, but now that a major was on the line, I was nervous. This judge was very nice and she made sure that every dog was set up right, including mine. She would tell us to move feet and even told me to start over once because my dog was A-framing.

Somehow, despite my imperfect handling, the judge liked my dog enough to give me the points! Everyone cheered, I cried, my friends cried, my friend’s sister cried. 😂 Hugs were back in style. Eevee had just gotten her first major! We had a decent break before BOB, so I had time to gather myself, call my husband and my breeder, and stop crying.

We thought it was a 5-point major, but it turned out that we were one class bitch shy of 5 points and I needed to take BOS or BOB to get 5 points because it was only 4 points in dogs. We go back in for breed and my fan club is still cheering me on making sure I set my dog up correctly. By then all of that “screw it, lets just have fun” energy was gone and I was amped up and nervous. Someone even yelled “spread her legs” when I set up her rear in the lineup. 😅

My wonderful dog just went with the flow. Showed her precious little heart out even after showing outside in the wind and sun for three whole days. We do our go arounds with the veterans and the bitch specials and she just floats. Doesn’t try to race, doesn’t pull, but moves at just the right speed on a nice loose lead. Then the judge starts pulling people out and she puts me right after the dog that is presumably going BOB and I’m like “Yay! Best of Winners!” Then she puts another dog special behind me and THEN a bitch special. It took me a second to realize what was probably happening, but I didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. She moves us all around together one last time then says “Best of Breed!” to the dog in front of me, then she points at me and says “Best of Winners AND Best of Opposite Sex!”

Of course I burst into tears all over again. We got the 5-point major and a Specialty BOS over specials. I am still in shock, but also incredibly humbled and encouraged by this super special win. I have the hope again and already entered a couple more shows. 😆

Thanks for reading my story if you made it this far. And thank you to everyone that has been supporting our journey into the show world. We learned a ton this weekend, but the biggest lesson was that I need to just relax and have fun with my dog. People have been telling me that, but it is much easier said than done.


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## Rion05 (Jan 4, 2016)

ArkansasGold said:


> Well… I’m back to post about WINNING OPEN AND WINNING THE POINTS!!!
> 
> Now that I’ve been home for more than 12 hours and have had some time to digest everything, I am proud to turn this into a shameless bragging thread instead of a venting thread - at least for now. Lol I’m writing this in story form so I don’t forget everything that happened. If you don’t want the whole story, just skip to the happy ending.
> 
> ...


WOO HOO!!! Not enough likes to show how much I am LOVING!!! WAY TO GO!!! AND owner handled???! SO AWESOME!!! Congratulations!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Rion05 said:


> WOO HOO!!! Not enough likes to show how much I am LOVING!!! WAY TO GO!!! AND owned handled???! SO AWESOME!!! Congratulations!


Thank you soooo much! I am going to be riding this high for awhile. LOL


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## Christen113 (Dec 3, 2014)

ArkansasGold said:


> Well… I’m back to post about WINNING OPEN AND WINNING THE POINTS!!!
> 
> Now that I’ve been home for more than 12 hours and have had some time to digest everything, I am proud to turn this into a shameless bragging thread instead of a venting thread - at least for now. Lol I’m writing this in story form so I don’t forget everything that happened. If you don’t want the whole story, just skip to the happy ending.
> 
> ...



This is the best! So happy for you! I got chills reading Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex!


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

I'm so proud of you!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Christen113 said:


> This is the best! So happy for you! I got chills reading Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex!


And you already knew what happened! Lol thank you again!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Brave said:


> I'm so proud of you!


Thank you!!! 🥰🥰🥰


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## DblTrblGolden2 (Aug 22, 2018)

Congratulations!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DblTrblGolden2 said:


> Congratulations!


Thank you!


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

That stinks Meagan! Exactly why I don't show conformation. I like to be able to figure out what's wrong and fix it.


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## DanaRuns (Sep 29, 2012)

ArkansasGold said:


> Well… I’m back to post about WINNING OPEN AND WINNING THE POINTS!!!
> 
> Now that I’ve been home for more than 12 hours and have had some time to digest everything, I am proud to turn this into a shameless bragging thread instead of a venting thread - at least for now. Lol I’m writing this in story form so I don’t forget everything that happened. If you don’t want the whole story, just skip to the happy ending.
> 
> ...


Wow, Wow, WOW!!!!! Huge, gigantic congratulations!!!! I don't have enough exclamation points for you! LOL!  

Just reading your post made me cry, too. What a fantastic day for you, and well deserved. Love it!!!! Oh, and way to go, Eevee (and 10 tons of credit to your awesome handler, too!)!!!!

YIPPEEEEEE!!!! Boy, this makes me excited! Congrats again!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

DanaRuns said:


> Wow, Wow, WOW!!!!! Huge, gigantic congratulations!!!! I don't have enough exclamation points for you! LOL!
> 
> Just reading your post made me cry, too. What a fantastic day for you, and well deserved. Love it!!!! Oh, and way to go, Eevee (and 10 tons of credit to your awesome handler, too!)!!!!
> 
> YIPPEEEEEE!!!! Boy, this makes me excited! Congrats again!


Thank you so very much Dana!!! 🥰🥰🥰 you have always been so supportive and I really do appreciate it!!! I hope I remember that feeling the next time I get bogged down in frustration. 

I might start crying again if I think about it too much. It was a good weekend for owner handlers and professional handlers alike!


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## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

Congratulations 😍😍😍 a well deserved win!! You two looked amazing!


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## ArkansasGold (Dec 7, 2017)

Tagrenine said:


> Congratulations 😍😍😍 a well deserved win!! You two looked amazing!


Thank you! We had a great time! 😘


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