After 3 days of shows where Oliver went Select Dog each day, he has now earned his Grand Champion title. He also placed in Group each day in the Owner Handled ring.
Jan 162019
Sheri
Nov 072018
Jul 122018
This year our club held back to back Specialties in hopes of increasing the number of entries. Well, we think it worked. Entries were slightly higher but we did have a couple of exhibitors with high ranking dogs from Texas and the East Coast that I don’t think would have attended if we had the normal single show. On the other hand, the draw could have been our Australian Judges John & Wendy Hutchison. They are long time Bichon breeders and exhibitors and have a wealth of knowledge about the breed. This was their first judging assignment in the USA and we were very fortunate to have them judge our event. For whichever reason we felt the back to back was a success and we expect an even larger entry next year.
Now for the important stuff: US!
Sassy, Violet and Emoji showed very, very well each time they were in the ring. Ya can’t help but be proud of those little girls. Emoji won the sweepstakes competition in the 2nd show however no points were awarded to our girls this time out. Not to worry. Their time will come.
Our boys were a different matter. Oliver and Simon both showed beautifully. Best of Breed for the first show judged by Wendy Hutchison went to GCH Cher Ami Center of Attention. A Multiple Best in Show winning dog and Simon was awarded Select Dog. The little guy Oliver was given an Award of Merit. So proud of him. He is really coming along.
Show #2 Best of Breed was given to Simon, GCHG Absolute Affinity Agape Bullet Proof. Judge John Hutchison made us work for the win as he compared Simon to the other dogs in the ring. It was dead quiet around the ring. When the judge had finally made his decision and pointed to Simon for the win a real cheer went up in the crowd! I believe everyone in attendance hugged and congratulated us, even some people that I don’t know. Not only did Simon win the Specialty, but we could confidently say that he now had enough points to give him his Grand Champion Gold title. One of just a handful of Bichons to obtain the gold title and the ONLY one who did so with an Amature Owner/Handler on the lead. Oh and once again Oliver was given an Award of Merit.
After basking in the glory of the Best in Specialty Show win and the GChGold, we went back to our set up and were surprised by a wonderful little GOLD celebration by Absolutely team members Tasheena Housman and Dina Taylor. They are both so thoughtful. I tried to hide it but it kinda choked me up a bit. So we made a little toast to good dogs, good friends and good times. Simon is a bit tousled in the photo but hey, he had worked hard and deserved to let his hair down a bit.
Emoji – Best In Sweepstakes
Oliver – Award of Merit
Simon – Best in Specialty Show and Grand Champion GOLD!
Our little After Party.
Just the best photo of Karen and Sue taken at our awards dinner. By Carol Fellbaum.
Jun 102018
From left to right: Simon, Kevlar, Cash, Oliver, Violet, Emoji 🙂
Well it was quite a weekend at Lynden. Four days but worth the effort. Simon won Best of Breed each day giving him 20 more points toward his GCH GOLD. Oliver and Kevlar both obtained their American Championships. Cash added to his Grand Champion points and was awarded a Group 2 Owner Handler. Liberty finished her Grand Championship. Violet and Sassy both snagged snagged 4 point majors and Emoji grabbed a Reserve Winners. On Saturday every award that was given went to Absolutely dogs! That’s a dream of a day. Oh, and Oliver (in the ring as a Special for the first time on Sunday) won Select Dog and a Group 2 in the Owner Handler ring.
May 272018
It was such a memorable Nationals for us this year. So many of our extended Bichon family traveled to Tucson to watch the show. I do think we had the biggest crowd there. It was great. We certainly felt the love.
At just under 18 months of age, Oliver was the Grand Sweepstakes Winner this year. OMG! This is the first Sweeps win for Absolutely Bichons. Many will recall last year at Nationals at the tender age of 5 1/2 months Oliver won Best Baby Puppy. So the promise he showed early on continues as he matures. Our judge for Sweeps was Karen Graeber of Whitebred Bichons in New Jersey. Ms. Graeber is a long time successful breeder and a win under such a knowledgeable judge is all the more special.
Not to be overshadowed by the whipper snapper Oliver, our boy Simon also traveled to Tucson. At the age of 8 1/2 Simon was the oldest bichon entered by far. Simon proved he still has everything it takes to be successful in the ring. Simon showed beautifully and came away with the 1st Award of Merit. So proud of this guy. He has really put us on the map. Simon is about to make history. Watch for a post in July.
Liberty-CH Absolutely Snowbird Free Reign CD BN NA NAJ RN TKA CGC, received a Versatile Bichon award, competed for the first time in rally intermediate recieved a 99 out of 100, then a second in obedience.
Kevlar- Absolutely Snowbird Heart of Strength BN RN TKA CGC, won her class in breed! Competed in Rally for the first time, with a PERFECT score, and third for her first time in obedience.
Liberty and Kevlar are owned, trained, groomed and shown by the incomparable Tasheena Housman. She just amazes us and was definitely noticed at Nationals! Thank you Tasheena, for representing us so very well.
Karen’s girl, Absolutely Affinity Smiley Face 🙂 (Emoji) placed in her class also! Emoji is completely inexperienced and was a tough handle for Karen, but she pulled it together enough to finish in the ribbons. Every ribbon at Nationals is a prized possession.
Jan 202018
Simon is back in the ring at 8 1/2 years of age competing for his Grand Champion Gold title. Once achieved he will be the 11th Bichon to received the Gold and the one and only Bichon Frise to have been 100% Amature Owner Handled. He will be in a class of his own. Simon loves the ring and has picked up where he left off winning back to back Best of Breeds at Puyallup this past weekend. The Gold is in sight.
In other news:
Oliver went Best of Winners on day 1 of the show for a 4 point major. He is very close to finishing his American Championship but we are going to hold him out of the ring until we go to Nationals in May. It’s always a dream to finish a dog at Nationals and we have done it once with Baron. Maybe we can be fortunate again with Oliver.
Dec 252017
It’s been a couple of years since we made the trip to Orlando for the largest dog show in the country. It’s a great show to see all the stars of the dog show world, canine and human.
Similar to Nationals, we take a dog there with cautious anticipation. Hoping for our dog to show well, maybe pick up a ribbon or two and represent us well. That’s all we ask. We have yet to be disappointed.
This year was Oliver’s AKC Nationals debut. He is only 13 months and still very much a baby. Baby hair and a baby brain. But he’s a pretty tough little guy.
First day out Oliver was experiencing the biggest and busiest venue ever. He was not totally comfortable with everything but managed to show well and we were happy when he was awarded Reserve Winners dog behind a very nice dog.
Day two was much the same. Oliver was a bit more comfortable, showed a bit better and again awarded Reserve Winners Dog.
Day three he started coming into his own. He was more comfortable, showed better and was awarded Winners Dog for 2 points. Yippee!
Day four was the Puppy and Junior Stakes. A competition for puppies and juveniles. Oliver was victorious that day and won Best of Breed Puppy going over a nice Champion. Sweet!
Day five (the main event). More Bichons showed up for the big day. Oliver was on his game that day. I could not asked him to show any better than he did. He was awarded Winners Dog and Best of Winners for a 3 point major!!! We were over the moon!
The Best of Breed lineup was beautiful. It’s wonderful to see so many quality dogs there and Oliver fit right in.
We are hoping that this is just the start of something big.
Here is a little montage of our experience. The following images were captured by Dina Taylor (with the exception of one).
Well that’s it in a nutshell. We could not be more happy with this little guy. Looking forward to 2018.
Sidebar: Dina was looking to see an alligator while we were in Florida. There were none sited at the Convention Center or the Grand Hyatt where we stayed. But while on our way to the airport she spotted this beauty at a shopping mall.
Oct 222017
Reprinted from The Bichon Frise Reporter – Fall 2017
Best Beginner Puppy
ABSOLUTELY AGAPE HAPPY TALK
I’ve looked forward with great anticipation to many judging assignments, but never with as much joy as I did for the 4-6 months baby Bichons. They did not disappoint me. They marched in the ring like, “I’m here, and what are we going to do?” They were absolutely adorable, beautiful, high promise, stable and said a lot for our faithful breeders. I was exceedingly proud.
Bichons mature at different rates or speeds. Some have a coat from day one, some get such an abundance by two years you’re in wonder at the whole spectacle. Judging “on the day” for a more mature dog is appropriate, in my book, but judging these youngsters took vision, knowledge of lines and an eye for proportions. There was not a one I would have dismissed as unworthy. What a thrill.
When the handler put the ultimate winner on the table for examination, I commented about the expression, face and overall package, she just smiled. I think she knows a good thing when she sees it” Absolutely Agape Happy Talk (D): Breeder/Owners: Sue Swindle & R. Swindle & K. Paulson & S.Kennedy. By GCH Brereton’s Rise and Shine X Ch. Absolutely Agape Fast and Flashy. We will see and hear more from this beautiful dog in the near future – Hide and Watch!
I would have liked to place them one through four, but that was not prearranged, so I was very pleased to present this absolutely gorgeous Bichon as my overall selection. I was not in the least surprised when my “next door neighbor from Alabama, Mary Spruill came up and said, “That’s from my breeding”. The proof of the serious breeding. Thank you all so much for the most charming of all my assignments!
Ann Hearn
Note – Thank you to Mary Spruill as the owner of Oliver’s Sire: Brereton’s Rise and Shine. However, the praise for this breeding rightfully belongs to Sue Swindle. Sue selected the stud dog (Riser) to pair with our girl (Flo-Jo) and she arranged and facilitated the breeding. Sue and Karen whelped the litter and Oliver and his sisters were raised in Sue’s home. Appreciation should certainly be given to Mary Spruill’s long standing record of excellent quality dogs and we are extremely grateful that she has trusted us with the use of her bloodlines, but credit for Oliver rightly goes to Sue.
In my humble opinion – Sheri
Sue, Baby Oliver and Sheri
Oct 222017
Our most recent ad for the Reporter. Can you tell how proud we are of our dogs??!!??
Oct 222017
From the 6-9 Month Puppy class, Oliver finished his Canadian Championship quickly. He will continue to show in Canada to complete the requirements for his Grand Champion title. When you are on a roll, why not? Meanwhile, bring on the stateside competition!