The American Kuvasz Association held its annual trophy show in Columbus, Ohio for the fourteenth and final consecutive year on Saturday, November 18, 2000. After years of declining entries, the annual trophy show will move to a new venue – Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2001. And so, the AKA held its last banquet and meeting in conjunction with the Mid-Ohio Cluster, and thanks to the generous support of its members and friends, offered prizes at the Lima Kennel Club Show.
Sentimentality ran high for this historic Columbus
weekend and the turnout was better than it had been in years. Also returning
after several years’ absence was cold weather and with it a light dusting of
snow.
Twenty-one Kuvasz were entered on Saturday including
4 Dogs, 8 Bitches and 9 Specials. Mrs. Wendy G. Willhauck judged the conclusive
entry in Ring 19 of a small annexed fairground building. Kuvasz fanciers from
around the country gathered. The ringside trophy table topped with bright fall
flowers was filled with special prizes and a painting by Suzanne Wille donated
for the auction.
For this historic event, Chicago artist Susan
Chauvet was commissioned to produce an original painting of our ancient and
legendary breed. Handmade breed prints from the original art were offered as
prizes for Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch.
And, smaller prints were offered as prizes for all class winners.
The breed winners were:
Best of Breed – Ch. Szumeria’s Flying First Class (Lynn Brady, Connie Townsend, David & Claudia Hoffman)
Best of Opposite Sex – Ch. Mattiaci Nordland Snow It All (Dr. Henry & Karen Nichols, Florence Mattice)
Best of Winners and Winners Dog – Mattiaci Stratus Symbol (Florence Mattice)
Winners Bitch – Double Ring Mauna Kea On A Whim (Susan Thomas & Katherine Ringering)
Reserve Winners Dog – Szumeria’s Shamont Salute (Lynn Brady & Connie Townsend)
Reserve Winners Bitch – Oak Hill’s Valentine Ariana (Nancy McGuire)
The class winners were:
Bred by Exhibitor Dogs – Mattiaci Stratus Symbol (Florence Mattice)
Open Dogs – Szumeria’s Shamont Salute (Lynn Brady & Connie
Townsend)
Puppy, 6 to 9 Months
Bitches – Szumeria’s Kiss This (Lynn
Brady & Connie Townsend)
Puppy, 9 to 12 Months
Bitches – Double Ring Mauna Kea On A
Whim (Susan Thomas & Katherine Ringering)
Bred by Exhibitor
Bitches – Mattiaci Hot Little Number
(Florence Mattice)
Open Bitches – Oak Hill’s Valentine Ariana (Nancy McGuire)
The annual banquet and meeting held Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn Worhtington was a festive and celebratory event. After a delightful multi-course meal, the meeting commenced lead by LeAnn Miller, outgoing AKA President. The agenda covered committee reports and discussions of important Club issues. Service Awards were given to Claudia Buss, Agi Hejja and the Southeast Region Rescue Team.
A raffle and auction followed and was exceptional in its quality, excitement and competition. Auctioned, were 4 original artworks by Suzanne Wille, 2 custom cross stitch works by Kathy Teskey, and the original breed prize painting by Susan Chauvet, raising more than $1,200 for the Club.
Many thanks to all those who participated. Special thanks to Wendy Willhauck for judging, to Sammy Killilea for her work as show chair for ten memorable years, and to all those who contributed generously to the auction, raffle and the AKA Trophy Fund and sponsored a prize in Columbus!