Irish winner: ‘Nothing will ever surpass Crufts win’
Lee Grogan, 24, is Karmin’s owner and she’s his “once in a lifetime dog”.
“Karmin has given me so many wonderful memories that I could not have even dreamed this would have come true. She is my once in a lifetime dog.
“Nothing will ever surpass winning Best of Breed at Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show. Karmin won Best of Breed out of an entry of more than 140 Japanese Chins under judge Jarvinen, one of the most respected judges in the world. Standing in that big ring with the spot lights shinning down on Karmin will be a memory I will never forget for as long as I live,” said Lee.
Winning at Crufts has been a lifelong dream for Lee. “I started showing dogs at the age of 12. My biggest dream and ambition like most people’s was always to win Best of Breed at Crufts.
“I fell in love with Japanese Chins years ago when I saw a puppy at my local dog training classes. I just knew one day I had to have one. I waited a very long time for the right one to come along but I think everyone will agree she was worth the wait,” Lee told the.
It was from his 21st birthday gifts that his own Japanese Chin and winning at Crufts became possibilities.
“In November 2012 my phone buzzed, it was a picture message of a Japanese Chin puppy just hours old. Little did I know back then she would be mine.
“I bought Karmin off breeder Katherine O’Herlihy from Dunboyne out of money I had saved from my 21st birthday, she was my gift to me. I’ve had her since she was only weeks old and she has been my best friend ever since,” he said.
So how can you follow in Karmin or Lee’s paw prints or footsteps to qualify for next year’s Crufts?
“First of all it’s not going to happen if you just have a nice dog and you ramble along to Crufts, you have to actually qualify. They have nominated shows all over the world, you have one per country usually and ours is actually next Saturday, March 19 in the National Show Centre in Cloghran, that’s the dedicated one. That’s our qualifier for next year,” explained Sean Delmar the president of the Irish Kennel Club.
Pedigree is absolutely essential, as is the now legally required micro-chipping of your pet if you want your dog to be in with a chance of qualifying.
If you go along next Saturday and win a green badge you will be off to Crufts and Sean explains what the judges look for.
“There’s a set standard of excellence for each dog, so for example the standards for the Kerry Blue is written down on seven pages describing the proportions, the texture of the coat, all that type of thing, how he should move.
“The judge’s job is to get the nearest to that that he can,” he said.
In terms of what happens at the international event there are many rounds to get through before the famous phrase Best in Show can be uttered.
“There are classes for each specific breed and they’re aged classes like puppies and juniors and so on. Then they pick the best male, the best winner of each class competes against each other for Best Male and the same applies in the females and then you get what’s called the Best of Breeds.
“They all go forward into what you’d term as the semi-finals so like the terrier group, all the terriers compete to find the Best Terrier, all the gun dogs compete to find the Best Gun Dog in Show and in Crufts they have seven groups, so the best of all compete against each other to find the Best in Show,” explained Sean.
And just how competitive is the world renowned event?
“There will be professional handlers there, they’re up to a very high standard. You should see the mobile homes they drive around in with their fitted kennels. It’s incredibly high level and they’re usually sponsored by people who want to indulge themselves,” he said.
Aside from Crufts Sean is keen to point out that micro-chipping your dog is now a legal requirement. On March 17, the Irish Kennel Club will be carrying out free micro-chipping for any pets who have yet to be chipped.
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