Blyss Successes in Santa Barbara, CA Dog Show Cluster!

 

Santa Barbara Kennel Club Dog Show Wins for “Lucy” and her son, “Vinto”, Sunday, August 27, 2016

 

This weekend, Mai Ozeki Hirah came to the West Coast to see her superstar borzois, “Lucy”, under the affix of Belisarius, and her son, “Vinto”, compete in the prestigious Santa Barbara Kennel Club dog show.  I am thrilled to report they achieved major wins in this show, a Specialty, that had many extra classes for borzois.  I may as well quote Mai directly:

“An impossible day people can dream of. Lucy Best in Show at Santa Barbara Kennel Club under Ms. Ann Ingram from Ireland, then she won the Sighthound Spectacular under Mr. Eugene Blake and her son, Vinto was BIS3 too. And THEN Lucy and Vinto won Reserve BIS under Mr. Andrew Brace and Ms. Ingram (Group judged by Mr. David Frei) at Breeder’s Showcase!!!! What a mother and a son!! Thank you for judges and all who cheered on them and for SBKC for working so hard to hold such an amazing show!!”

*****************************************************

It is so wonderful to see their success repeat itself, over and over again!  It is exhilarating for these two borzois as well as the breed, which up until now has rarely been a “Best in Show” breed.   For new readers to the Blyss Blog Encore, or those who do not know anything about  Blyss Kennels, “Lucy” is the grand-puppy of our foundation bitch that we purchased and co-owned with the founder of the great Majenkir Borzoi kennel, Karen Staudt-Cartabona, our mentor.  My late husband, Robert Dwyer, and I owe Karen everything, and it is to her that we credit this opportunity to share in this joy.  It was Karen herself who allowed “Mikhailya” to be bred to her grand stud dog in 2008, CD Majenkir Regal by Design, “Regal”, thereby siring “Magnus”,  the sire of “Lucy”.

With the sudden and unexpected death of my husband in 2011, I retired from breeding and showing.  I never expected any notable accomplishment in the breed for myself other than finishing “Tresor’s” Champion Dog title, and the joy I derived from my borzoi.  Then “Magnus”, “Mikhailya’s” other puppy, also became a great producer as well as a Best in Show borzoi in Japan.  Blyss Kennels is  also acknowledged because I owned his dam, even though it was a co-ownership.  I am honored to have been able to work with Karen on producing this line, and have been guided by her advice in my kennel in all ways.  In this case, it became a spectacular accomplishment.  As Karen has recently said, we all have to work together to breed great borzoi.  No one can do it by themselves.

The photos above are from this weekend at the Santa Barbara Kennel Club Show.  The photos below are from “Lucy” winning Reserve Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in Madison Square Garden, NY NY on February 16, 2016.