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Impressions of the 2006 Sieger Show and Tour
by Fred Lanting
Copyright September, 2006 -
Karthago Kennels of Artur Kemmer.
Standing: Rob Blok (Hawaii, USA), Herr Kemmer, Fazal & Ariane Rahman (Trinidad), Colleen Hansen (Ontario Canada), John Lanting (USA), Jim Philson Sr. (Hawaii), Kristine Dewey, Joe Wong, Pam & John Rody (USA);
Front row: Jim Philson Jr. (Hawaii), Fred Lanting, Esther Chai (UK), Frau Kemmer, Paul Espiritu (USA), Ann-Marie Leadbeater (Ontario Canada).
Anniversaries are devices used to commemorate events such as birthdates and weddings, or other specific and meaningful dates on History's calendar. My first tour of Europe was 20 years prior to this report being written; for most of the years since, I have been attending the annual Sieger Show (Bundessiegerzuchtschau) in Germany. After the first, I found that there were many people who wanted to go, but were afraid to try because they spoke no German and the territory was unfamiliar.
It became my happy custom to act as guide and translator (although my German is rudimentary and self-taught, I get by quite well) and in the succeeding years I became very familiar with the geography, culture, and points of interest. As an SV judge and schutzhund trainer, I also developed friendships with both the Zucht- (breed) and Leistungs- (trial) judges, and have been able to line up visits with them and many other breeders and clubs. So it developed, rather quickly, that I was leading tours that included historic and scenic sights, training clubs, and breeders' and judges' homes. You can find my "Impressions" articles about previous years' shows on SiriusDog.com and other websites.
This year, with the show in Oberhausen, not very far from Germany's western border, I offered a tour of the fascinating Netherlands (Holland) with its windmills, wooden shoes, canals, boats, bicycles, and unique culture. As usual, I would be away during my wife's birthday anniversary, and this year also during the 5th anniversary of the infamous 9-11 attack on America by Islamist extremists. When the twin towers, the Pentagon, and the Pennsylvania crashes occurred, my 2001 tour group had just ended a circuit and were noisily and happily walking into the hotel lobby for the last (we thought) night. Everyone else was ready to go home to their several countries, and I was to spend a week in Europe with friends before meeting another group that was scheduled to fly in for the BSP (Bundessiegerprüfung or national schutzhund championship trials) in another part of Germany.
We were hushed up by hand gestures and "Shhh!" by the hotel staff who were glued to the TV set in the lobby. Not long before, the 9-11 plane-bombs had snuffed out thousands of lives, and the pictures now coming in were heartbreaking. We all thought at first that it was a movie, since the commentary was in rapid German, but like a ton weight lowered onto each one of us, the depressing realization caused shock and tears among the group that had been laughing mere minutes earlier. Air traffic would not resume for a few days, and the hotel owners helped my group find accommodations until they could reschedule flights. I cannot imagine an air trip in early September that would not include the shadow of those terrible events of 2001.
The 2006 show in Oberhausen was certainly not as large as the SV's 100th Anniversary show in Karlsruhe back in 1999, when massive publicity and encouragement brought 50,000 people into the stadium, but the Sieger Show is still the world's largest single-breed event. It is getting more difficult every year to secure the venue. After all, a contract for dozens of soccer games per year is more lucrative than a single weekend of dog shows. Stadiums are smaller and in towns that are not as convenient to get to, or to park and find lodging in. Still, I have been able to find nice country hotels with the best rates, and by pro-rating rental-car costs, my tours have always been more economical than others, including doing it on your own, and in spite of the higher cost of Euros and considerable inflation. With fuel at more than $7 a gallon, it is wise to share the vehicle.
My group this year included a few who have been with me in the past, but for most of the people, it was their first Sieger Show experience. And for some of them, their first trip abroad. We met at the Amsterdam airport and spent much of the first day in that busting city, one that can be seen easily on foot. Some of the group went through the Anne Frank house (she was the epitome of courage and the example of how Dutchmen hid Jews from the Nazis, until her family was found and taken away; she died days before the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated).
After a night in a delightful village east of the city, we drove to the southeastern corner of the Netherlands, where it is a stone's throw to Luxembourg, France, Belgium, and Germany. We met with noted trainer Koos Haasing of the Tiekerhook working-lines kennel, and played with his latest pups. That evening we watched schutzhund and breed-ring training at a VDH club field less than an hour further.
The next day we were royally entertained at Karthago kennel in Erkelenz, Germany, where Artur and Ursula Kemmer fed us traditional and delicious "eisbein" (ham hocks) before showing us a couple of their youngsters. Kemmer bred the BSP Sieger of 1993, a dog named Okar, that I liked a lot. Neither of them speaks any English - only rapid-fire German, but between me and one of my group (a Dutchman from Hawaii) we were able to communicate and act as conduits to the rest of my party.
Three days of the show followed, which I shall briefly describe in a moment hence. After the weekend, on Sunday night, we enjoyed visiting the Pfalzerheide kennel near Goch, on the road toward Holland. They have some attractive brood bitches, two of which were in whelp; they are also offering for sale a magnificent Nero Nobachtal son (SchH-3) with a low-ZW hip rating, a great advantage to complement his terrific pigment, size, and temperament.
On Monday the caravan stopped first for photos at Arnhem, at the site of the WW2 battle that was the subject of the excellent movie, "A Bridge Too Far". It was here that the British glider crews and paratroopers held off the Nazi forces long enough to allow other Allied units further away to make gains in the war. Next stop was the traditional village of Staphorst, where decorated bicycles, old-style dress, wooden shoes, and thatched barns attached to green- or blue-trimmed houses keep history alive. Driving northwest from there, we arrived at Emmen in time to be given a special inspection tour of a working windmill, arranged by a friend of mine who lives in a nearby town. After that, we drove north to Exloo and stood in the middle of a crowd of a couple hundred milling sheep that were being told by the shepherds' dogs to stay together while grazing.
Tuesday morning we took some pictures at the authentic, undisturbed ice-age dolmens that the Dutch call "hunnebedden". These are rocks balanced on other rocks (like a roofed and much smaller version of the more famous and later Stonehenge) that served as shelters from wild animals as well as birthing and dying ceremonies for the prehistoric inhabitants of so much of Europe.
That afternoon, the group got a deeper sense of the once-independent land of Friesland that in early centuries A.D., included the islands and coastal provinces reaching from what is now northwestern Holland through coastal Germany into southwestern Denmark. Even today, the now-smaller Friesland has its own flag, language, and (to a great extent) identifiable physical features of the people. The breed of cow that some people call "Holstein", after the German portion of this stretch of land and seacoast, but which is more properly called Frisian cattle, has long been the heart and soul of the economy in the region, with fishing and sailing coming close behind. The fame of Dutch milk, butter, and especially cheese comes largely from this cow, so it is no surprise that one of the landmarks in Friesland's capital city of Leeuwarden is a life-size statue of such a cow.
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General info on The Sieger Show Experience with tour guide Fred Lanting
The SV Bundessieger-Zuchtschau (BSZS or Sieger Show) in Germany is generally held in the last week of August or first week in September at a different location each year, depending on stadiums available. (The cost of stadium for this one-weekend event, and the competition with soccer/football events that sign contracts for many per year, determine the choice.) For the past 20 years or so, I have offered my non-profit 6-7-day guided tour of the show and sightseeing, including visits to kennels and training clubs. Get an SV judge's perspective of the bloodlines and procedures, along with experienced introductions to Germany's culture and beauty. My groups come from all parts of the globe, so even just the companionship is like a world-travel experience. We usually arrive on the Wednesday or Thursday before the show, and return the following Wednesday.
Looking for a great dog-related experience combined with seeing a different part of the world? Whatever your breed or activity in dogs, the annual Lanting guided show-and-sightseeing tour could be the experience of a lifetime. Read my annual “Impressions” articles on various websites for an idea of what we've seen in recent years. Tours centered on other countries’ Sieger Shows, the BSP, and world Schutzhund trials are also available if enough people sign up.
None of "my people" have ever been sorry, and all have wished they had done it earlier! You will see the best of the breed, meet important GSD people, sometimes see another country or two, and have the over-all greatest dog show experience of your life. I also include, if you decide to join us, a variety of travel tips. I offer an SV conformation judge's perspective of the show (I also have AKC, UKC, and foreign judging experience). One year, when a travel-agency tour leader again deserted his group, they came to where my group was sitting and asked me questions. References available from previous tour participants. Testimonials are numerous. I hope you will join us and recommend this tour to your friends and acquaintances. As a judge with much experience in Schutzhund training and competition, and being very familiar with Western Europe, I am able to give the best tour possible. People going it on their own cannot see the important parts of the country (sometimes we tour adjacent countries, too), and paying for your rental car is more than chipping in to pay for the van and my expenses. Read my "Impressions" on various websites for an idea of what we've seen in recent years.
There will be 3 long days of the big show, and about 3 to 4 days of sightseeing and visits. Please let me know as soon as you can, with a $400 (US) deposit, so I can start putting my notification list together and finalize (hold) hotel reservations for you. There is a lot of work involved in putting together such a tour! I will make the hotel plans based on your deposits, & arrange the visits and van(s). Easy, fun, educational and, for most --- the unique trip of a lifetime. You will not be any younger next year, and if you don't make the decision to get out there and smell the roses NOW, while you think of it, you're more likely than not to lose the opportunity and desire. Join the group! Tell others about it, too. Fred
Contact me at Mr.GSD[at]netscape.com and tell your friends and Internet contacts.
Postal mail: 3565 Parches Cove, Union Grove, AL 35175-8422 USA
Editor’s Note: A well-respected and frequent GSD specialty and all-breed judge for many clubs around the world, with KC and other-country credentials, Mr. Lanting since 1966 has lectured on Gait-and-Structure, Canine Orthopedic Disorders, and other topics, and has judged in about 30 countries, including the prestigious FCI Asian Shows hosted by Japan Kennel Club and the KC of India, the Scottish Kennel Club, and many National Specialties in the USA and elsewhere. He has been described by a former OFA director as the world’s leading non-veterinarian authority on hip dysplasia. A dog breeder since 1945, a GSD owner since 1947, and a show judge since 1979, he has lectured at numerous veterinary schools in the USA and abroad. He is the author of “must read” books for the dog owner (see below for ordering info). Curriculum Vitae available upon request.
Announcing the new “Canine HD and Other Orthopedics Disorders” book: The expanded revision is a comprehensive (nearly 600-page), amply illustrated, annotated, monumental work that is suitable as a coffee-table book, a reference work for breeders and veterinarians, and a study adjunct for veterinary students. It is equally valuable for the owner of any breed. It covers every aspect of HD and other orthopedic, bone, or spinal disorders, and includes genetics, diagnostic methods, treatment options, and the role of environment. Your autographed copy will be mailed from the USA as soon as the appropriate amount is received and is processed. Pricing: US $68, plus $5 postage in the U.S., or ask about mail overseas. Combine orders with “The Total German Shepherd Dog” by the same author ($50 plus postage). 17 of the 20 chapters are suitable for owners of any breed.
