This post has been a long time coming, and as such, is quite long, I’m afriad. I’ve had a lot of time to mull over the Indy Show and below are my observations. I’ll post photos in another thread (and in a gallery on Cosmo’s page).
Cosmo’s last show of 2014 was in Indianapolis, and I was quite overwhelmed by that one. It was also his last show in the Kitten class. Apparently, the Indy show is a big show that *a lot* of the national campaigners attend. I, the little nobody newbee, was benched in a “Champion Row” because Jo Cornwall of TrueBrit Cattery, who I had met and chatted with at a previous show, generously listed me in her benching request (Jo and Colin show and breed stunning British Shorthair cats that just kill it on the show circuit). She was very kind – and tolerant – in answering my questions, but truthfully, I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t think of the questions I wanted to ask her, nor did I get to chat with her much. She was very busy with her gorgeous boy placing at the top of every single ring of this 2-day show and I didn’t want to distract her or waste her time. I was amazed by Jo, and also the Bombay breeder on my other side who also placed at the top of each ring.
So here’s how things went down for me and Cosmo:
To start with, we arrived RIGHT AT SHOWTIME! We live 3 hours away, so we woke up and left the house by 5am in order to arrive no later than 8am. We actually arrived at 9am, an hour later than planned.
Lesson 1: CHECK FOR TIME ZONE CHANGES! It turns out that we live in the Central Time Zone (I knew that), and Indianapolis is in the Eastern Time Zone (I didn’t even think about that). Fortunately, Cosmo’s class was not among the first to show, so we had some time to get settled in and somewhat relaxed.
Lesson 2: SOMETIMES YOU ALMOST HAVE TO GENUFLECT. Being in my very first show season with Cosmo, I learn a lot of lessons. My second lesson for *this* show was that there is a difference between the Master, Entry, and Ring Clerks. While most people are very nice and helpful, some people get crabby and even downright rude if you don’t refer to them by the correct title (I’m new to this – there is a lot to remember, and I forget some things!). That is all I will say about that. Lesson learned! I won’t forget next time.
Lesson 2.5 should probably be to just shut my trap about Lesson 2. However, lesson 2 also leads directly to the third lesson, which is a wonderful one:
Lesson 3: MAKE FRIENDS WITH OTHER EXHIBITORS. Strike up a conversation with someone you are benched near, or someone whose cat is always next to yours in the ring. Their insights are invaluable, particularly when you encounter someone with an ugly attitude. I’ve been fortunate to have been in a few shows with Juli Clark, who shows Cosmo’s older brother Citron (they share the same parents, but are not littermates – I can’t wait until she starts breeding!). I’ve also made friends with a woman named Cathy, who had been showing a beautiful Tonkinese kitten this past season. Really, almost everyone is very nice for the most part, but those who are not can sour your mood if you let them.
Lesson 4: STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT TREAT THE “LITTLE PEOPLE” KINDLY. Luckily, I was not alone at this show. This time, my daughter came with so she could work as a steward in a judging ring (The stewards spray and wipe down the judging cages after a cat has been judged). Her experience was mixed. The first day, the judge told her right off the bat, “Just stay out of my way, and you’ll be fine.” This same judge never addressed her by name that entire day (but, after judging a round, made sure to say the obligatory “Thank you to the steward – I think it’s that girl standing over there… Yeah, that one holding the spray bottle.”), and did not acknowledge her at all later that evening when we all shared an elevator. The second day for my daughter was much more pleasant – she stewarded for a judge that was appreciative and made it a point to not only acknowledge her, but also joked and conversed with her in between judging, and best of all, remembered her name throughout the day!
Lesson 5: TO PADLOCK, OR NOT TO PADLOCK – THAT IS THE QUESTION. At a previous show, one person that I benched next to warned me about some incidents where show cats were stolen right from their benching cages. She had padlocks on her SturdiShelter, and told me it would be a good idea to do the same. She also warned me to put Cosmo’s dishes in back of the cage to avoid sabotage tactics that involve poisoning or otherwise tainting food and water. And also, sometimes unscrupulous competitors will sneak by and actually break a cat’s tail in order to disqualify it! My mouth was agape and I was shocked at the stories she told. SHOWS ARE FREAKING SCARY!
Well, perhaps not so much. At the Indy show, more than a couple of the national-winning breeders kind of teased me about the padlocks, or made comments like “How cute – padlocks!” Some of these same breeders had cats that they could actually just leave resting on the grooming table as they walked away (these cats were actually left outside of their cages. One woman kept her StudiShelter unzipped and left, and the cat cautiously tried to sneak out before another exhibitor zipped him back in)! I cannot even imagine Cosmo staying in one place for more than 3 seconds. I think that those Persian cats are some kind of miracle combination of cat relaxation, obedience, and playfulness.
That said, after seeing the creepy guy at the Springfield, IL, show who wore a wig that didn’t fit, kept fidgeting with his wig and smelling his fingers, and was obsessed with the cats and tried to touch them when their exhibitors were away from the area, I’ll keep my sturdy purple padlocks, thank you very much!
For this whole show, I was intimidated to say the least. Long-time breeders talked about advanced genetics, about how some judges are judging wrong, and how some other breeders are breeding wrong… it was very informative listening to conversations, to the extent that I understood what they were talking about. I felt like any of my questions about breeding would have been stupid, along the lines of, “So when a boy cat and a girl cat fall in love, they get married and have lots of pretty kittens that can win at shows, right?” Or some dumb comment like, “Unnhhh…. cats… are… soft…”
All in all, it was a great experience and I enjoyed the show, despite Cosmo not placing. There was a ton of excellent competition and he DID get an honorable mention or two! That’s something, right?