2009 USA UNIVERSAL SIEGER - Page 1

So, who is in the running for the title? I hope the trophy does not go begging!

After all the crap declarees took on this board last year, who could blame anyone for avoiding it this year?

ROFLMAO! Oh, you mean liars were discouraged from lying this year? Refreshing!! Last year a slew of asses "declared" at the Sieger Show, knowing full well that they had NO intention of entering their declared dogs in any trials, especially as the dogs in some cases had not been "trialed" in years. ¶ There were two honest, bona fide declarants who DID enter club trials and regional championships to qualify. One team had to go from Canada to Wisconsin to do so. BOTH competed in the Nationals in Texas. They received the kudos, recognition and encouragement they so richly deserved. Yes, there was not the horde of phoney declarants this year, and if that was due to knowing that they would be expected to do more than just "declare," GOOD! That aside, my question was simply whether there was any dog in the running for the trophy this year. Simple question. I would hate to see someone's trophy sponsorship go to waste. Been there, done that. Not fun to throw money away on trophies that cannot be claimed. I seem to recall that there was talk about a working line dog at the SS with impressive structure, but cannot recall the name. Do you have any idea who that was, Shelley?

Mystere, if you are referring to the Chicago SS, the dog people were talking about is Boy von Zorra. VERY well put together, better, I dare say, than some of the showline dogs put ahead of him.

I think you are right, Boy does "sound" familiar. But, wasn't/isn't he a Sch 2?

I understand quite a few entrants in the Kentucky Derby scratch from the race each year, never having set foot in Louisville, despite thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of training, faithfully invested in hopes of standing in the winner's circle.
Shall we call those horses' owners and trainers "disingenuous" too?

This is not the Derby, Shelley! Apples and oranges. ¶But, since you bring it up : 1). Those horse, by the way, at least HAD BEEN RACING! The phoney declarants had NOT been trialing, sometimes not for YEARS. 2.) The horses, presumably, had been, in some cases, entered in other races afterwards. Otherwise, their racing careers were over. Notably, someof the phonies from last year,, did enter the SS this year. So, apparently, their show careers were not over, although their performance in the bitework at the SS might indicate that it should have been. 3). Some of the same horses that scratch from the Derby, DO go on to enter other races, including the Preakness and Belmont, thus eliminating any hint of disingenuity. The phoney declarants, by and large, never trialed afterwards at all. Again, their performances at this year's SS may demonstrate why. Now, can we move forward, Shelley? Or, do you really just want to re-hash the phonies from last year? Someone (you?) can just put up the link to that discussion from last year. It really is a waste of my time to re-hash the whole thing. I've moved on. :-)

"Shall we call those horses' owners and trainers "disingenuous" too?" 
 
Thanks Shelley  

Hey. You brought it up, not me. I put hundreds of hours, my own hopes and prayers, life blood, sweat and tears into one of those entries you so easily call disingenuous... and you know it. No one was more disappointed than I when the painful decision was made not to go on to Texas after 90 days in training. The decision was a financial one, NOT a training issue.

IMO, and the opinions of more than one WUSV team level trainer, the dog had the stuff to make it to Texas last year, at my side, had we been able to provide him with a well-planned and well-executed training program, WITH world-class helper work, on a daily basis. I cannot answer for the dog's performance since he left my hands, but I can answer for the fact that he finished VA-2 in Canada last year. I was not in Chicago for this year's Sieger show.

I love that dog. You might as well insult one of my children (if I had any) as that dog. No. I don't own him. Tough luck for me.
But you can bet your ass that the next time I have a dog I think can compete at the top level of competition in ring and on the trial field, I won't hesititate to place that Universal Sieger trophy (among others!) in my cross-hairs, while 99% of the rest of the SchH world picks apart me, my dog, my training director, coach, and whatever else they can dream up.

NO, I won't even OPEN messageboard threads about the subject, let alone post regular progress reports about our training status, progress, location, plans, itineraries, no matter how many inquiring minds want to know.

Those of you readers who HAVE competed at advanced levels of competition, and quite a few of you who have not (yet) already know: You still have a few friends when you step on a trial field or show ring even at the Regional level. Throw your and your dog's name in the entry box any higher than that and you have a lot fewer friends, and enemies you never knew you had.

As an old KY Derby jockey named Henry Moreno told me, while we stood in the pouring rain in the starting gate one morning, back when I was a bug-girl (apprentice jockey):
"Don't worry about the rail birds' squawk. These pigs are all easy to ride from the fence."

SS

Good post Shelley!!!