The 2019 New Year came in with a tremendous roar as expectations for a much better year is on everyone’s mind and spirit!
At Chambray Labradors we ticked out the old year on a major winning streak and even better, a champion crowning tradition unequaled by any Labrador breeder in the country…………ever!
Yes, the Dog Show Consecutive Winning Weekend streak wrapped up SEVEN FULL YEARS of winning without having a losing weekend since January 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That truly is something that no other Labrador breeder can lay claim to.
As astounding as the preceding winning streak has become, we look to add more of these super successful winning weekends to the treasure trove we have now………….as awesome as the preceding has become, there is a ‘higher calling’ record that is considered beyond zenith stratosphere in achieving for Labrador breeders……40 Home-bred champions in 8 years!
That number is a lifelong career number for a just a few that maybe have been breeding for 30 years or more!........................those 40 add to the prior 23, giving Chambray Labradors the high watermark of 63 career home-bred champions……….as a perspective, that’s more than three times as many as the 2nd place Florida Labrador breeder.
So, what do we do to make the New Year as memorable as what we have achieved so far………………well, we just keep on with the Winning Tradition by following the Betterment of the Breed credo!
When something has been working near perfection for 30 years, you hone, you tweak…………………you refine, you level up and raise the bar to ensure that the best is yet to come………………that’s a path that will lead to the highest strata of success.
Something new, something blue for 2019………………………we will maintain these pages where we will post news, opinions and educational material, however, the new part is that we will devote much, much more of our time ‘broadcasting’ on social media, with Facebook being the prime conduit of choice.
Just in the month of December, we totaled well over 12,000 views with 3 different Puppy Evaluations conducted and posted to Facebook, with 2 of those on Facebook Live……………………..so Live Streaming is the way to go and we are outfitting ourselves with the needed equipment to create top-flight broadcasts and videos that can be watched live and also accessed on video through Facebook and also the Chambray YouTube channel.
Visit our Webpages often, but to stay up to date with the cutting edge Labrador-related educational seminars, webcasts, instructional videos and live streaming join us on Facebook.
October 31: Great Expectations, Signed, Sealed, Delivered
The chattering squirrels of Team Chambray are gathering their tools of the trade for the up and coming 3 days of shows in Ocala FL as we depart for Central Florida tomorrow.
Just as Pip and Estella from Great Expectations had indeed those desires, so too do I have those Great Expectations, as I peer out the office window and see my crew/extended family hard at work dusting off, cleaning, and loading the paraphernalia that is loaded before each weekend of shows, then unloaded when we return back to Chambray Acres, only to be washed, disinfected, rinsed, dried and loaded up for yet another foray into the competitive world of showing dogs.
Yes, competitive, very competitive indeed, because this is what we do and do it at the top levels, with other professionals vying for the exact same prizes and ultimate glory of standing in the winner’s circle, waiting to take that well-deserved winning photo with the judge of the day.
The proverbial tip of the iceberg is what folks sitting around the ring see……………what the anointed judge observes and makes his/her decision as to which exhibit is designated the ‘winner’………….that scenario is the icing on the cake for all to witness and pass judgement on………..however to get there and perform those fleeting moments with the dog in that ring at that moment takes a ton of work and energy, days, months and years before that fateful stroll around the ring!
Recently an exhibitor, one of those that didn’t fare well with the winning of points or the receiving of the better placements from the classes complained that Chambray had the judge’s connection going on …………………….and you know what, that person had it right!
When an entity, whether it be the best auto on the market, the best computer, the best football team, the best combination of breed type, the best training & conditioning, and capped off with the best presentation…………………………there will be a preponderance of admirers, be they the commoners or the royals…………………so too in show dogs, specifically Labradors and especially here in Florida, judges come already expecting to see what the fanfare is all about with Chambray Labradors.
Our goal is to not disappoint them, to keep that live connection a hot wire one………………..they come expecting to see why we win at an astonishing rate and we then deliver the goods to them in the ring.
No need to talk to them, no need to hobnob with them, no need to grease the wheel or pat their back…………………no sir, no ma’am, just show them why it is so!
Have the best in breed type, train and condition them to be at their very best shape and endurance and then handle them to the very best for the best performance possible.
The judges come looking for it, the ringside crowd comes to see if the winning keeps on going, the competition comes to compare and hope to reach the same heightened level, we then take the ball and run with it as our owners expect us to do!
Great Expectations signed, sealed and delivered.
October 25: The Numbers Are In For Ocala 1, Majors At Last!
The news across the wire could not have been better!
Major-pointed shows are in the midst, as all 3 shows at Ocala on November 2nd thru the 4th have reached and surpassed the magic number of 16 males needed to make them what those dogs that lack majors are gunning for!
Whoopee, we are now happier than Larks in a field loaded with exaltation, as we now await the starting bell for that first show to commence. We have several dogs that would accomplish what they set out to do and become AKC Champions of Record by winning a Winners Dog for the males, with the females needing to ‘crossover’ with a Winners Bitch and a Best Of Winners to also be awarded the major as well.
Of course, we as the breeders, directors, managers, trainers and ultimately, the handlers at the dog shows are scuffing at the ground much as a racehorse does before the starting blocks are lifted for the big race……………I too know that the dogs’ owners are as giddy with excitement to finally have the opportunity to go for it, as major-pointed shows have been difficult to form and without them, a dog just can’t fulfill the requirements to ascend to be an AKC Champion.
So, all hands on deck, as we are counting down the days, but not with twirling our thumbs and not with snoozing until D-Day comes, nope, that’s not the way to get from Point A to Point Z.
We are tweaking and fine tuning………………conditioning and training………………..supplementing where and with which dog needed, trimming the fat with those dogs that have the rich life at home with everyone ‘treating’ them with goodies like there is no tomorrow.
Here at Chambray Acres, it's like a smorgasbord of dogs needing one thing or another, as they come for their visits for evaluation weeks before a dog show.
Just yesterday, 5 different dogs on our show roster for the 1st Ocala shows came for private one-on-ones, each as different as night is to day…………………….from one end of the spectrum to the other…………………one that will debut as a puppy, needing at least 4 pounds off before stepping into that ring for the very first time……………..one needing to put on about 5 pounds before making her first appearance at an AKC show as well…………………..another dog needing to settle quite a bit on the go around to show off its great movement……………….another dog that is still a bit fidgety when stacking, not holding sufficiently for our liking………………….one dog still having fits with the teeth and mouth examination…………….and on and on we went with all 5 appointments………………but guess what, each left here having had either a breakthrough or at least some quantifiable improvement that we can add unto at the next private one-on-one session before we head off to Central Florida to take advantage of those major pointed shows!
Guess what? That’s the way I like it! Stepping onto the stage with the best of what we breed, with the training and conditioning that few others can match and then the winningest handling in the Labrador ring.................that's called creating the Winning Edge and making those numbers count!
October 17th: Listening To The Drum Roll Waiting For Major-Pointed News
The deadline for entries for the first weekend at Ocala came and went at 12 noon today…………we did our part in helping to build a major as we have 7 class males on the show roster. However, as I explained for the umpteen time in recent months, each and every one of those 7 class dogs can win the whole ball of wax!
Homie and his team don’t do ringers or fillers when we load up, it’s for bear and bears don’t fool around, so you better show up locked and loaded and that’s exactly what our show roster is like for Ocala………………bears here we come!
Now we await the entry breakdown and since these shows are put on by MBF, we will get that highly anticipated dispatch very pronto, maybe by Thursday night!
Like a horse would be, I too am chafing, chomping and champing at the bit to know if we have achieved the highly sought out major pointed shows………………..a defining opportunity for those dogs that just need a major to finish their AKC champion’s title.
I also know of several other breeders, exhibitors and handlers that could very well finish one of their dogs by winning one of the possible 3 days of Ocala shows…………….if indeed the number of class males reaches the magic ascension of 16!
With the Plant City shows the weekend before Ocala, we could very well have another of our dogs that may be in the hunt for majors too!
For Ocala right now we have Chambrays Rose On Center Stage needing just a major-pointed win to cross the finish line for her AKC champion’s title, as does Chambrays Ruff Walter Jackson with 12 points and 1 major and Chambrays Axel Avella with 10 points and 1 major, so he would need to grab a couple of majors to cover the 15 total points needed for his title.
However, our newest addition to Team Chambray, Belquest Conclusion Banana Republic came to us with 3 points and this past weekend at Arcadia, doubled his bounty with 3 Winners Dog for 3 points and could very well snap up the 2 Winners Dog awards at Plant City and then he too would be in the hunt for the Majors if they indeed materialize at Ocala!
Now, we listen to the drum roll to find out if our quest for the rare major-pointed shows does come to pass and then we be cooking with good old lard........................how many of you young whippersnappers out there have ever even heard of 'lard'?
October 15th: Who Does That?
We just wrapped up the most astonishing dog show weekend that could have not be choreographed any better for Chambray if it were done apropos!
Let me put some of the statistics in a way that can truly be appreciated.
Labradors that win a Best Of Breed get to show in the Sporting Groups, where the other 31 members of this group that each also won a Best Of Breed will congregate for the judge to choose 1st through 4th place……………………the actual terminology is ‘Group 1 Placement’ for a 1st place, ‘Group 2 Placement’ for a 2nd place, ‘Group 3 Placement’ for 3rd place and a ‘Group 4 Placement’ for 4th place.
The breed of dog awarded the Group 1 Placement gets the invitation for it to compete at the finale
of a dog show, Best In Show!
Since there are 7 different groups of dogs, Sporting, Working, Herding, Hounds, Non-Sporting, Terriers, and Toys, there will be 7 dogs that compete for that Best In Show vying for the ultimate, big kahuna rosette given out at a dog show!
Labradors competing at the Sporting Group level, if lucky will receive any Group Placement once in 10 trips to the Sporting Groups. Seldom do they actually win the Sporting Groups with that Group 1 Placement………………..less than 1 per 100 Best Of Breed Labradors end up being awarded a
Group 1!!!!!!!!!!
Chambray Labradors in 32 years of showing, winning more Best Of Breeds with our Labs than any other Labrador breeder in the state, in fact, more than all of the current show Labrador breeders combined in the state, with our 463 Best Of Breeds won, before this weekend in Arcadia, only 18 of those had won the coveted Group 1 Placement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So 463 trips to the Sporting Groups had only yielded 18 of those first place awards needed to go for the Best In Show competition!
Even rarer, only 2 of our Labradors out of those 18 managed to win the Best In Show they were competing for!
So, imagine our surprise and awe when at Saturday’s Sporting Group competition when Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard is the ultimate winner of that Group 1! Only the 19th in 32 years of showing.
Now imagine what happens at Sunday’s show when another of our superstar dogs, Gr Ch Chambrays The Tradition Continues ‘TC’, a new 2018 champion and even newer grand champion, just 2 days prior, wins the Best Of Breed and heads into the Sporting Groups and wins another
Sporting Group 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is 2 Group 1’s in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember the other 18 Group 1’s took 32 years!
Now, grab onto your pants, chair leg or walker………… TC goes head-to-head against the other 6 Group winners and is awarded a Reserve Best In Show…………………….Chambray’s first ever since the RBIS award came into being 7 years ago!
So, we celebrate the
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1st RBIS.....to add to the 2 Best In Shows.
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the 182nd Consecutive Dog Show Winning Weekend......
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a new Grand Champion..............the 24th Grand Champion...........
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3 Trifectas by winning BOB, WD & WB in the same show.......now a total of 71 Trifectas.....
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2 Group 1 Placements, back-to-back.............now a total of 20 Group 1's
Who Does That?
For more of the weekends super duper winnings, check out the front page of the www.chambraylabradors.net website.
October 4th & Don't Call Me Surely!
Deland down, Arcadia next up!
That’s the way it goes in the dog show world……….weekends come and weekends go, what changes are the venues and the judges……………..occasionally!
Occasionally because back at the beginning of September we trekked up the state, first forward to the north then left towards the Gulf Coast states, landing at Biloxi after almost 14 hours of steady driving.
We did four days of shows there in the Magnolia state of Mississippi, with a different judge each day………now here we are a month and a half later, where next week we will pack the van up and head due north on US 27 towards Arcadia which is right dab in the middle of nothing Florida, between Nocatee to the south, Cow Slough to the east and Gator Hole slightly to the north!
But guess what, with over 2000 different judges that are licensed to abjudicate over Labradors, two of the same dudes from Biloxi will be right there at Arcadia!
Whoopee! I can’t contain the excitement.
Okay, okay, rancor doesn’t become me or does it?
Anyways, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these canine show aficionados from the swift completion of our appointed rounds. Yes, yes, I plagiarize when the need arises! As long as you get the point, then point well taken and I take whatever to make those points!
So, here we head to a one hotel town with two, count them, two traffic lights and lo and behold we will meet up with those pesky same two judges that we didn’t seem to faze with our dogs just a few short weeks ago…………..so whoopee again.
Hey, I can ‘beeach’ with the best of them because I am totally surrounded by those same ‘bestest’ of them right here at home sweet home!
But hark, we do have some different dogs going there and totally different competitor dogs converging at Nowhere, USA………………….. so let’s give these two dusky blokes a second chance at redemption and see what they choose this time around!
As I always recite verbatim to any and all that will stand long enough to listen, sit long enough to read………we breed for the best of the breed, we take and train and condition the best of the best from our litters and then we wrap up the package with the proven best handling out there, so bring on the towns where many know not of their existence, invite those judges that have never graced our presence or that seemingly have made too many appearances wearing out their welcome……………..we take on all comers, the more the merrier, the better they seem the higher we rise to the occasion.
Makes winning that much more impressive and the way we are going, Winning Weekend #182 sounds mighty inviting even if it is in the middle of not much to the right, not much to the left or any which way you turn GPS-wise or politically either!
Either way, I am going to enjoy doing what I love and know we do it the best!
Whoa Nelly..............Biloxi MS Loaded To The Gills With Numbers & Great Breed Type Dogs!!!!
When the entry numbers for the Biloxi MS dog shows were posted………….. “staggering” to say the least came to mind!
A whopping 24 class males and 23 class females had somehow come together to create 5-Point Majors for both sexes making these shows the most entered shows for Team Chambray to compete at for the 2018 Dog Show season…………………..more Labs entered there than at any Florida show for the year!
The million dollar question that instantly popped up was, “Where in tar blazes did all these dogs come from?”
I guarantee that there aren’t that many show Labs in the 3 surrounding ‘local’ states of MS, AL, and LA. No siree Bob, Bill or Russki……………..no way Jose that any significant number of these dogs were of local origin.
So, my entire14-hour drive to ‘Casino’, USA (that’s Mississippi, where there are as many casinos as corner gas stations), that torturous and horrendous trek across the never-ending Florida Panhandle…………..across the Alabama state line……………under some river and through some tunnel…………….across the Mississippi state line and finally to Biloxi was filled with conjuring from where each of all those dogs entered originated from!
Well, soon enough on Thursday morning when I plopped down a measly $5 for a 4-day catalog……………..there in full splendor were 12 Open Class dogs with all three colors clumped together into one huge class and 11 more class males scattered between the lower classes……………………….there were 9 Open Class females (just as with the males, all colors clumped together too) and 14 other females in the other classes…………however the ‘blow your mind’ information was ‘WHERE THE DICKENS’ did they came from!
The tattletale of the tape told the Greatest Story Ever Told…………………….they came from everywhere! 58 Labradors from 18 different states!
Florida drove over with the biggest contingency with18…………..Virginia obliged with 9………..big Texas provided 5………..little Delaware came in with 3………………..NJ, PA, MD, TN, SC, IL, IN each brought along 2………………..ME, GA, CA, MA, each chipped in with 1 dog and the locals of AL had 2, MS also had 2 and LA had 1 representative dog there!
“Who would have thunk it?”, as Yogi Berra once elucidated………………that way in the middle of almost nowhere a huge showing of Labradors would congregate and make up 5-point majors for both sexes!
Well conjure no more because here we were in the midst of this breed entry explosion……………..so just who were these trekkers of long distances? Well, it was a who’s who of breeders from each of those states, with several Top 20 Ranked Labradors and a couple bobbing for apples in the Top 10!
So, just how ‘well’ or ‘not well’ did the Team Chambray do?
Let’s put it this way if there was a bag limit on the number of wins that a breeder was allowed……………..we most certainly exceeded that limit!
First of all, there is that Consecutive Dog Show Weekend Winning Streak…………….started in January of 2012 and has gone on uninterrupted now for 6 years………….now up to 180 Dog Show Weekends of winning Winners Points, Best Of Breeds and/or Grand Champion Points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Every single dog show weekend that Team Chambray has competed at in Florida since 01/2012…………….every dog show weekend we traveled to Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina……that we trekked to and won there as well!
There are some folks that revel, rock and roll if they were to win at back-to-back weekend of dogs shows and here it was, our 180th dog show weekend with wins!
That streak continued at Thursday’s show with one of our dogs taking a 5-Pt Major Grand Champion’s award…………….so with business taken care of, the streak being kept alive for another weekend of dog shows, it was back to the matter at hand…………….handling and winning more with our dogs.
Starting at the top, with the Best Of Breed competition where the big boys and big girls come to strut and play……………………..Ch Chambrays The Tradition Continues ‘TC’, takes back-to-back Best Of Breeds, amassing over 100 Breed points at Friday and Saturday’s shows and then snaps up a Sporting Group 3 adding up to over 225 All-Breed points for national ranking. At that very first show on Thursday, TC would garner the Select Gr Ch award for a 5-pt major and win over competition! Each of the Best Of Breeds was also worth 5-points each, so TC comes away from these Biloxi shows with 3 Majors, 3 Wins Over Competition, 15 total points…………..added to 3 previous points at other shows, he is now only 7 points away from his Grand Champions title!
Striking gold by taking Winners Bitch & Best Of Winners twice, first at Friday’s show for a 5-Pt Major win was Chambrays Miss Molly May. She then wraps up her AKC championship quest with another huge major-pointed Winners Bitch & Best Of Winners for back-to-back 5-Point Major wins………………added to her accumulated 8 Winners Bitch points and she crosses that mythical finish line to become Chambray’s 63rd Lifetime Home-Bred Champion, which is a Florida record for the ages and on a national level, she becomes our 39th champion in 8 years which is a National Record for that span of time {2011 to 2018}.
Of special interest, TC and Molly are littermates from Jericho X WinQuest Kept Secret “Sasha’s” litter. More special interest is that Molly's AKC champion's title gives her sire Jericho his 10th Champion offspring, making him Florida's All-Time Champion Stud Dog Producer!
Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard would take 2 Select Gr Champions wins for a total of 10 Gr Ch pts. Likewise did BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter score 2 Select Gr Champion wins, both Majors and both Wins Over Competition. Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady drove down from Tennessee with her owner for Saturday and Sunday’s shows and she ended up with winning one Select Gr Ch for 3 points. All three, Tank’d, Gayla and Lady are offspring of BIS BBE Silver Grand Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter “Kika”……………….which owns the most prestigious record for a producing dam………………..she being Florida’s all-time Top Dam Producer with 6 champion offspring to her better than gold credentials!
So, we drove away from Biloxi with as much bounty as possible considering the gargantuan levels of breed quality from all those that descended from miles and miles away, just as we had miles and miles before us on our way back to Chambray.
ICE Dog Shows ~ Lakeland FL 08/22 & 23
This weekend, August 22nd & 23rd the Herzons and some members of our Team Chambray handling crew will skedaddle on up to Lakeland, FL for the International Shows.
This will provide us with our Summer Puppy Extravaganza…………………..most years we host the event right here at Chambray Acres and at other times we choose a very opportune time and place to get our current crop of super stellar puppies and their owners together at one sitting.
Of course, with 2 shows each day, there isn’t much time to be sitting for Team Chambray, whereas the owners can sit right back and cheer their puppies on while we apply our time garnered expertise in the ring with their dogs.
So, this venue is the chosen one for the Summer of 2018, with the debut of 3 puppies and their owners and 1 adult, which just arrived from San Francisco which we will use the ring time and exposure to hone up our handling skills with her ring savvy taught by the pros that her owner hired back in CA and took her to 3 AKC points.
Headlining the Puppy 3 to 6 Baby Puppy Class will be Chambrays Midnight Queen Of Beale “Silky”,owned by Virginia and Eddie Wilson of Memphis TN. Silky is from the breeding of Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness and Virginia’s own Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady.
Duking it out from the 6 to 9 Junior Puppy Class will be a Brother & Sister act…………Chambrays Black Diamond Queen Out Of The Ruff {Tony Alonzo} and Chambrays Golden God Of The Andes owned by the Romero family.
Representing Chambray in the adult’s class is our newest addition to our AKC show roster, Chambrays Champagne Caviar and Cabaret, “Skylar”, all the way from San Fransisco, CA, owned by Danna Mosely.
Skylar is staying with is and later being featured at the AKC shows from the tough Open Black Class. She will be here for the whole Florida 2018 Fall shows, leading up to the grand finale, the Royal Canin National Championships held in Orlando FL in December.
The brother and sister puppies vying for top Junior Puppy honors and also seeking their International Puppy Champion’s title, will each continue on and make their debut at the AKC shows in September.
Little Silky will make her AKC debut at the Royal Canin as a 6-month old at the biggest dog show in the country in December and will head on up to Tennessee with Virginia after the 5 days of shows in Orlando.
We look forward to all these new puppies and young dogs and their owners to carry on the winning tradition that Team Chambray and Chambray Labradors and the Owner’s Program have been blessed with.
07/29 On The Road Again: Next Up......................Kenner, LA
♫ Leaving on a jet plane ♫…………………well, you know the drill, not really a jet plane……………more like a passenger van filled with dogs, show dog paraphernalia and 2 handlers!
That’s the ticket to Kenner, Louisianna………………leaving Chambray Acres in the wee hours of Wednesday, August 1st………………..driving all day…………………ETA the Kenner show site venue, some 13 hours later!
Phew, glad I don’t have to make that ride……………if I did, I would probably have to pull off to the side of the road minimum 10 times…..you know what for!
Jessie and her valiant assistant will make the voyage to parts north-west of here…………………first due north for over 6 hours and then west about 7 hours across 3 state lines.
Our top champion Tank’d, striving again to finish 3 years in a row in the Top 20 Labradors for 2018 (2016 & 2017)……………our top class male Jackson needing just a major pointed win to ascend to the pie in the sky champion’s title, making him the 5th new champion in 2018 for Chambray and the 63rd State Record Lifetime Home-Bred Champion…………………………and our top class bitch, seeking any points available…………… will be the main feature of Jessie/Chambray’s touring roster.
Also traveling to Kenner and handled by his owner will be Beau………………….now just 5 Gr Ch points away from the Bronze title! Beau’s Bronze title will give Chambray 11 Bronze Grand Champions, which will add one more to our National Leading #1 standing. She will also have both Pepper (Walter X Bella) and Dixie (Jericho X Samantha) at the shows seeking those elusive Winners Bitch Points.
THIS JUST IN! (07/31) Something new, Duke will also be showing at the 4 shows in Kenner with his new handler, Jennifer Bell. Duke is now on the verge of attaining the rarefied Silver Grand Champion’s title…………needing only 10 more points to join the other 37 Silver Grand Champion Labradors in the country……………..giving Chambray the 4th Silver Gr Ch title holder, this title would propel us to also enjoy the #1 spot atop of the Silver Grand Champion marquee!
Then there is the 178 Consecutive Weekend Winning Spree on the line……………one win, either a Winners Dog, a Winners Bitch, a Best Of Breed, Best Of Opposite Sex or Select Grand Champion points would keep the streak alive until our next dog show weekend foray!
So, back at the ranch, we will be holding the fort down and sitting by the phone each day to hear of the exploits and conquest by Team Chambray in La…..La Land!
July 18th: Winning Ways #178
Here it is, Wednesday, three days after the grueling and most satisfying four days of shows this past weekend in West Palm Beach!
Grueling because the 220-mile round trip each day up to WPB and back to the outer reaches of Miami, where we call home at Chambray Acres…………….really, really gets to become old hat, monotonous and boring to say the least by the 4th and last day of the mission……………………make that 5 days of trekking because before the Thursday show, we were up at the fairgrounds on Wednesday setting up the crate and grooming space.
So, just how did we fare, how did the dogs do that were front and center as our top dogs for this, the last dog show weekend in South Florida for 2018?
Well, so glad that you all asked! Gives me ample room to boast and brag…………which, of course, I don’t need any prompting when we have the best Labs in the country…….when we have the best handling team in the Lab ring and when we win like no other Labrador breeder/handler does in the good old USA!
So, let’s let the good times roll……………or in Big Easy language, ‘laissez le bon temps rouler’!
Starting the winning going for the 4 days of shows………………Chambrays Blazing Sunrise snaps up a Winners Dog at the Thursday show……………ensuring that the Consecutive Weekend Winning Streak continues on to live another weekend of dog shows, raising the bar to a never to be equaled or bested 178 straight winning weekends of dog shows!
That streak started back in January of 2012 and here it is the halfway mark for 2018 and once again, whoop there it is………….#178!
Blaze grabs the 2 Pt Winners Dog (now with 6 pts and 1 major) and BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter “Gayla” snaps up her 2nd Win Over Competition……………..beating the Top Ranked champion Labrador bitch in Florida for a Select Grand Champion award!
Both Chambrays Axel and Chambrays Molly were awarded Reserve Winners from each of the males and female’s classes.
Friday brought about a Winners Dog for Chambrays Axel, giving him 10 pts and 1 major to his impressive resume…………….our superstar champion, Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard is awarded his 30th Best Of Breed worth 4 Grand Champions points, plus 37 National points for both Breed & All-Breed Rankings! Gayla would also share in the winning frenzy by taking her 2nd Select Gr Ch.
Bypassing a ho-hum Saturday with ends of spectrum judging, Sunday would cement the winning weekend deal with two of our up and coming Class of 2017 youngsters, each breaking the winning point's ice with Winners Dog and Winners Bitch awards.
Starting off the winning ways was Chambrays Stellar Sun “Remi”, taking his first Winners Dog after a long hiatus from the shows going back to the December Royal Canin appearance. Neck and neck for that win was Chambray’s Guinness taking the RWD, who also was making a come back after being off from the shows since December as well.
Chambrays Silent Bit O Honey “Cali” would also cash in at the winning spree by taking her first ever points at WPB. Gayla would make it 3 out 4 with an awesome Best Of Opposite Sex, giving her the 3rd needed Win Over Competition towards her Grand Champions title.
Now, we recoup and gear up for an out of state jog to try and pickup some wins where the point system for majors isn't as high as it is for Florida, nor as hard to come by in Louisiana as it is here in Florida with many of the state's breeders and exhibitors not wanting to enter the fracas of competition to build up those much needed major pointed shows.
With the imminent debut of some of the stellar puppies from the class of 2018, we need to do our very best to finish out the top pointed dogs before several of these 6 and 7 month olds emerge and make their mark as the previous year's Puppy Classes have done with 4 puppies under 1 year old finishing their AKC championships, 4 more finishing by 13 months old ..................3 more finishing before 16 months..................right now we are looking at 4 males puppies and 2 female puppies that have the potential to garner all their champion's points before they also turn a year old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 11th: West Palm Beach Beckons Us
Here it is Wednesday morning…………..24 hours before we stride into the ring tomorrow at 8 AM to show our Labradors and then the rest of the other breeds that Jessie manages and shows as well!
Today, we have our hands full and our plate fully loaded up to the brim………………there will be 3 last minute dog drop-offs for us to groom, work with a bit and take care of them for the rest of the day, staying here with us tonight to then load them up into the van at 4 AM tomorrow morning to make the almost 2-hour trek up the pike to the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach!
Of course, we have the rest of the travel dogs already here at the farm……………a total of 12 dogs at Chambray Acres that will also need transport tomorrow in the wee hours of the new day…………..additionally, at around noon today, we will cruise on up to the show grounds taking with us most of the ‘housekeeping stuff’, the setup crates and grooming equipment and paraphernalia that we will use for the 4 days of shows…………………so a 4-hour roundtrip sans the dogs just to get things ready even before the first day of showing gets started tomorrow!
Back at the farm for the rest of the day today, there will be light trimming and grooming…………….last minute training and conditioning for some of the dogs that we haven’t seen in a while………..mostly because of all the night training classes that have been rained out……yet, we need to take the edge off of them so that come ring time, they can give us some semblance of performance.
So, what’s in store for this weekend? We truly never know! We go there with the best dogs that we have and we cross our fingers and hope for the best, because no matter how much planning, training, strategizing……………..no matter how many permutations are possible when you least expect something…………..you can expect it to come about!
As far as accomplishments or records or streaks at stake:
The Consecutive Weekend Winning Streak now stands at 177…………..that is at least 1 major win* per weekend since January of 2012! *A win of a BOB, or a Winners Dog or a Winners Bitch……………or Grand Champion points…………………every weekend of shows that Team Chambray has traveled to starting 6 years ago! So, this weekend of shows could up the ante to the 178th Weekend of Winning!
There is a possibility that we could be crowning our 11th Bronze Grand Champion……right now our 10 Bronze Gr Champions is the tops in the USA for a Labrador breeder……………………. Grand Ch Chambrays Southern Magnolia’s Beau needs just 7 more points to add to that #1 Ranking.
Although the competition will be extremely tough for these 4 shows in WPB………..with a total of 8 champions vying for those Grand Champion points…………………..we feel that Beau will come through and we will get to taste the ‘bubbly’ as part of the celebration to his new Bronze status.
There are other ‘wins’ and awards to celebrate since all of the class dogs need Winners Dog and Winners Bitch points to add to their credentials to reach that magic number of 15 points and 2 majors for their AKC champion’s title…………so we will be hooting and hollering when those achievements come their way.
For those planning on visiting us there and cheering on the home team, Team Chambray…………………here are the times for Labradors for each day.
Thursday 8 AM
Friday 8 AM
Saturday 9 AM
Sunday 8 AM
June 30th WPB Entries Are In
The entry numbers just came out for the West Palm Beach 4 days of dog shows and sure enough we are well short of majors all 4 days…………………so that saved a bundle in entry fees for our owners whose dogs just needed majors and I decided not to enter them, more or less knowing that it would be far-fetched reaching the 16 class males needed for the entries to ascend to that required number.
So, all of the Chambray dogs on the show roster can very well use any and all of the wins available and use them towards the magic number of 15 points and eventual 2 majors to proclaim themselves AKC champions…………………actually we proclaim them to be champions, the AKC provides the affirmation of their championship status and the dogs, well they enjoy all the attention they receive along the way and if they continue on in quest for their AKC Grand Championship………………the more well-deserved attention they will receive!
Of course, not to mention that their value as perpetuators of the breed as stud dogs rises exponentially with those AKC-awarded titles, designation and certificates!
Now we await the Judging Program to come out around July 7th, letting us know the times and rings for each day’s competition.
Usually, Labradors are in first thing in the morning as it is a breed that doesn’t require much grooming, leaving the later starting times for those breeds that have loads and tons of grooming before venturing into the competitive ring.
From now until July 12th Thursday morning’s departure to the WPB show grounds (we leave here each morning at 5 AM), we will be giving major priority to those dogs on the show roster……………….training, conditioning, building up stamina and endurance and creating the best presentation possible, ensuring that once they step into the ring, that we have covered as many of the eventualities as can and do come up at a dog show!
All 5 of the males entered for Chambray come in with the exact odds/chances of winning!
As puppies at their 7 1/2 week old evaluation, each of the five rated ‘superior’, with a rating of 97+, each was the top pick male from their litter!
Leading the pack at the Points Progression Page is Chambrays Axel Avella with 8 pts and 1 major. He comes from the breeding between BBE Ch Chambrays Where Eagles Dare (“Big Tank”owned by Marie Knapp) bred to Int Ch Chambrays Cajun N Counter. Axel is owned by the Rojas-Avella family of Doral FL.
Chambrays Blazing Sunrise is a tad behind Axel in the point’s race with 4pts and 1 major. He comes from the breeding between BBE Ch Chambrays Stellar Thunder “Rico” and Int Ch Chambrays Titanic N Counter (both Rico and Tatiana owned by Olga and Juan Marrero of Miami FL)
Chambrays Max Tucker Shwab, owned by Mila Shwab of Miami Fl, coming from the litter of Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting bred to Chambrays Titanic N Counter is out there chasing the ice breaker for his 1st AKC points. In the last couple of weekends of shows, the whole package seems to have come together as he consistently has won his classes and has been in consideration for the points.
Chambrays Stellar Sun “Remi”, owned by Gail Davenport of Everglades City, out of the 2nd litter between Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho (owned by Carol and Chip Wilkening), bred to super star, BIS BBE Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter (“Kika” owned by Olga and Juan Marrero)………….Remi has the distinction of having the #1 Producing Stud Dog ever from Florida with 9 champions and the #1 Producing Broad Bitch ever from Florida with 6 champion offspring! Remi has been on Hiatus for 7 months and will now rejoin our top roster of class males without any points........yet, as things will be changing big time!
Joining Remi at these WPB shows after also having been away from the dog shows since the 2017 Royal Canin of shows will be Chambrays Steal Your Girl “Guinness”, owned by the Gonzalez family of Plantation FL and comes from the breeding of BBE Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter JAMSS, JAE, the winningest Best Of Breed to Sporting Groups winner ever from Chambray………..bred to Int Ch Chambrays Bella From Ipanema owned by the Farias family of Weston FL. In limited showing, Guinness is also awaiting for his first pointed win.
Our female class dogs come into the mix of things with youngest starting lineup at a ‘featured’ weekend of dog shows………..averaging just 15 months old between the 4 class bitches that are being spotlighted as these WPB shows!
The eldest, having just turned 2 years old is, showing from the BBE Class is Chambray Ruff N Counter, “Heidi”, owned by Rosie Feeley of Boynton Beach Fl and is out of the litter between BBE Ch Chambray’s Where Eagles Dare and Gr Ch Chambrays First N Counter “Gavi”. Heidi has 5 points to her resume.
From the litter between Jericho X Ch Chambrays Sweet Honey Samantha is Chambrays Silent Bit O Honey “Cali”, owned by the Bershaws of Orlando FL. Cali is now 13 months old and is awaiting her first Winners Bitch for points. She is shown from the 12 to 18 Class.
Covering the Am Bred Class is Chambrays Secret Surprise “Leenda”, is owned by Juan and Olga Marrero of Miami FL. Leenda is from the 2017 Top Litter between Jericho X Sasha (Winquest Kept Secret). She is one of 5 puppies from that litter with AKC points, plus the litter that produce the 1st Class of 2017 champion, Ch Chambrays The Tradition Continues. Leenda now has 3 points to her credit.
Team Chambray's flagship class bitch has become Chambrays Miss Molly May owned by Debbie and John Menhennett of Ft Lauderdale FL, she will now be featured from the Open Yellow class as the leader of the females with 8 points to her credit……………………..Molly is also from the Jericho X Sasha litter that has produced the top superstar puppies from 2017.
Now we buckle down and make the time, effort and put all our energies to having all the dogs on the roster ready to rock and roll at West Palm Beach………………besides winning and accumulating points toward their championship.................on the line for all these young dogs is keeping alive the consecutive dog show 178 winning weekend's record alive and kicking…………………the streak that began in January of 2012 and here it is July 2018 and as do the Timex watches…………………..takes a licking and keeps on ticking!
What's in your wallet?
June 27th WPB On The Horizon
The entry deadline for the WPB dog shows came and went and now we assess what’s needed by the dogs that made the starting day’s lineup………………those entered dogs essentially are our ‘best dogs’ that will be in contention for the Winners Dog, Winners Bitch, Best Of Breed, Best Of Opposite Sex, and the 2 Select Grand Champion’s points for male and female champion dogs.
I state ‘essentially’ because assuming that the entries for these shows had no chance at achieving the numbers needed to amount to being major-pointed shows, we left off the top Chambray class males and class females, those just needing majors to finish their championships!
So, we enter the four days of competition with the Chambray dogs that seem to have the best chances of winning against the best dogs that the competition has to offer up. Keeping in mind that the top professional handlers have the luxury of taking on the top dogs from multiple kennels………….so it becomes the Chambray dogs against half a dozen or more kennels sending out their best dogs to go head to head with our lineup……………..kind of us against the world scenario.
Guess what? We welcome that panoramic scene!
Yes Sir, Walter Raleigh, come heck and hither rising water, we relish the competitiveness that the dog shows bring us. I have always said it, I will put up my best 10 dogs against the top dogs from 10 different kennels and may the best dogs win………………………looking back over the last 10 years…………………………..our best 10 have overwhelmingly come out the victors in that 10 against 10 duel………………….by far and large to the tune of over 40 newly crowned Chambray champions versus 1/3 that number for the accumulative efforts of the other denary group in that decade of time.
So, although we do leave behind several of our ‘heavyweights’, the 5 class males and 4 class females that make up the WPB show roster have my 100% Seal Of Approval to do battle with the best that the pros and that other breeders/exhibitors bring on.
Of special interest for these shows......................5 of our champions will be vying for the special prize in the sky, the Best Of Breed award!
Three of those champions have been duking it out all year for Top Honors from Florida...............all 3 our ranked in the USA Top 40 Labradors in all 3 categories as follows:
Gr Ch Chambrays Southern Magnolia's Beau #30 All-Breed, #13 Breed and #11 Grand Ch
Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard #15 All-Breed, # 38 Breed and #16 Gr Ch
Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness #20 All-Breed, # 38 Breed & #15 Gr Ch.
That is amazing having 3 champions from one kennel/from 1 state in the USA Top 40 in ALL 3 of the categories!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also, joining the those top 3 super stars will be our newest girl champion, BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter, going for her Grand Champion's title.
Plus our newest champion, entered into the Best Of Breed Competition for the very first time, Ch Chambrays The Tradition Continues "TC".
Even more special interest...................all 4 Herzons will be handling champions in the BOB ring with Jessie on Tank'd..............yours truly, me on Beau...................Johanna on Gayla and our debutante TC with Ryan........should be a Family Feud sight to see!
Now we need to find the time in between the traditional summertime deluges that dampen all plans for any outdoor activity.
Thank goodness that the 4 days of shows at WPB are held indoors at the Expo Center with super-duper A/C to make our labor with the dogs an easier task to perform.
Meanwhile, all those in attendance, be it the dog’s owners or all those visiting Chambray owners and invitees that I send out invite memos to, can sit and bask in the cool shade around ringside and cheer the home team on!
Mark your calendars now…………………July 12th thru the 15th at WPB.
Email me the week before the shows and I will provide you all the particulars!
June 19th: Back In The Saddle Again
Well, the pack is back…………………safe, sound and victorious from the last rounds of dogs shows in Tampa………………..of course the ‘pack’ being Team Chambray.
It’s always so much better when the well-used, well-worn phrase ‘veni, vidi, vici’ is applicable with one of these outings………………..’we came, we saw and we conquered’………………..well, at least the attending members of Team Chambray’s handler’s cadre did all that arriving, seeing and winning…………………..I say that because due to late minute developments back at the ranch, one of the Herzons had to remain behind and hold down the fort at Chambray Acres and that one was the little old wine maker, me!
So, mission accomplished with the arriving, the showing and the winning part of the equation as 3 of our young bucks did their thing in the ring and stood out with masterful handling and each of them came away with a major-pointed win and one of our girls came away with 2 Winners Bitch to add to her resume!
Starting the shebang on fire at the very first day of shows in ‘bonny by the bay’ Tampa was Chambrays Blazing Sunrise………………and blaze he did, scorching his way from the 12 to 18 class with a 1st place blue ribbon and then taking Winners Dog for a 3-Point Major over all the other class winners………………..not stopping there, he sets the Best Of Breed competition on fire by beating 7 champions for the top honor of the day, the big enchilada, Best Of Breed! That BOB earned him another point to add up to a 4-Pt Major!
Blaze which just turned 14-months old is owned by Tarrah Hersey-Malagon of Jupiter FL and comes from the litter between BBE Ch Chambrays Stellar Thunder ‘Rico’ bred to Chambrays Titanic N Counter. Blaze now stands with 4-pts and 1 Major at the Points Progression page.
Adding to the ‘winning fest’ at the first day at the Tampa shows was Chambrays Miss Molly May, showing from the Am-Bred Class and owned by Debbie and John Menhennett of Ft Lauderdale Fl, taking a Winners Bitch for the 4th time in 2018. This is the 2nd time she combines with another of our males and a champion to achieve a ‘win all’ Trifecta of Winners Dog, Winners Bitch and Best Of Breed at the same show by dogs from the same breeder/kennel. Blaze of course accounted for the Winners Dog and the Best Of Breed and Molly completed the threesome Trifecta with her Winners Bitch award.
Taking the Select Gr Ch for 3 pts was BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter and picking up a RWD was Chambrays The Tradition Continues.
There’s nothing like coming home from a big show weekend and bring back a brand new championship!
That’s exactly what Team Chambray combined to do at the 3rd day of Tampa shows with Jessie & Johanna teaming up to handle Chambrays The Tradition Continues ‘TC’. Jessie and TC would take the 1st Place win from the 12 to 18 Class which he competes from against several top-notch dogs from other breeders and also against Chambrays Blazing Sunrise that had beaten TC the 2 days before for that ‘go further’ blue ribbon award. TC would then be handled in the Winners Dog competition by Johanna as Jessie would stay in the ring with the Chambray Open Yellow class winner, Chambrays Ruff Walter Jackson which had taken the blue ribbon from that class.
It would take the judge sometime to decide between TC/Johanna…………the Open Black Dog and Jackson/Jessie, before acknowledging TC and Johanna as the winning combination for Winners Dog, thus giving TC the needed 3-pt major to finish out his AKC championship.
From the Best Of Breed competition Gr Ch Chambrays Southern Magnolia’s Beau would be chosen for Select Gr Champion for a 4-pts. Beau is chasing the AKC’s Bronze Grand Champion’s title and just needs 8 Gr Ch pts points to rise to that stellar ascension. He will become the 11th Chambray Bronze Grand Champion as soon as he reaches the 100 Gr Ch Pts needed for that title.
Hopefully, the 4 days of shows in West Palm Beach on July 12th to the 15th, will provide Beau the opportunity to join the ranks of the other elite Chambray Bronze Grand champions, especially since I will be his designated handler for those 4 shows at WPB! Beau is lovingly owned by Kathy and Phillip Richardson of Spring Cove Fl.
Scott Armstrong's black female puppy, Pepper showing from the 6 to 9 class was selected as Best Puppy.
Saturday’s show provided Team Chambray with another great win with one of our other dogs winning a 3rd Major Pointed show out of the 5 days of exhibition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turning the hat trick for Team Chambray was Chambrays Axel Avella winning his Am Bred class and then beating the other first place finishers competing for Winners Dog and thus picking up his first major-pointed win. He now has 8 points and 1 major towards his champion’s title. Axel is owned by the Rojas-Avella family of Doral FL.
Joining Axel in the winner’s circle was Chambrays Miss Molly May winning her 2nd Winners Bitch from the 5 days of shows………………giving her a total of 8 points at the Points Progression page at the website. This is the 2nd time this year that Molly and Axel win points at the same show…………….the first time it was at the Davie shows in March where they combined for Trifecta #66 with Tank’d taking BOB, Axel the WD and Molly the WB.
Also at Saturday's show, Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard would be awarded the Select Grand Champion with 3 pts.
Now we can take a deep breath, collect our thoughts………………………..let our guard down for a day or two and then crank up the grinder all over again for the 4 days of shows coming up in West Palm Beach FL on July 12th thru the 15th.
June 15th: On The Cusp Of Three Decades Of Excellence
Consecutive Dog Show Winning Weekend #177 so far has brought us two more major bragging rights achievements…………………………the 61st home-bred champion and the 68th ‘win it all’ Trifecta!
I keep thinking “When will it end?”……………..about the winning streak that dates back to January of 2012!
That is a win, be it a Best Of Breed or a Winners Dog, or Winners Bitch or Grand Champion points at every weekend of dogs shows that Team Chambray has traveled to in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and now halfway through 2018 at the Tampa shows this weekend!
The preceding seems normal and ordinary to those that know of our winning ways………………..but it is highly irregular, totally out of the realm of reality for every other breeder, owner, exhibitor and even professional handler in the Labrador ring! No one else can lay claim to this beyond imaginable record…………………..in fact, had anyone asked my at the beginning in 2012 if winning consecutively for a whole year’s worth of dog show weekends was possible………………..I would have told that person to lay off the wacko weed!
Yep, the dissertating me would have delivered a thesis on how that would not be possible and then the non-gambler in me would have put up a sizable bet that neither us nor the next delusional bloke couldn’t extend a weekend winning streak for a 6 ½ years, let alone one year!
Good thing that no one took me up on that bet, I would have lost that sizable wager because here we are 2012 to 2018 and still butt-naked streaking!
Well, maybe not so much tushie-baring but keeping the streak out in the open…………………..that’s to every outing we showed up at and for those lamenters about us only winning in Florida…………………….
*a hefty number of those 177 sorties are from 6 ½ years of traveling out of state to places in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina …………………
*winning every single weekend we were there and then to quell the other chimers that pooh-pooh about us not showing up for the big shows………………
*that’s 6 ½ years of Eukanuba/Royal Canin weeks of shows………………….
to every weekend of the Florida Winter Circuit in January……………………………..
*then to add to the witches brew, wins at the every Labrador specialties we have competed at……
including BISS (Best In Specialty Show), Select Gr Ch Pts both males and females, JAMSS…………..BOB BBE…………………Plus WD and WB awards.
Now hear this………………..at many of those 177 weekends of dog shows……………………….a record number of Trifectas and even 3 Perfectas were posted.
For those that are not familiar with winning a Trifecta, it used to be termed the Big Three…………of Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch……………….that was before the advent of the Grand Champion points system. So winning BOB, WD and WB at the same show by dogs of the same breeder/kennel was winning all of the point-getter awards! Of course in 2009, the AKC implemented the Gr Ch’s Pts and that also made Best Of Opposite Sex and the Select Gr Ch male and the Select Gr Ch female also pointed awards……………….which added 3 more pointed wins, which if won by the same breeder becomes the PERFECTA!
Well lo and behold, not only did Team Chambray chalk up 21 Trifectas during those 177 weekends, 3 of those were PERFECTAS………………….now that’s what I call music!
Which brings another record for us on this 177th weekend of winning…………………first day at Tampa on Wednesday, Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch……………..all Chambray-bred dogs…………the 68th Trifecta posted since 1993!
Then to raise the bar even higher for the weekend…………………..Fridays Winners Dog, takes the major he needed to finish his AKC champion’s title, becoming the 61st home-bred Chambray champion……………….another record for the ages.
Putting the 3 zenith-like accomplishments in perspective:
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177 consecutive winning weekends…………………most breeders would be happy to win 3 weekends in a row!
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68 Trifectas…………………….most Labrador breeders will celebrate their one and only Trifecta in their long showing career.
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61 Home-bred champions……………………..that’s #1 in Florida by a long blue mile, as #2 has 1/3 that number!
Now ‘truth be told’, we do have a humongous advantage over all the other Labrador breeders out there, because we have the only Labrador Owner’s Program in existence in the country, never mind just in Florida……………………since 1989………………..29 years and going strong, can’t wait to celebrate next year for our 3rd Decade of Excellence!
Ah, the advantages of Team Chambray
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where the individual dogs enjoy a great life in their owner's homes
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where the owners get to take part in their dogs paying it forward to the breed
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where the breed benefits from the top show standards in place for every litter produced
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where we, as the breeders, the trainers, the handlers get to be part of each of the dog's life
That is the Chambray Advantage, a Win, Win, Win, Win for everyone involved
June 13th: Converting All The Hard Work Into Results Tampa Dog Shows
Chambray Labradors and the Owners that comprise the breeder/kennel trekking through a galactic odyssey continues onward…………………producing the very best puppies from the very best pool of top breed standard specimens………………those elite contributors proven at the AKC dog shows, with more champions produced in the country since 2012………….more weekend wins, weekend after weekend, year after year……………..where the best of the best go head-to-head for top honors of what true breed type Labradors should be!
Such was the case at the first day of tough competition at the five days of Tampa FL dogs shows that just took place…………..the wins today mark the 177th consecutive dog show weekend that Team Chambray has traveled to, competed and won at! That is a mind boggling span of time, starting in January 2012 and now into June of 2018, in every weekend of dog shows in Florida since then and to every state traveled to as well, including GA, LA, AL, MS, SC, NC, and every Eukanuba & Royal Canin since that year.
That astonishing winning streak that has never, ever been done before and the likelihood of being repeated or bested, seems far…………..far-fetched……………. was done in grandiose fashion with an incredible Trifecta win of Best Of Breed………….Winners Dog & Winners Bitch, all from the same breeder and at the same show!
That three-pronged win also raises the bar to stellar heights for Trifectas won, this one becoming the 68th Chambray Trifecta since 1993, another record for the ages………………put into perspective, one Trifecta win for most breeders is a lifelong career achievement!
The Best Of Breed win posted by Chambrays Blazing Sunrise also notches up the state record Best Of Breeds by a breeder to 433, triple what the 2nd place breeder has been able to achieve with home-bred dogs. That BOB was Blaze’s first Winners Dog for points and by virtue of going best Labrador over all the champions, taking the 3-Point Major win from the classes and converting it to a 4-pointer by beating those 7 specials!
The tremendous depth of quality produced; drawing from the extensive gene pool afforded Chambray by the more than 70 specially chosen individual owners that comprise the ‘kennel’ now into its 10 generation of breeding the best to produce the best is more than obvious by the results at dog shows from the last 7 years.
The BOB, WD and WB wins today were all done by representative of the Class of 2017………………joining 14-month old Blaze (04/07/17) in the winner’s circle was 13-month old Chambrays Miss Molly May (04/27/17). The Reserve Winners Dog to Blaze was Chambrays The Tradition Continues, litter-mate to Molly……………………so the young dogs are upping the ante for the older dogs and soon the newest class of 2018 will be debuting for the fall shows, adding more of the best yet.
June 4th: Whoptee doo!
The Eagle has landed………………………we got milk and majors!
The 5 days of Tampa shows have turned out to have enough class males entered that each of those 5 shows ‘could’ be majors!
‘Could’ be if all those class males show up and are accounted for! So, let’s cross all the t’s and whatever else needs crossing, dotted or rubbed, all those things that brings about the good mojo and hope all of those dogs make it into the ring when that opening bell chimes for the show to begin!
The way the lava is flowing lately; these could very well be our only great white hope of having majors in Florida until mid-November or worst case scenario, into the December Royal Canin week of shows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let’s clamor, rattle and roll and let’s make sure that all heads are accounted for to give those dogs that desperately needed win at majors in order to finish their well-deserved AKC champion’s title, that shot.
Just a few short years ago, the toughest battle in finishing a dog was the actual competition within the ring…………………..now, just be able to find those shows with enough dogs to count for a major-pointed show is the Holy Grail.
In our ‘best rise to the top’ tier system, once those Chambray dogs that just needed majors win and finish their AKC champion’s title, they move on to the next level as competitors, that of champions vying for the Best Of Breed wins and also the Grand Champion’s title………………leaving an opening for the other class dogs to step up into the prime spot just vacated by the new champions.
This is a very important process and timeliness is paramount because if for some reason a bottleneck situation arises where the dogs at the top of the roster, with the most points are not able to find majors, then the whole flowing system enters a logjam predicament that affects the entry level puppies and young dogs and also the existing mature dogs that are just below the higher advanced and more pointed dogs.
So, these 5 Tampa shows gives all of our dogs, the top point-getters, the maturing ones coming on strong right behind them, the rising star youngsters and the promising puppies just cutting their teeth in the puppy classes……………..it gives them all a chance to move up the ladder to the next level by some of those others winning these all important majors!
May 18th: The Tampa Dog Shows Cometh
Not all that glitters is gold and not everything that flashes by is gloom and doom either.
There are those scenarios that make the going much better…….the preceding in answer to someone that emailed letting me know that I should write about the ‘good’ things, rather than to be mired in the whirlpool of downward spiral.
Truth be told, I dwell 95% in the positive most of my awake time……………….however, when a mosquito decides to draw some blood, then I go into defensive mode and slap that sucker upside the head………………….body and legs!
What I write about what comes across my computer’s screen in the form of emails and also whatever is the current juicy ‘he said that she said’ tit for tat that is the customary grapevine chatter at the dog shows.
More than 90% of the emails that reach their destination here at Chambray are really sad sack tales about anything and everything that can and will go wrong with breeding, training and showing Labradors.
I take great delight when I do receive those rare 10%ers with ‘great’ written all over them, even if their dogs have nothing to do with me or Chambray! Each of those positives is a win for the breed.
I just evaluated a litter for an independent Labrador breeder where the whole litter of puppies rated high show potential! I am talking about most of these puppies being just as good as anything I have bred in the last 5 years!
That is a win, win situation for the breed and for each of the new owners that obtains one of these puppies!
I am for everything great for the breed, even to my competitors at the dogs shows……………if their dogs are a credit to the breed……………..then I am all in for them and their dogs!
Of course, that ‘other’ persona of me……………….the competitive one, once in the ring while handling one of the Chambray dogs, well than it’s ‘may the best dog/man win’!
Good news abound in any endeavor when there is a positive game plan in the works………………..when playing baseball……………having baseball gloves, baseball bats and baseballs as the ‘right stuff’ equipment……………..playing the game with the rules of the game in hand and in mind………….well then it’s full steam ahead.
So too is the ‘game’ or ‘fancy’ of raising, training and showing any breed………………especially for me, Labrador Retrievers!
Nothing better than to arrive early at the field or at ringside, perusing through the catalog and eyeing the competition and seeing that it is formidable!
Invigorating to say the least knowing that some really great breed specimens will be going head to head with whatever roster of dogs I have managed to bring along for this day!
It makes winning that much more enjoyable and if the dreaded happens where the wins end up in some other handler’s or breeder’s hands and those dogs were among the elite of the competition, then I nod my head and concentrate on what needs to be done the next day to achieve the success that somehow eluded our dogs this day.
I mentioned ‘whichever roster of dogs’ we managed for the day…………………..this is because from venue to venue the Chambray dog players will change according to the needs and strategies for those particular shows.
There are times when a certain weekend of shows promises to see a large entry, hopefully enough dogs entered to make ‘majors’……………..those elusive dog shows where winning gives a dog one of the prized major-pointed wins, with 2 of those part of the requirements for achieving a champion’s title!
Whoopee and wahoo all rolled into one, it’s what we all want to happen, a major-pointed show where the top class dogs, the ones that have been going at it for some time………………..some needing just one more of those major-pointed wins and whoop there it is a champion in the making. Hot diggity dog and more, let’s hoot and holler and celebrate like its 1999!
So, those Happy Days are in the midst! The possibility of major-pointed shows could very well materialize at the up and coming 5 days of shows in Tampa Florida on June 13th through the 17th.
Nothing gives me more thrust, momentum and enthusiasm than putting together the roster for these shows, because I will be inviting our best of the best dogs to be on the front lines for this event! I will be pestering each and every one of our owners, those that own those great Chambray dogs, those that are the best that we have, to go and vie for those elusive and prized major pointed-wins.
If from now until then, if nothing changes at the dog shows that some of our dogs will be competing at, we should have 4 dogs that could very well become Chambray’s 61st home-bred champion and hopefully the 62nd, 63rd and 64th!
Now that would be major hootenanny time………..just thinking of the possible positives that lay in wait is well worth dealing with any of the side bar negatives that lurk about………..in fact, it totally minimizes all the nay-sayers and doom forecasters and the virtual calamity Janes and Johns that form the backdrop of raising, training and showing Labrador Retrievers.
Now we press on and put all the talismans, kudos, karma, lucky charms…………………….GOOD OLD FASHION HARD WORK into play and get ready for a run for the roses at the Tampa 5 days of shows in June!
April 23: The International Shows Are Behind Us and The AKC Shows Beckon Us
The Betterment of the Breed is an ongoing mission that needs accomplishing and yet, there is no actual end in sight if the mission is carried out to the nth degree!
There is no sitting on laurels basking in the glory of yet another successful outing with the newest addition to Chambray’s continuing tradition for that mission………that mission that has success as the prime motivator.
The day after such a successful outing would call for rest, relaxation and a well-deserved timeout!
Deserved and reality are not the same in our world with raising, training, conditioning and competing with Labradors at the highest levels……….no sir, that ‘resting on laurels’ would not be part of the agenda!
No sooner than we arrived last night well, after midnight from Ocala with the newest International champions on board, that deadlines have to be met for the next AKC show’s entries and that involves getting a whole different roster of dogs lined up for those shows and those entries have to be done by this Wednesday.
But wait………………………..the owners of the newest wave of future AKC show competitors will be coming over today to pick up their brand spanking new show champions and they want to know “What’s next", for them!
Each of those owners wants to know everything about their dog’s exploits at the 4 International shows; they want details about everything that transpired over the weekend in Ocala. If the entirety of our future plans work out, these puppies and young dogs will be the ones we focus on and will be on the front lines a bit down the road, so handling their owners now with kid gloves is the order of the day.
Now, less than 24 hours after we once again were triumphant with the newest wave and generation of Chambray rising stars, we set that aside and concentrate on our next foray into the higher levels of competition with the bull’s eye squarely on finishing 3 of our top dogs at the AKC level.
Each of those dogs needs a major to vault into the realm of being an AKC Champion of Record, so the hunt is on for those shows that rev up with enough entries to ascend to the ‘majors’ mark.
So, the countdown for the entry deadline approaches and we gear up for the longer ride out of state to Perry GA, with our top guns champing on the bit to get out of the starting gate and race towards that elusive champion’s finish line.
It’s Showtime……………Almost!
Almost all the dogs on the ‘RSVP Roster’ for Chambray, made the deadline for the entries for the IABCA International dog shows scheduled for this coming weekend up in Ocala. There are always those that fall through the cracks that don’t make the entries, this time around 1 puppy and 1 adult dog didn’t step up to the plate.
From the now published online catalog, there appears to be 12 puppies vying for Best Labrador Puppy at all 4 shows and 3 adults going head-to-head for the honor of Best Labrador Adult.
From the lineup posted at the www.iabca.com site, 8 of those 12 puppies hail from Chambray and 4 others are from other Florida Lab breeders…………………..out of the 3 adults listed, 2 of those also are Chambray dogs.
The ‘Chambray RSVP Roster’ is a lineup of puppies and dogs that the Herzons draw up and then form a consensus according to their conformational value as to which ones we feel have what it takes for them to wear our name under competitive conditions………………..in other words, which ones will ‘represent’ Chambray the best!
We then encourage each of their owners to come along and take the ride with us to ‘sample’ what these dogs were bred for………………………..because of their superior conformation, which has been bred into them over the last 11 generations at Chambray, plus, before Chambray…………..all those other great breeders from where the original breeding stock came from………………today, they are the leading top show specimens in the country.
These are not idle, boastful claims, the preceding based on Chambray producing the most Labrador Retriever show champions in the country in the last 7 years by any Labrador breeder……………………and these puppies, young dogs and adults are part of this ‘better than ever’ wave of the best of the best there is.
For this venue of the International show level, the majority of the ‘by invitation only’ are puppies and dogs that are debutantes at the dog shows………………………..newbie dogs with newbie owners, getting their collective feet and paws wet at their first head-to-head competitions.
However, at these shows there are 3 Chambray dogs with AKC experience to their resume and even one of those with AKC-Ch points! These semi-experienced young dogs are using this venue to hone up their abilities and performances to make them even more competitive in the up and coming AKC venues in the summer shows coming up.’
This mixed group of newbies and those with some experience will make their splash into the show ring come early Saturday morning at show #1 that is timed at 9:30 AM. For some of these puppies, this will be the first time back to us since they departed for their new homes away from Chambray Acres.
For us as their handlers, this is where the real gauge of great handlers comes in…………………taking brand-spanking new baby, junior and senior puppies that have never, ever been to a dog show…………………some even that haven’t been back to Chambray Acres for any training whatsoever and now we are tasked to create a presentation in the ring to show off their breed traits!
Talk about improvisation, cajoling and handling wizardry…………………luck and patience all plays a huge role on how this will all play out as well.
Of course, the new owners that will be there anxiously watching their babies in the ring, probably won’t have a clue as to what is transpiring in what appears to be helter-skelter, entering into the ring, running around the ring, standing with the puppy in the ring, having the judge go over each puppy…………..standing some more while the judge writes down a whole bunch of stuff about each puppy……………hopefully, writing down a ‘good’ bunch of stuff about each…………………then no matter how cute all of the ones competing appear……………..the judges MUST make a decision as to which one he/she likes best, 2nd best and so on down the line…………THEY ALL COULD LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME, AND YET, THE JUDGE HAS TO PLACE THEM 1,2,3…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, from past experience, 19 years’ worth of 2 and 3 yearly International show weekends…………there will be super happy campers with the results and of course the proverbial, “Why didn’t my dog win” questions from those owners whose puppy/dog didn’t win the coveted 1st place ribbon.
My reply, “Hark, there is always show #2 later today and then show #3 and show #4 tomorrow!”
For me and the rest of Team Chambray, we would love for the judges to award all of them a 1st place ribbon…………………but that’s not going to happen……………..in fact, for us, what we want is for the puppies/dogs to like the experience, to learn from our hands on training/handling and improve each and every time we go back into the ring with them!
We already know without a doubt that they have the Breed Conformation……………now we need for them to become Ring Savvy!
Meanwhile, the puppies and dogs are learning the ropes from us while in the ring and also outside the ring in our controlled environment and structured routines that Team Chambray members will impose on each puppy and dogs AND ALSO ON EACH NEW OWNER!
Yep, this is a two-prong hand’s on training situation……………..#1 FOR THE DOGS…………………#2 FOR THE OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All weekend long……………well there is a break in the routine for those dogs that travel with their owners………………..they get to back to being coddled once they leave for the hotel after showing………………………..the ones that are under our care and maintenance, it’s SCHOOL-TIME from Friday when they are dropped off at Chambray Acres until they are picked up on Monday back at Chambray!
WATCH FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF SHOWTIME in the next day or so!
Westminster Wahoooooo Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 2018 Westminster Labrador Retrievers just flashed by on live streaming and one of our own, BISP Bronze Grand Ch Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard has become Chambray's first-ever 'winner' at the Big Apple Spectacular canine event!
2018 Westminster Judge's Award Of Merit
This is also Jessica Herzon's first huge award at the most prestigious dog show in the country and
we could not be prouder of the
dynamic duo, the super stars of Team Chambray!
PS: Tank'd was the only Florida Lab
and yellow Labrador to win points or an award
at the 2018 Westminster dog show!
Huge hug & congratulations to long-time (1996)
Chambray Owner ~ Cindy Ceballos
& to our awesome co-breeders
Juan and Olga Marrero
Special thanks to Tank'd sire and dam
Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua's Battle At Jericho &
BIS BBE Silver Grand Chambrays Celestial N Counter
Way to go Team Chambray
The New Wave Is Ready To Debut!
We now anxiously scamper to finalize the show entries for the remaining last dogs that are on our show roster to get them in before that ominous bell tolls in less than 4 hours, as the deadline beckons us for those entries to the Ocala IABCA International shows to be held on April 21/22.
“Why do you still show at the International level?” Has been leveled at me scores of times and the answer is unwavering………………………..and educational to boot!
There is no better place than to bring out the future Chambray AKC champions to test their metal and resolve………….to see those young, wet behind the ears youngsters in a competitive venue away from their ‘adoptive’ moms and dads……………….to put hands on training and conditioning into action and get an ‘early bird’s’ eye view of how they stack up against others of their age group…………………to surmise which ones have it for the next level of competition, those same AKC shows that, just as their parents, grandparents and further back dominated………………those tested and then chosen because of all their awesome conformation, which was bred into them………………….those with the obvious ‘show edge’ will then have their 'people' moms/dads, their new owners encouraged to go the whole nine yards at the NFL level, the AKC shows!
These ‘International shows’ are the testing and proving grounds, not only for the puppies and dogs…………………so too for the owners, who are there for the very first time at a dog show and their expectations are all over the board as most really don’t know any better and that’s what this step in the yellow brick road is all about………………………..the introduction of the ‘show mentality’ and all it encompasses!
I liken this step to a baby crawling before taking their very first steps upright! This is the ‘crawling’ stage for beginners into the dog show world.
From this adventure, excelling puppy and excited owners will be encouraged to go on or if the scenario for dog/owner is not a bright, pleasing one, then appropriate measures are taken with those where they will be directed into alternate activities.
The combination of dog/owner that has ‘it’ will then be advised as to what comes next in the show world happenings. An individual game plan will be devised accordingly that the owners will be able to follow and adhere to.
Following the game plan is paramount. Time and time again, deviations have scuttled many a bright future for some dogs.
Chambray's 'True-blue, tried and true ways and means', set into motion three decades ago have proven successful beyond what anyone ever imagined…………….in fact, now a days, I revel in seeing all of those that chuckled and snorted way back then, some even more recently, only to have the mission of the betterment of the breed, like fine wine, age to perfection while those doubters are still spinning their wheels in the same bogged down circle!
Generation after new generation, those new generations introduced on an almost 3-year cycle debut at these International shows and then 3 to 6 months later make themselves known with wins right from the puppy classes!
The Class of 2017 (generation #11) is the newest example of the preceding! From 4 litters in 2017, some litters now nearing a year old, there are 7 of those puppies with AKC champion’s points…………………a Best Of Breed winner………………..one pointed out with a major and now only needed the 2nd major to finish and this from sea to shining sea as those puppies have competed from Florida to North Carolina, Georgia and SC as well, from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi to California here we come and into Nevada.
So, now we prepare ourselves………………….have been preparing our newest owners…………have been training and conditioning those avant garde new puppies that will be representing more of the Class of 2017 and a few from the newest Class of 2018 and even some ‘new’ adults from 2016/2015 that are now ready to make a name for themselves, coming out for the very first time, most bidding their time waiting for others their age to finish out their quests for their champion’s title and now it’s time for these to make the waves that their brethren did before them.
So, deadline nears and then we have a week to wrap up all the loose ends to make the trek to the Ocala Dog Show grounds with our eager-beaver puppies and young dogs to these International Dog Shows!
April 5th The Fascination with ‘Numbers’!
At the Miami Sunday show this past weekend, a Labrador breeder couple from Colombia came to watch the Sporting Groups in the afternoon.
I was introduced to them right before Jessie stepped into the Sporting Group ring with our newest Silver Grand Champion, the 3rd in our resume....... one of our 60 home-bred champions that makes us #1 Labrador breeder from Florida........one of 35 new champions in the last 6 years which makes Chambray the top champion breeder in the country in that span of time.................. earlier in the day, this Sunday Miami Show being the 67th show where our dogs win a Trifecta, that being the Big 3 of BOB, WD and WB......... all at the same show!
After the introduction of names of the visitors from out of the country, the woman pointedly asks me how it is that I advertise myself as the top Labrador breeder in the US. Noting a bit of an edge to her questioning, I told her to visit my website and checkout the NUMBERS PAGE! At that moment, Jessie steps into the ring with Tank'd to the loudest cheer from the Miami crowd...........15 minutes later they are awarded a GROUP 1.........Tank's 2nd Gr 1 and Chambrays #18!!!!!
Once Jessie stepped into the ring, I forgot all about the inquisitive visitors!
I love numbers…………………but all of my Chambray owners already know that……………………all of my blog and post readers know that and all of the followers & probably detractors now that as well!
Numbers are real…………….as real as a deal will get……………………… a 5 is a 5 here in America as it is in Russia, China or Singapore………………..it doesn’t matter the language, the alphabet used, or the currency!
NUMBERS ARE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NO FAKE NEWS!
Numbers add up to make other numbers, simple as a dimple on a dapple! Numbers separate the real fast runners from the slowpokes; a guy that runs a mile under 4 minutes is twice as fast as another bloke that runs that same mile in 8 minutes!
A tall guy is 6 foot 6, while a short guy is 5 foot 6 (me), those numbers tell a telling story, in this last example, one with a whole foot difference!
Some cars can zip along at 150 miles an hour and there are some that can barely make it to 90, so one car is FAST and the other, well, not so fast!
From the preceding, numbers make people, things and situations very definitive! There are no considerations nor hedging or fudging with numbers……………..they tell an iron-clad story with only ONE SIDE TO THAT STORY!
We can add to numbers as the occasion arises and we can also subtract and demote as the need comes along.
An entity can be the #1 on top of the heap and then when someone else comes along and tops that mark, that #1 belongs to someone else and the previous dweller drops to #2 or lower.
Simple addition and subtraction dictates when numbers are used to define a position, an accomplishment, a record…………..anything that needs to be arranged in a sequence of increments that can be used to designate the level and order of importance.
At the recent Miami Dog Shows, Chambray Labradors and the vast village of owners that take part in all of our offerings were witness to several benchmarks of setting numbers as follows.
New at Miami #174 ~ This is the number of consecutive Dog Show Winning Weekends that we have accumulated since starting the streak back in January of 2012. That is at least 1 win at each weekend that Team Chambray has traveled to since then……………….every dog show weekend in Florida since then…………every dog show weekend to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia that we competed at and won points. Miami was #174 and the super interesting thing about this number is that no one has ever accumulated this many over the number of years that we have, for most, winning 3 or 4 weekends in a row would be a major celebration, we have 174 of those dog show winning weekends! We are #1 with 174!
New at Miami #67 ~ TRIFECTAS That is the number of times that our dogs won the ‘Big Three’ of Best Of Breed, Winners Dog and Winners Bitch at the same dog show! There was 1 PERFECTA where BOB, BOS, BOW, WD, WB, Select Dog & Select Bitch were all won by Chambray Dogs {Hattiesburg MS 02/2017). At Sunday’s show, Miami became Trifecta #67. In 30 years of showing in Florida, I have only seen 3 other Trifectas by any other breeder, we have 67. We are #1 with 67!
New at Miami #60 ~ That is the State Record # of Home-Bred Champions by a Breeder/Kennel in Florida. Champion #59 came at the West Palm Beach dog shows the weekend right before Miami with new champion BBE CH Chambrays Galactic N Counter ascending to that spot and Miami witnessed her littermate brother Ch Chambrays Magnum N Counter raise the bar to #60. That’s another beyond believe number here in Florida and even across the country………the breeder from Florida in the 2nd spot has 20 home-bred champions. We are #1 with 60!
New at Miami #3 ~ Silver Grand Champions. At the Saturday Miami show new Silver Grand Champion Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard leaped over the 200 point mark and became Chambrays 3rd Silver Grand Champions, taking us to a 4-Way tie atop of that seemingly unsurmountable mountain! In the US, we are #1 (tied) with 3 Silvers.
New at Miami #18 ~ Sporting Group 1 Placement. This is a state record for the number of times that a breeder’s dogs have won a Group 1 and got the opportunity to compete in Best in Show. Silver Grand Ch Chambray’s Tank’d On The Boulevards scored his 2nd Group 1 win and Chambray’s 18th.
#2 ~ Best In Shows. State record number of Best In Shows by a breeder’s dogs. BIS BBE Ch Chambrays Out Of The Ruff “Hogan” was Florida’s and Chambray’s first ever Labrador BIS winner and his granddaughter BIS BBE Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter was Florida and Chambray’s 2nd BIS winner.
#10 ~ Bronze Grand Champions. Chambray leads the country in Bronze Grand Champions with 10!
#9 ~ AKC Top 100 Grand Champions. The brand new ranking just came out for the AKC Top 100 Grand Champions. Chambray Labrador leads the nation at #1 with 9 Home-Bred Grand Champions in the Top 100! There is a 3-Way tie with 4 Gr ch’s each for 2nd place, so we are #1 with 9!
#21 ~ Total number of Grand Champions. Yep, #1 by far for Chambray in the whole country.
#11 ~ Bred By Exhibitors. These are the numbers of dogs handled by us, the breeders in the Bred By Exhibitor class at the dog shows. So prestigious is this designation that the AKC awards a Silver Medallion when a breeder amasses 5 BBE Champions…………..we have the only Silver Medallion from Florida……………what’s more, the AKC awards a Gold Medallion for 10 dogs championed from the BBE class……………..WE HAVE ONE OF THOSE TOO! That’s because we now have 11 Bred By Exhibitor champions from Florida and that puts us at #1 by a whole bunch and more!
There’s a gaggle of more Chambray numbers that set us apart from the pack, but the aforementioned are the ones that by far and large loom extra imposing to those that quest to be the best, to be #1 at something, just reaching reasonable proximity to any of the preceding would be a major accomplishment for any breeder, surpassing any of them would be a career moment to cherish.
By the way, after Jessie and Tank'd take that astonishing Sporting Group 1, I ask the person that introduced the couple from Colombia to me who they were and he tells me that they were not very happy 4 years ago when Chambrays Maxed N Counter was in Colombia and won 6 Best Of Breeds in a row.......achieving his FCI and his Colombian championship faster than any other Labrador ever from there........................all the while beating several of the couple's champions and several more of their class dogs!
No wonder the pointed questioning!
April 2nd The Miami Dog Show ~ Achievements & Accolades
The wins, awards, titles, accomplishments and achievements are followed by the accolades from those that know what it takes to ascend to those stellar heights………………..also by those that compete and contend in the same arena where those prizes are earned.
Such was the case this past weekend at the Miami dog shows. The wins, awards, titles, accomplishments, and achievements came in bunches……………the accolades from those observing, followed.
NEW TITLE: The culmination of a superb dog achieving its AKC Silver Grand Championship Title is no easy task, nor one that will be earned by just ‘any’ dog, let alone any champion!
Out of the thousands of Labradors showing in the country, there have been less than 30 Silver Grand Champions to date, with 3 top breeders claiming the top spot of being the #1 Silver Grand Champion Breeder with 3 of those Silver titled dogs…………………….Chambray now joins that small elite group of four Labrador breeders at the #1 spot atop of the charts with 3 Silver Grand Champions!
Our 3rd Silver superstar accomplished just that at Saturday’s Miami Dog Show………coming into the show with 198 grand champion points, needing 2 more points and then with his Best Of Opposite Sex award over competition, giving him the needed points to ascent to that stellar destination of the AKC’s Silver Grand Champion’s title.
For Chambray, he joins his dam, our first-ever Silver Grand Champion, BIS BBE Silver Grand Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter* “the one and only Kika” and also, our 2nd Silver Grand Ch……………….BISS Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting a half-brother to Tank’d from Bronze Gr Ch Summithills Joshua’s Battle At Jericho**.
ACCOMPLISHMENT *Kika and Tank’d become the first mother and son Silver Grand Champions
ACCOMPLISHMENT ** Tank’d and Tucker makes Jericho the top Silver Grand Champion producer in Florida with 2.
NEW TITLE: Home-bred champion #60 is another benchmark for the age’s achievement as a breeder, with new champion, Ch Chambrays Magnum N Counter making that dash across that finish line also at Saturday’s Miami show………………..that 60th champion’s title makes it 3 times as many as any other Florida Labrador breeder has been able to do in their breeding career.
ACHIEVEMENT: The Miami Dog show weekend becomes the 174th consecutive dog show weekend of winning! Best Of Breeds, Winners Dog, Winners Bitch & Grand Champion points……………….at every single weekend that Team Chambray has competed at (does not include weekends where Chambray dogs were handled by other handlers) starting in January 2012 to this most recent weekend at Miami in April of 2018!!!!
RECORD: Miami’s Sunday show gave Chambray the 67th TRIFECTA…………………….The Big 3 of Best Of Breed, Winners Dog & Winners Bitch all at 1 show. Most breeders celebrate big time with just one Trifecta, our dogs have combined 67 times to all walk into the winner’s circle together as ‘winners’ from one show! Tank’d takes BOB, Chambrays Axel Avella goes Winners Dog and Chambray Secret Surprise takes Winners Bitch………….Trifecta #67!
ACHIEVEMENT/RECORD: Sporting Group 1 winner, our 18th Group 1 win……………………..On Sunday, new BISP Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard scores another epic win after taking Best Of Breed in the Labrador ring…………….he wins the Sporting Group 1 and earns the right to compete for Best In Show.
Here is how rare this achievement is: Labs rarely score any group placements (1st thru 4th ) in the Sporting Groups……………only 10% of Labradors taking a Best Of Breed will receive any placement in the Groups! So, most Labradors only have a 10% chance of getting a 1st thru a 4th in the groups…….right now Tank’d is our top Sporting Group winner with 15 placements out of 28 trips into the groups and the 2nd highest ratio of breed to groups winner with an astonishing 53%.
The accolades from those that KNOW…………………those that have been in the trenches themselves and have firsthand experience on what it takes to succeed in a fancy that requires endurance, over a huge chunk of time to accumulate the records, achievements and titles………………….those accolades followed from judges, professional handlers and from breeders alike.
The awards are most satisfying; the accolades are validations on a job well done!
March 16th: All Aboard!
So, what’s next?
Boy do I love it when we pull off a huge one*…………. at West Palm Beach Dog Shows and we come out smelling better than a forest of roses and most of our team members, the very next day the Chambray Owners come at me wanting more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* The crowning of home-bred champion #59 BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter, owned by Liz and Tom Jackson of Hollywood Fl. That 59th Home-Bred Champion is a record for the ages for Florida because the breeder at #2 is at 20 and holding.
* Putting together with the Chambray Owners a show roster of 27 Prime Time Top Show Prospects, never, ever done before including 2 Bronze Grand Champions at one show.
*Winning 2 Major-Pointed Winners Dog & 2 Winners Bitch both days with one of those WB being a major pointed show as well.
* The nailing of 173 Consecutive Dog Show Winning Weekends that started way, way back in January 2012 and now arcs over to March of 2018………..that’s wins at every single dog show weekend we attend in Florida………..every single dog show weekend we crossed the state line and beyond to Georgia, to South Carolina, to Mississippi, to Alabama and to Louisiana……………….EVERY WEEKEND with wins at EVERY WEEKEND OF SHOWS, here and there and everywhere that old MC Donald went!
So, this wanting more, puts the onus right back on me to keep the bandwagon cruising along so that the riders can keep on moving…………..moving in the right direction that is, because trust me there are many out there that continuously spin their wheels, get sidetracked, wiz out of control and generally drift about without making any headway and some even crashing and burning never to be seen again (quite a few of those)………………………..and I am not just talking non-Chambray types, there are a few with Chambray dogs doing their own thing, marching to the tune of an out of beat drummer or fake news, imaginary ones that get nowhere faster than a bogged down ATV knee deep in thick as molasses mud!
What’s next? Well, as Buzz Lightyear would yelp “To infinity and beyond!”
Okay, okay, we all know that we really, really can’t go to infinity and of course beyond that is a tad too much as well, so we set our sights on the following:
We quest for Silver as Silver is in the midst!
Officially, now just needing 5 more grand champion points for his Silver Grand Champion’s title is
BISP Bronze Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard JAMWS , so we keep prospecting with him as our Top Gun at the Florida dog shows for that next well-deserved jewel to add to his resume. Tank’d achieving the silver, would make it 3 silvers for Chambray, a major bragging right and record to boot.
Bronze Grand Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness goes national by touring the country in his bid for Top Breed/All Breed rankings and of course, with 143 Grand Champion Points under his belt, the Silver is well within reach for 2018 with 9 month left in the year. Duke’s silver would give us the most silver grand champions in the entire country with 4!
Brand spanking new champion, BBE Ch Chambrays Galactic N Counter will join us as our special’s bitch at the BOB competition in her quest for her Grand Champions title…..which would give us 22 grand champion’s titles, adding 1 more to our country leading 21.
The crowing of champions #60, #61, #62, #63, #64 are beckoning with our top class dogs vying for the Winners Dog and Winners Bitch awards............. as are a cadre of other youngsters nipping at the heels of our top dogs that are on the verge of scaling the wall over to their birthright, AKC champion’s title.
So, which dogs are chafing at the bit with the possibility of joining Gayla for being also crowned AKC champion in 2018?
Ah, so glad you asked!
This is where the Chambray Express is headed to:
-
Chambrays Magnum N Counter…….14 pts 2 Majors ~ lacking that 1 last point, with 14 pts and 1 major. He won his class at WPB on Sunday and expectations were running high for him to champion by going Winners Dog…………..but not to be!
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Chambrays Rose On Center Stage……20 pts 1 Major……….ah, we could taste it at WPB on Sunday when she won Winners Bitch and needed to cross over the WD for the major………..not be again! The Tampa shows in June look very promising for the next majors.
-
Chambrays Black Diamond Out Of The Ruff ‘Bandit’……19 pts 1 Major……….Won a 3-pt major at Saturday’s WPB show, needs 1 more major……………….maybe at the Tampa shows.
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Chambrays Ruff Jewel Jackson……….12 pts 1 Major………just as Rose and Bandit, needs the elusive major, either Tampa our a couple of out of state shows in late spring and summer.
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Chambrays The Tradition Continues ‘TC’………10 pts and 1 Major…………at 11 months old, he could very well champion as a puppy, as he heads up north to the Carolinas for several long weekends of shows and could very well come back home with the AKC bounty!
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Chambrays Blazing Saddles At Southern Palms………..10 pts and 1 Major………………..Blaze is on fire with 3 Winners Dog in the last 2 weekends of shows, including the 3-pt major at Saturday’s WPB show! Tampa and out of state shows look super promising for him to snatch the remaining major pointed win to finish out in 2018.
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The following all could very well join the festivities of celebrating their AKC champion’s title this year:
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Chambrays Ole Miss Zeta Lady ~ 12 pts 2 Majors
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Chambray Just Wow ‘Gypsy’~ 10 pts
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Chambrays X-Factor Pr Charles Xavier ‘Charlie’ ~ 10 pts
So, while some blokes are headed to parts unknown, we hold the steady course on the paved and proven path of success………………….173 straight, consecutive Winning Weekends of Dog Shows!
Who Does That?
We Do! Those that follow the Chambray Yellow Brick Road do!
For those on the ride, enjoy, for those on the sidelines watching………………ALL ABOARD or watch out for the dust!
March 15: The Morning After
Okay, so now I can take a deep breath and exhale that we are 4 days removed from orchestrating, managing and super successfully operating the unheard venture of entering and the handling of 27 dogs in the same breed ring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All those dogs bred by us………………..trained by us…………………conditioned by us………………managed by us and the coup de grace, handled by us…………………..US…………………
'us' being Chambray Labradors, the Herzons, the Chambray Owners…………….all making up
TEAM CHAMBRAY!
Talk about all eyes being directed at US!!!!!!!!!!!
You can bet your sweet back parts that there were loads of folk waiting to see if we could pull of the Great Gatsby (as I call it) caper!
I am sure that in that vast mix of people, human nature being what it is, that some were actually prepared to see us flub it up, flail madly and fail as sure as a slab of steel will float!
Not only were we under the scrutiny of those competing against us in the ring, the judges themselves had heard that ‘some crazy breeder’ had entered a boatload of dogs………………………the club officers had been notified that we needed to have a crate set up near the ring to facilitate us working from the set up to the ring and back again, so they, mostly made up of AKC lady and gents were well aware of our potential plight if things were not to go as planned……………………even the AKC rep moseyed on over to watch the overture!
The chatter there between the other folks that have other breeds revolved around the ‘Herzons’ and the ‘Labradors’………………..for those not in the know, ‘Labradors’ are thought of as foster children within the dog show world and the ‘Herzons’ as an odd commodity because we don’t follow the regular Golden Rule that other breeders do………….. the way they do it is ‘Keep the best and cast off the rest’……………they hate the way I do it……………. ‘Placing the best with my owners and keep NONE’!
So, the pressure and tension was as twisted as Chubby Checkers was back in the 60’s!
But, guess what……………….we pulled it off………………..without a hitch…….in fact with glowing kudos and acknowledgements from the very folk that were watching and waiting for whatever they thought would happen.
In fact, the people that run the dog shows in July right there at the exact same place in West Palm Beach came and told me to count on them to make sure we had ‘front row seats’ for their shows in the summer, that they would also help out so that we could bring another large entry!
Now that’s what I call a great pat on the back!
Possible titles for this memo/blog?
Prospecting For Silver Just Got Very Hot!
or
What Was I Thinking?
No sooner than many of the newest puppies/owners, got their collective feet wet at the Davie dog shows…………………….we now set our sights for the West Palm Beach shows this coming weekend!
At the just past Davie shows, we had a small roster of dogs to handle at a large number of shows (4 shows in 3 days)………………….NOW, TOTALLY OPPOSITE AT WPB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At WPB we have a Seattle Slew of dogs, like in a record number of dogs entered, all of those dogs jammed packed into 2 days of showing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, me guilty as charged in promoting and advertising to get a whole community of our owners together under one roof……………………MISSION MORE THAN ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We, like in you and me totally outdid ourselves in entering our Chambray dogs for these 2 shows in WPB!
So, thank you to all of my loyal, loving owners who followed the Pied Piper over the cliff by agreeing to have your/our dogs compete at these 2 days of shows!
We set a record by a breeder and his owners in entering dogs for any show………………EVER!
So, here are the NUMBERS, count them 27 in total!!!!!!!!!!!!!………………..14 Class Males {Class Dogs}………..10 Class Females {Class BRiTCHES*}………..3 Champions {Specials}…………….*remember misspelled on purpose to bypass email security!
Those numbers up above, unprecedented……………..NEVER BEFORE THAT MANY DOGS ENTERED AT A
DOG SHOW FROM ONE BREEDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT WAS I THINKING??????????
Of course, the rest of the Herzons and all of our other handlers and assistants are singing, “Dang me, dang me………they ought to take a rope and hang me………………….high, from the highest tree…………..woman would you weep for me!”
NOW WHAT????????
Well, the other logical members of Team Chambray which consists of our other handlers, assistants, apprentices, associates, holders, goffers and volunteers have stepped up to the plate and decided to bail me out from my over-zealousness of wanting to have all of my chickadees (puppies and dogs) under one roof (WPB) and they will do what it takes to pull off this Great Gatsby insanity!
WE WILL GET IT DONE & DONE AS GOOD AS IT GETS.
So, come one and come all to see the Chambray Family of Dogs & Their Owners All under One Roof.
Here is what to see and expectations are running super high for several stellar possibilities to occur!
The Rush For Silver!
We could see the making of a brand new AKC SILVER GRAND CHAMPION!
If that very rare occurrence does happen, it will be a record for a Labrador breeder because it will be the 3rd Silver Grand Champion from Florida from one breeder.
So, which dog is on the verge of history for Chambray?
The one and only Tank’d, that’s who!
So, come on Tank’d, let’s do it……yes, the ‘Tank’d’ that is fresh off our most ‘awesomest’ Westminster Judge’s Award of Merit (JAMWS)…………ever……………yes, you Tank’d, you now are BISP Bronze Grand Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard JAMWS and hopefully in your own backyard right here in South Florida, with the Chambray home crowd cheering you and Jessie floating around the ring with you…………..you two could win the needed 4 points to get you to the grand total of the 200 Grand Champion Points needed to become our newest and 3rd SILVER GRAND CHAMPION!
Tank’d can do it by taking 1 Best Of Breed or 2 Select Grand Champion awards in the 2 days of shows at WPB.
Tank’d is owned by 20+ year with Chambray, owner Cindy Ceballos.
Joining Tank’d in the best of the best ring, Best Of Breed competition will be 2 more of our other
Grand Champions with Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness owned by Gadi Shvarsman and Alyona Nitiksina of Boca Raton FL and Grand Ch Chambrays Shinning Diamond Dazzle owned by Pat and Russ Blosse of Flagler Beach FL………………..all three, Tank'd, Duke and Dazzle vying for the big prize of the day, Best Labrador!
In addition to our super heavy weight champions, we have………count them, not 1……….not 3………..we have 5 different Class Dogs {boys and girls) that could conceivably attain their AKC Champion’s title at these 2 WPB shows and join our top dogs as ‘specials’ themselves for the rest of 2018!
One of the following 5 can conceivably become our state record 59th home-bred champion.
Among those so close we can taste it,
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is Chambrays Magnum N Counter (14 points with both majors owned by the Dillon family of Palm City FL), he needing just 1 single point to dash across the finish line for that magical 2-letter abbreviation ‘Ch’ before his name……………….
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so too could Chambrays Ruff Walter Jackson (with 12 pts and 1 major - owned by the Blount family of South Miami) by winning one of the 2 day’s major points………………………
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as well as Chambrays Galactic N Counter (19 pts 1 major, owned by Liz and Tom Jackson of Hollywood FL) by winning Winners Bitch and Best Of Winners and her half-sister……….
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Chambrays Rose On Center Stage (18 pts 1 major owned by Olga and Juan Marrero) , each, Gayla and Rose needing just 1 day of winning Winners Bitch and Best Of Winners and each or both could very well finish their titles too………..
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then there is Chambrays Black Diamond Out Of The Ruff (16 pts), needing to win at both days of shows and both days the major needs to hold and he will accomplish his quest for the coveted AKC title! Bandit is owned by JC and Alina Rodriguez of Miami Fl.
But wait there is more………………… there are a couple of young whippersnapper puppies that have been winning from the Puppy Classes that could upset the apple cart and walk away with those Winners Points, just as could the ‘almost champions’ from above!
Watch for....................
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Chambrays The Tradition Continues (10 pts 1 major) is owned by Carol and Chip Wilkening of Fripp Island SC in the Boys 9 to 12 class. TC just swept up 2 Winners Dog awards at the Friday and Saturday shows in Davie.
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and there is Chambrays Rhythmic N Counter (2 pts) owned by the Marrero family, also showing from the 9 to 12 Girl’s Puppy Class to make a move for those same points
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there will also be Chambrays Miss Molly May owned by the Menhennett family of Ft Lauderdale FL. Molly debuted at her very first show on Friday at Davie and won her first points……..she then repeated the performance by also winning Winners Bitch on Saturday as well.
Plus we have several young adults that had been winning points from the Puppy Classes and they too come fully loaded for bear in the hunt for those elusive AKC champion points.
Keep an eye on
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Chambrays Blazing Saddles (7 pts owned by Scott Armstrong of Merrit Island FL) showing from the Open Yellow Class
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then there is Chambrays Axel Avella (4 pts) from the Am Bred Class, owned by the Avella family of Doral Fl
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we also have Chambrays Quincy Nichols (4 pts) owned by the Nichols Family of Aventura FL showing from the Boy’s 12 to 18 class.
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then there is Chambrays Ruff N Counter (7 pts) showing from the Bred By Exhibitor class owned by Rosie Feeley of Wellington FL
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and Chambrays Celestial Treasure (2 pts) from the Girl’s 12 to 18 class, owned by the Connor family of 'wherever' their RV takes them...............lucky guys!
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From the Am Bred Class we will have Chambrays Max Shwab owned by Mila Shwab of Miami gunning for his first points.
Last but not least in the class competition we have the debutantes and those other puppies having been on a hiatus, now returning to the shows:
Those without points yet, but in the same hunt for the best………….
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from the 6 to 9 Boys Class, Chambrays Chasing Adventures, a new upstart puppy, owned by the Fernandez of Boca Raton FL who just debuted at the Davie shows and performed rather well for a first timer.
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he will be joined by Southern Palms Kash, one of Scott Armstrong’s bred by puppies sired by our champion dog …………..
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from the 9 to 12 we have Chambrays The Tradition Continues and 3 other boys going head to head including..................
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Chambrays Blazing Sunrise owned by the Malagon family of Jupiter FL…………
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also in that 9 to 12 class is Chambrays King Of Mambo owned by the Rizzi family of Doral FL.
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and debuting at WPB will be Chambrays The Last Yedi owned by the Morera family of Miami FL; a black boy in a sea of yellows!
On the girl’s puppy side of the class competition,
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we have, Southern Palms Pepper another of Scott Armstrong’s bred-by puppies sired by Maxed N Counter in the 6 to 9 class,
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Besides previously mentioned Chambrays Rhythmic N Counter & Chambrays Miss Molly May in the 9 to 12 class, there will be Chambrays Silent Bit O Honey owned by the Bershaw family of Orlando Fl
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also in the 9 to 12 class will be Chambrays Gracie owned by the Lewter family of WPB Fl.
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and from the Open Black will be Loreta Labs Chase , owned by Scott Armstrong of Merritt Island Fl
So here comes the West Palm Beach shows, Saturday and Sunday, were we will have the numbers………….and boy do we have the numbers!
Among those numbers:
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we have the super star Grand Champions roaring for national glory,
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also we have the best of the best class dogs and girls,
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plus we the up & coming young pointed adults chaffing at the bit to get in the mix for the points,
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we have the 'fast and furious' fast starter puppies with points already, those overachieving ‘still puppies’ with wins under their belts
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and we have the ‘brand new to the show dog scene' just coming out waiting to join the ranks of those pointed dogs and the top champions……………..
…………………………..and to all the preceding I say "Amen to that!"
February 23 It's Almost Showtime!
Chambray Labrador Owner’s Program has established several unique happenings that occur within the framework of our very successful operation. One of my favorites is one that occurs almost every 6 months…………………………..the debut of our newest puppies at the dog shows.
In the fall there is the coming out of the puppies from the spring litters and then in the early part of the New Year, out will come the puppies that were born 6 months earlier at the end of the past year.
For the up and coming three weekends of South Florida dog shows in March, we will now see some of those puppies taking their very first steps into the world for which they were bred for……………..bred for the Betterment of the Breed, these puppies being the ones that indeed have fulfilled the Chambray legacy of breeding the best to produce the best and then showcasing them at the top end of canine competition................the dog shows where the best of the best from other breeders tee up going head to head to determine which indeed are adjudicated as being the best and then those that reach that zenith, will be the ones perpetuating the great traits of each breed to the next generation of puppies produced.
The first thing I do when answering anyone’s emails inquiring about puppies is to let them know that what we do isn’t the same old, same old puppy production, assembly line, litter after litter, with those puppies to be sold to the pet market.
The fact that we end up placing some of our puppies as pets is that we grade out the best of the best from each litter with the top puppies being placed with those discriminating folk that research and educate themselves about the Chambray difference and then they make the decision to take the next step and visit us at Chambray Acres where I have been implementing that unique raising, training, placing and showing those awesome puppies that come from this master program.
So, now we ready those puppies through our innovative and dedicated training methods to perform their best under the helter-skelter conditions that we deal with at the dog shows!
Imagine how distracted puppies are under normal, everyday situations and now magnify that 1000%!
Hundreds of dogs, usually upwards of 700+ average entries per dog show………….with probably twice as many people and kids milling about………….the sights, the sounds, the scents…………….the cacophony of dogs barking and whining………………..the running into the ring, the running around inside the ring………………..the clapping and cheering of the dogs that win and then the exiting of the dogs from the that competitive arena known as the show ring.
Dogs in crates, dogs taken out of crates, dogs put back into crates, dogs taken for walks, dogs taken to get groomed, dogs up on grooming tables……………………you name it, it is happening with all of those people and dogs all in one place.
Our job as handlers while in the ring is to get them to ‘look’ good!
Yep, to show off that heightened breed conformation that has been exacted over succeeding generations of improvement breeding with the premise that drives Chambray Labradors………………for the Betterment of the Breed.
Some of the puppies now debuting at the March weekend of shows are now, 8, 9 and 10 generations of breeding the best to produce more of the best and these little guys and their older kin are the product of the steadfastness of bringing to out to show the best that has been produced in the preceding breeding period.
We have a week left to go over each of the dogs entered for the 4 shows in 3 days at the Davie Rodeo Arena…………..some will come for private training sessions, some will come to the Tuesday and Thursday night classes, some will come for grooming………….some will be left here with us for more intense preparations…………………….all of those entered for this coming weekend’s show receive major priority in whatever it is that will make them give a better presentation and then we hold our breath and hope for the best!
The Lakeland Fl Dogs Coming Up 02/17 & 18
Well the month of January came and went with Team Chambray extending the Consecutive Weekend Winning Streak to a mind boggling 170 weekends that started back in January of 2012 and now 6 years in a row, weekend in and weekend out, winning has become the 'expected' rather than the 'exception to the rule'................of course we relish every single win by one of our dogs and we hold our breaths each and every new weekend that comes up and hope for the best.
So, now we look ahead to the 4 days of shows at
Keeping the consecutive weekend winning streak alive and well
170 dog show weekends with wins!
From January 2012 to through January 2018!!!!!!!!!!!
Ocala 01/25/2018
Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness CGC
Best Of Breed 3 Gr Ch Pts
01/26
Chambrays The Tradition Continues "TC"
Winners Dog & Best Of Winners
Duke
Sel Gr Ch 2 Gr Ch Pts
01/27
BISP Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard
BOS 2 Gr Ch Pts
Duke
Sel Gr Ch 2 Gr Ch Pts
Chambrays Secret Surprise "Leenda"
Best Puppy & Gr 3
01/28
Tank'd
Best Of Breed & Gr IV 4 Gr Ch Pts & 98 All-Breed Pts
Chambrays Ruff N Counter "Heidi"
Winners Bitch BBE & BBE Gr 2
Duke
Sel Gr Ch 2 Gr Ch Pts
Chambray 2017 Year In Review
Top 10 All-Breed USA ~ #9 Labrador
3 Top 20 Grand Ch USA ~ #11 #14 #16 Labradors
3 Top 40 Breed USA #15 #34 #39 Labradors
3 New Bronze Grand Champions ~ Most Bronze Gr Ch USA w/10
3 New Grand Champions ~ Most Gr Chs USA w/21
Most Grand Chs USA Top 100 w/7
2 New Champions
Judge's Award of Excellence Invitation to 2018 British Crufts
Extend Weekend Winning Record to 167 Dog Show Weekends
01/01/2018 HAPPY NEW YEAR: So glad it's a New Year!
*BISP Bronze Gr Ch Chambray's Tank'd N Counter #9 USA All-Breed & #15 USA Breed makes it 2 years in a row in the Top 20!!!!! This is the 7th year in a row with at least 1 Chambray dog in the USA Top 20 and to receive the LRC's Top 20 Tribute Award....2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and now 2017!
*3 Chambray dogs in the Top USA Grand Ch's with Tank'd (#14), Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady (#11) and Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness CGC (#16)
*3 Chambray dogs in the Top 40 USA Breed Rankings...........Tank'd #15..........Lady #34........Duke #39
*3 New Bronze Grand Champions for 2017! Tank'd, Duke & Lady. Most show breeders would like to celebrate just their first Bronze! Chambray just upped the national record for a Labrador breeder to 10!
*3 New Grand Champions for 2017! This raises our Grand Champions National record to 21.
*#1 in the USA AKC Top 100 Grand Champions with 7
* Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady is awarded the 2017 Royal Canin National Championship's Judge's Award of Excellence which automatically extends an invitation to the 2018 Crufts in Great Britain.
*AND THE BEAT GOES ON! Yep, 167 straight, consecutive, in a row, one after another dog show weekends with WINS! Starting on January 2012 to NOW!
How's the preceding record setting, record breaking, top of the national charts year, for a top level breeder................and for Chambray it was an off year!!!!!!!!!!!
For most breeders, for the average bears, just one of the Top Rankings, one of the accomplishments, one of the awards, one of the titles would be an awesome year!
For us, losing 4 months while staying home while the dog flu was making its rounds.....................3 more off-months of dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene............that's 7 months out of commission and yet we post the preceding................that's how to take care of business..................you first make your mark, you first set the bar and then reset that bar over and over again, you become the source and then and only then can you do the talk................otherwise it is all male bovine fodder.
Tank'd & Jessie on their way, all the way to Westminster 2018
Brooksville Dog Shows Week 1 & 2
1st Day ~ Tank'd Select Grand Ch
2nd Day ~ Tank'd Select Grand Ch
3rd Day ~ Beau Best Of Breed
4th Day ~ Beau Best Of Breed
5th Day ~ Tank'd Select Grand Ch
1st Day Week 2 ~ Tank'd Select Gr Ch
2nd Day Wk 2 ~ Chambrays Secret Surprise Winners Bitch & Tank'd Select Gr Ch
3rd Day Wk 2 Tank'd Select Gr Ch
4th Day Wk 2 Tank Gr Ch
5th Day Wk 2 CHambrays The Tradition Continues Winners Dog/BOW
Brooksville Jan 11th and 12th: Tank'd scores back-to-back Select Grand Champion awards at the first two shows at the Florida Winter Circuit, adding to his amazing run for the AKC's Silver Grand Champion's title. There is an outside chance that the needed 39 points for that title can be achieved before stepping onto the red carpet of Westminster 2018 in February. He would finish out the 10 days of shows with 18 Gr Ch Points
Tank'd &Leenda's WB for Brooksville Wk 2 makes 169 consecutive dog show weekends with wins. TC finishes out the 2 weeks with a Winners Dog and Best Of Winners at the last show of the 2 weeks.
January 2018
"Tank'd"
AKC Bronze Grand Champion
Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard
USA # 9 All-Breed Labrador Retriever
USA #15 Breed Labrador Retriever
USA #14 Grand Ch Labrador Retriever
Two years in a row ranked in the USA Top 20
Labrador Retrievers.
Sired: Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua's Battle Of Jericho
Dam: BIS BBE Silver Gr Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter
Handled Exclusively by Jessica Herzon
12/31: It's official! What a great way to end the year with!
Bronze Grand Ch Chambray's Midnight Delta Lady
receives the prestigious invitation to
Great Britain's 2018 CRUFTS!
Her Judge's Award of Excellence at the
2017 AKC Royal Canin National Invitationals
qualify her for this most awesome of honors.
She is among 8 other champions that qualified and the only Florida-bred dog on that distinguished list!
December 30th: 2017 is almost over! Can't wait.
Well, here it is, the day before New Year's eve.................one more 2017 day to survive through and then we burst forward with a New Year!
The entry numbers just came out for the Brooksville shows...................the shows labeled the Florida Winter Classic, where for over 30 years straight, there have been enough Labradors to make major-pointed shows..........................just as I predicted to all of our Chambray owners and to those others that have been asking.............NO MAJORS!
Not even on the weekend shows! Not enough dogs entered to come up to majors for either dogs or bitches..................first-time ever that the January Circuit has fallen short.
One of my jobs as dog show manager for all the dogs that are part of our Dog Show Management Program is to save our owners money on entries. So for all those dogs that just need majors, no need to spend money on entries when those dogs don't need single points any longer, so I will advise that at shows where there isn't a likelihood of majors, to skip those shows for those dogs.
Well, just as well, because there are a host of our young dogs and puppies that need those single points and those will be the dogs that we will feature for these smaller entry shows.
December 23rd: The day before Christmas Eve.
Well, here it is, a week before the year is out. We are doing our best to drum up interest for the up and coming Florida Winter Classic dog shows in the unpredictable and at times, blustery Brooksville FL.
Not the best time of year to be reminding show dog owners that no sooner did we end the 2017 dog show year last week at the Royal Canin dog shows in Orlando FL, that it's already time for deadlines for the first weekend of dog shows for 2018!
The general consensus for entries to this first weekend of 5 shows starting on January 11th thru January 15th..............is not that encouraging. I doubt seriously that majors will be made for Labradors as not many of the out of state handlers fessed up to coming down.
As it works out, we won't be fielding much of a roster ourselves, as our class dogs are mostly youngsters, with us having finished a record 32 champions in the last 6 years, leaving our adult ranks a bit depleted.............as was very evident by our Royal Canin week of shows roster.
The other Florida Labrador breeder with extra dogs also stated that their entries would not amount to much either, so my expectations are for a limited amount of dogs representing the Labradors at this first weekend of shows.
This will suit well for the puppies and young dogs that will be making the trip with us as the majority of our roster needs single points which are easier had at smaller shows, which means that later in the year, we will be in the hunt for majors at the out of state shows in neighboring states where the point system for majors is lower than in our state.
EDITORS NOTE: (by the way, that's me as well as all the other titles that I assume in this one man operation with the website).
In the last couple of days we have received and inordinate amount of traffic flowing our way from posts at Face Book.
Can't beat free advertising! So, I welcome all to Chambray Labradors, especially all the new folk that have visited and have reached out to us wanting more information about our various programs.
Throughout this website, www.chambraylabradors.net and our stud dog and puppy availability website, www.chambraylabs.com ....................you will find all our credentials, our achievements, our affiliations, the awards and certificates that we have accumulated with our 48 years of involvement with Labradors............starting in 1970 and going into 2018.
There is nothing like longevity to prove a point, nothing like success to create the validity and nothing like the product and service that knows no bounds. Of course the opposite of the preceding are the fly by nights............the Johnny Come Lately...........the no time in, the no accounts, the no credentials, the no contributions....those that spring up today and are long gone tomorrow, leaving a no lasting impression or nil contributions to the breed................as many that have written in have already pointed out!
Excellent observations by those that can read in between the lines and to think that I had nothing to do with that since I make no time for the foolishness that ensues at those social media waste depositories.
PS: Due to the overload of traffic, some of our pages have been real slow loading up, some were turned off temporarily and we are still working on the IMO page to accept a broader base of visitors.
December 18th: No Respite
No sooner did we return back to balmy Miami at 9 PM Sunday night from the 4-hour trek down the turnpike from the Royal Canin week of shows in Orlando…………..that I was up and at them banging the drums for the up and coming January dog shows in Brooksville FL……………….up and at them, well past midnight getting emails out to all those whose dogs we manage for the dog shows!
There is no respite in our dog world with our year-round involvement with raising, training, conditioning and off to dog shows itinerary.
So, emails were composed reminding all those owners who right now are as busy as a maddening swarm of bees getting all their duckies in a row for the fast approaching year-ending and year-beginning holidays.
One thing is for sure, deadlines wait for no one and he/she who snoozes will miss the fast forward train that will wiz by and has no reverse to come back for the late stragglers.
So, although I am dreary-eyed seeing dogs coming and going from 5 AM to 11 PM for the last 9 days up in Orlando, it was kind of having dogs up to my ears and then some, I need to keep the ferry boat afloat and not miss any of the deadlines that will be here all too soon.
From the ‘talk of the town’……………and boy was there some of that going around, it doesn’t look too promising in building majors for yet another year of the Florida Winter Circuit.
That’s a tough cookie to sell when we have 6 dogs that anxiously need those major-pointed shows to be able to finish their quest for the AKC’s championship title.
Lots and lots of ‘business’ was transacted at this year’s Royal Canin week of shows, mostly seeing eye to eye with future stud dogs to be used in our breeding program. Several dogs there caught our eye and the bridge was built to touch base with them come the right time for our females.
In particular, one of the most successful breeding programs in the country approached us for the use of their top producing stud dogs with our girls! This was a pure surprise coming from their ‘limited use’ protocols for outside kennels. Now our owner/partners will have several top ranked dogs available to them for use with their females.
We also made arrangements for a Rocheby bitch (English import) to be shipped to us from South America, then to be bred to one of our top stud dogs, where we will keep the dam and deliver the litter, raise the puppies and then the kennel/breeders will come and take the bitch and a puppy back with them, allowing us to place the top show prospects into our Show Management Program.
A west coast specials dog will be joining our Show Management Program right after the Westminster shows to be campaigned alongside of our own dogs and then this dog will be available for stud service to our breeding program for the rest of the year while he is being handled by our team.
The Class of 2017 promises so much greatness as a whole, where the 2015 and 2016 classes were ‘apple pie in the sky’ at the onset as puppies and only a few rose to their potential, mostly due to poor owner-decision making processes along the way. It is apparent now that our mature adult classes have no depth behind the one or two front runners from each class that is competing, so these 2017 youngsters will have to make up for the thin crust of the adult dogs from previous years.
Rising to the occasion is the name of the game and with our involvement with the breed it’s ‘play ball’ all year round!
Batter up!
December 17th: Post Royal Canin
The results are now well-etched into the AKC's history books..................3 All-Breed Best Of Breeds, 1 LRC BISS winner and 1 Best Of Breed National Championships and nary a one of them was a Florida Labrador, which of course means that none, nada, zilcho were of the Chambray flavor either!
No excuses to be made, the best dogs won and the other 100+ that competed including the dozen-plus Chambray dogs represented well, making a good showing, but not rising to the top rung.
All those dogs that showed up for the largest dog show ever in the US, the small cadre of winners as well as those that didn't win, sure as heck made a better showing than all those that stayed home or in their kennels.
Such can be the fate of any top well-bred dog considering the world class champions that came to sunny Florida for the AKC's Royal Canin National Championships on Saturday, December 16th....................the LRC Labrador Specialty on Friday the 15th and the 3 All-Breed dogs shows that started on Tuesday the 12th through Thursday the 14th.
In addition to the 5 Best Of Breeds available from the 5 shows, there were also 5 Winners Dog, 5 Winners Bitch, 5 Best Of Opposite Sex, 5 Select Grand Champion males and 5 Grand Champion females........................all worth points and of course bragging rights and Chambray only felt the love with 1 Select Grand Champion female, won by Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady. Besides Lady's win, only 2 other Florida-bred dogs savored the thrill of victory, a Brighton bitch winning a BOS and a Grandquest bitch taking a WB.
So, hip, hip hurray for Lady! She saves the day, the week, the year...................the 6-year long winning streak.
That one slim pickens, on a diet win keeps the consecutive dog show weekend winning streak alive to make it into 2018!
Our savior Lady, also garners a Judge's Award of Excellence {JAE} at the Saturday Royal Canin National Championships, which she now can add with tons of pride to her last name. So, score two for our sweet trotting Tennessee walker. Although born in our Miami neighborhood, she now hails from Memphis TN where she calls Virginia and Eddie Wilson her home-mates!
Lady is superbly handled and loved by her handler Jennifer Bell.
So, now we regroup, recoup, reboot and get ready for the New Year!
We have lots to look forward to......................there's a few of our mature adults that need a little loving with a win or two and they cross their intended finish line. The most promising Puppy Class since the spectacular Class of 2012, with 2 of those puppies having registered AKC champion's points at just 7 months old.......................PLUS we have yet another run at February's 2018 Westminster with back-to-back sorties by our top Specials, BISP Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Tank'd On The Boulevard.
Tank is also making a run at becoming Chambray's 3rd Silver Grand Champion, now only lacking 39 points!
More to come!
Gulfport Mississippi 12/09 & 10th
Bronze Gr Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady
Back To Back Best Of Breeds & Group IV
Chambrays Ole Miss Zeta Lady
Winners Bitch
In exactly one week, next Monday, December the 11th, at this very same time (9 AM), we will be driving due north the four hours it takes to arrive at the loading ramp of the Orlando Convention Center.
So, we have all that time, from now until then to get EVERYTHING ready………..because ready or not, the show will go on and thousands will be waiting right then and there to get into the humongous facility in anticipation for the biggest dog show ever……..ever in the US.
This show is it, as all the others are just warmups for this most prestigious ‘breeder's’ showcase to end all showcases! Only the Westminster Dog Show matches the glitz and glamor, but that setting has been traditionally an owner/exhibitor’s venue and not so much as the place where breeders get the headlines as the Eukanuba, now the Royal Canin was first organized to be and now is considered the marquee place for breeders to shine at.
So, we as Labrador breeders, trainers and handlers………..we revel in the regalness that has evolved with this week of shows. Just being there in the ring with the level of competition is a major kudos for any breeder, because only the best of the best dare enter their dogs there……………all the rest know that the world is watching and that truly limits who arrives there with their best. That has become a self-regulating reality for the top breeders to bring on their effort’s top dogs. Here, winning is the icing on the cake, and showing up inside the ring shows the gravitas and the quality that all others come to sit around ringside and wish they were at that same level.
The ones in the ring with those best dogs look out while the ones outside the ring look up and wish upon a star that someday they too would be able to field the superb breed quality to be able to waltz into the ring and stand on equal ground as those breeders that are excelling with the best.
I have witnessed, from the very first show back in 2001, with less than 20 Labradors in the ring, to now with over 100 of the best, the top, the winningest Labradors vying for the top honors..............standing toe-to-toe and going head-to-head and once again, just being there is a win/win situation for all those great dogs with their breeder's name proclaiming their rightful place in the individual breed's ranks.
We have a lot of work to do from now until then………….I can’t wait to be there one more time!
The inaugural Royal Canin in 2016 ~ Huge Win!
Back again in 2017
& Then on to Westminster 2018
Royal Canin
Westminster
Jessica Herzon
Need we say more?
Poetry In Motion...........How Sweet It Is!!!!
Mia & Jessie take the IABCA Grand Seiger!!!!!!
Watch for the dynamic duo at the Royal Canin in December
& Westminster in February
Tank'd Does Royal Canin 2016................. Then Westminster 2017 ..............Now Royal Canin 2017 and a Repeat Performance Westminster 2018
She Trains Them
She Conditions Them
She Champions Them
She Grand Champions Them
Bronze Grand Champions Them
She Ranks Them Nationally
The Best Get Better with the Best Handling Them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did you receive the Royal Canin special Regalia Invitation for Breeders of Champion?
Chambray Labradors
You are cordially invited to a celebration for breeders.
A Royal Celebration For Those Breeders Who
Champion Purebred Dogs
11/27 Ocala IABCA Shows
The weather was brisk and cool, just perfect for the debut of some of our top puppy prospects from the awesome Class of 2017.
The setting...................the 3rd weekend in a row that we venture to north central Florida, Ocala more precisely...................the other 2 jaunts there were of the AKC variety.
The mission of course for these IABCA shows, these International flavored doggie events is to debut, develop and decide which puppies. (1st), have it and will be invited to continue to be featured as our top show dogs......................(2nd) which will need more time to mature, fill out and become the promise that they displayed during the critical evaluation at 8 weeks of age........................(3rd) and then there are always those that 'seem' to have it, but along the way 'things' arise that tend to hold them back.
Simple solution to each of the preceding numbered situations. Those in the 3rd category will be placed on the back burner, will be provided all the amenities of a puppy/dog placed as a show dog and will be evaluated at a future time. Those in the 2nd group will have a regimen developed for them and according the owner's commitment, we will work with them either to boast them into the 1st group or most bust out without the commitment needed to take them further........................of course, the 1st group will have all of our resources at their beckon and call........................what is necessary is for the owners to be 100% fully on board and take advantage of the most successful Labrador breeding, raising, training, conditioning and handling program in the entire USA....................BAR NONE! (see IMO post).
So, just how did the 3 Chambray puppies and 1 adult do at the IABCA shows? So glad you asked as it gives me the soap box to spill the beans.
Was there competition? Yes siree, yes ma'am............you bet your sweet behind parts!
The local Lab breeder from the area, winning at a very good clip at the AKC shows was there with what would be figured to be her top 2 puppies and an AKC winning adult.....................as well as several Lab breeders from out of state
The results: A perfect shutout! Yeppers, all the Best Labrador Puppy awards, all 8 of them over the 2 days with 4 shows.................4 Regular Best Labrador Puppy and 4 Bred By Exhibitor Labrador Puppy..............Chambray! The adults..........................yep again, 4 Regular Best Adult and 4 Bred By Exhibitor! Total Best In Show take.......................... 4 Best In Show Puppy and 3 Best In Show Adult!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Judges?
Top AKC judges, including George Marquis and world renown Stanley Matsumoto.............also Vicky Johnson, Zell Von Pohlman, Maureen Peteler and Ann Meyer.........................all in agreement from the Labrador ring into Best In Show.
By the way, this is the 2nd consecutive International show that Jessie Herzon wins the biggest prize of all at the conclusion of the 4 shows..........................The Grand Seiger Best In Show! Back in August at the ICE International shows with her Cane Corso and yesterday with her German Shepherd!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to the following Chambray owners for another stupendous outing!
New International BIS Baby Ch Chambrays The Great One "Gretzky", owned by Rene Monette of Port St Lucie FL. Gretzky ended up with 7 Best Labrador Puppy and 3 Best In Show Puppy!
New International Ch Chambrays Blazing Saddles, owned by Scott Armstrong of Merritt Island, FL with 4 Regular Best Labrador Adult & 4 Best Bred By Labrador Adult and 3 Best In Show Adult.
New International BIS Junior Ch Chambrays Secret N Counter "Leenda" owned by Juan Marrero of Miami Lakes FL. Leenda took 1 Best Labrador Puppy and 1 Best In Show puppy.
Also, congratulation to our 3rd Labrador puppy competing at Ocala, Chambray's Silent Bit O Honey for making a great comeback from her very first show on Saturday, where all semblance of show training went out the window and everything and anything everywhere but inside the ring made more sense to her than anything I tried with her. She did get her mind into the game and came away with 3 SG1's and the SG2 from the 1st show and has her National Jr Ch title. "Cali" is owned by Donna and Andrew Bershaw of Orlando Fl. She will be one of the #1's at future AKC shows...........watch for her to kick butt!
Int BIS Baby Ch Chambrays The Great One, "Gretzky" is from BBE Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Ruff Jewel Walter bred to AKC CH Chambrays Grace Of The Field.
Int BIS Jr Ch Chambrays Secret N Counter "Leenda" is from Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua's Battle Of Jericho bred to Int Ch WinQuest Kept Secret.
Nat Jr Ch Chambrays Silent Bit O Honey "Cali" is brong Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua's Battle Of Jericho bred to AKC Ch Chambrays Sweet Honey Samantha.
Int BIS Ch CHambrays Blazing Saddles came from Huck Finn and AKC Ch Pted/Int Ch Chambrays Summer Thunderstorm.
11/23 More Royal Canin
At the conclusion of the post below, I stated that there would be more..........so here's Johnny, ooopppppsss, here's more!
Yes siree Bob......John and Martin...................the leaders of the pack for any and all breeders are those dogs that have wagered a tough campaign through the classes, endured enough and eventually, the few the proud, the best, accumulated enough of the 'weighted' wins, points and other requirements and attained their well-earned AKC Champion's title!
Those are the flag bearers for the breeder bearing his/her kennel name for others to see and compare............those are the specials and I covered those in the post that follows this one.
Now I cover the class dogs and the itty-bitty ones, the newest offering, the newest generation, the puppies. There will be a total of 13 class dogs and bitches...............our smallest roster in 10 years of competition at this prestigious event.
The 2017 Royal Canin, coming back for their 2nd year will see a reduced Chambray roster, especially with the veteran class dogs. Just three adult veteran class dogs will be making the trip to the big top.......actually the biggest top dog show ever at this year's royal event.
Top Pointed Dogs..............Just 3...........count them.........#1 Chambray's Galactic N Counter, her litter-mate #2 Chambray's Magnum N Counter and a half sister, #3 Chambray's Rose On Center Stage..............all produced by the one and only 'Kika'....................make up our top front-line class dogs!
Any and all could come out from the 5 shows as new champions! Magnum is in the more enviable spot, with just needing 1 single point to earn his AKC champion's title. Both Gayla and Rose need one more major-pointed him to yodel out hallelujah! Assuredly, all 5 shows should be majors with the numbers and top quality of dogs descending down to Orlando for this biggest of all canine events.
From the 13 class dogs, we have the 3 mentioned top pointed dogs and then there 6 puppies under the age of 8 months...................so that leaves 4 other class dogs that are under 2 years of age with limited wins.
Leading this group of up & coming youngsters is Chambray's Blazing Saddles At Southern Palms with 7 points, Chambrays Max Shwab and Chambray's Mr Steal Your Girl "Guinness" on the boy's side and Chambray's Ruff N Counter with 4 points from the young girl's side of the fence.
As mentioned above, 6 puppies from the Class of 2017 will be part of the Chambray Roster.
Leading this pack of wee ones that are now 7 months old is Chambray's The Tradition Continues "TC" already with a 3-Point Major to his credit.
Chambray's Rhythmic N Counter "Rita" from the girls side has a Winners Bitch for 2 points.
Chambray's Stellar Sun...................Chambray's King Of Mambo.................Chambray's Swinging For The Fences for the boys and Chambray's Silent Bit Of Honey representing the girls..........all of these in search for their first win.
Although our roster is a bit on the 'green side' for this 2nd year Royal Canin extravaganza, we feel that each and every one of these top of the breed standard specimens will be holding their own against the top competitors from all over the USA and from foreign countries as well.
2017 Royal Canin ~ The Real Big One!
It’s official!
The 2017 AKC Royal Canin National Championships December 16th Dog Shows in Orlando Fl has surpassed the previous ‘most entered’ dog show………ever in the US/North America! Close to 5000 entries have been received for the gargantuan canine event!
We……………meaning all of the dogs and owners that make up Chambray Labradors are part of this historical gathering. Chambray Labradors will be awesomely represented, although this year with a reduced roster, but none the less………a stellar cast!
Our ‘specials’, those dogs that have completed their journey from class dogs to earning their AKC champion’s title, will be gunning for those elusive Best Of Breeds, not only at the Saturday super spectacular Royal Canin event, but also at the Friday Labrador Retriever Club Specialty and at the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday Central Florida area clubs All-Breed Shows.
That will give each of our super star specials the opportunity to add to their already impressive resumes.
Chambray Labradors will be boasting 5 champions…………..in fact, all 5 are AKC Grand Champions…………4 of them hold their AKC Bronze Grand Champions title to boot and 1 of them is a rarified-air AKC Silver Grand Champion. This cadre of high-caliber titled dogs could very well be the most Grand Champions fielded by any breeder at this most prestigious canine event for breeders of all breeds.
At the 2016 inaugural Royal Canine event………………for the last 15 years known as the Eukanuba National Championships…………………..one of our specials, then 16 month old Ch Chambrays Duke Destined For Greatness scored his biggest win, a Best Of Breed at the opening day event, the Tuesday All-Breed Dog Show.
I had the fortunate honor of handling Duke that magical day, one that goes down as impressive as any other World-Class win that any Chambray dog has had.
Duke is now an AKC Bronze Grand Champion and once again will be representing Chambray and the Labrador breed as an elite member of both. This year he will be handled by top professional handler Julie Romeo.
Bronze Grand Ch Chambrays Tank’d On The Boulevard………..returning for his 3rd National Championship as a champion…….1st time as an 11-month old champion in 2015…………. the 2nd time last year in 2016 as a Grand Champion and this year for the 2017 super event as a Bronze Grand Ch……….is now well on his way to the Silver Grand Champion's title with 161 pts...........and he isn’t 3 years old yet!
Earlier this year Tank’d made his way up to the Big Apple, Madison Square Gardens, NY, NY………………..to the Westminster Dog Show and will repeat again for the Big Apple show for 2018. Tank’d and Jessie team up for all of these high functioning gatherings of the best Labradors in America.
Chambray’s newest Bronze Grand Champion……………Bronze Gr Ch Chambrays Midnight Delta Lady will join the stellar Chambray champion’s parade with professional handler Jennifer Bell, who has taken her all the way to her most impressive stature. Lady now has the honor of being Tennessee’s first ever Labrador Retriever AKC Bronze Grand Champion and of course the highest ranking Labrador from that state.
It should be noted that both Tank’d and Lady are litter-mates from Bronze Gr Ch Summithill Joshua’s Battle Of Jericho and BIS BBE Silver Grand Ch Chambrays Celestial N Counter ‘Kika”.
Standing front and center when all the top champions from across the USA enter the ring will be BISS Silver Grand Ch Chambrays Tucker Everlasting JAMSS………Top 6 Ranked in 2015…now handled by our very good friend, professional handler Eliades Betancourt. Tucker’s appearance at the regal Royal Canin affair will give his sire, Jericho, 3 Bronze and or Silver Grand Champions under one roof……………what am amazing feat
that is!
Rounding out the beyond galactic group of champions, will be our newest AKC Grand Champion, Grand Ch Chambray's Southern Magnolia’s Beau.........to be handled by yours truly. At 13 months old Beau became the 5th youngest Chambray champion, behind Tank’d….10 months, Duke……11 months, Evie……12 months, Jake…..12 months and now Beau is among the youngest Grand Champions at 19 months of age.
To put those numbers and dates in perspective…………………most dogs are still competing out of the classes for their champion’s title at 24 months of age and here we have a dog as a Grand Champion at 19 months old. I had the thrill of garnering the remaining grand champion points to vault over the 25 needed for the Grand.
Since I will be in the thick of things in the Best Of Breed competition with Beau, who knows, maybe I can repeat the feat from last year by winning another Best Of Breed as happened at last year’s event with Duke winning that awesome and most memorable Best Of Breed at the 1st day of competition at the inaugural 2016 Royal Canin week of shows!
Stay tuned…………..knowing me……………more to come!