Dogs,Horses and Wind Galore

Hi all,
I went to do another dog/horse show on Saturday, which is a bit of unusual day as most shows are held on a Sunday. To be honest I am glad that it was then, because despite the wind which we had to battle for most of the morning, today has been very wet and there is nothing worse than wind and rain combined for outdoor event! I was not judging so had plenty of time to walk around and snap away with my camera, at all the wonderful horses done up in their tackle with riders beautifully turned out, so many different sizes and colours, and classes for all ages. Their was also a range of stalls, selling their wares, from doggy and horse stuff to an on the spot antique valuation stall, professional photographers, terrier racing, a pack of glorious bloodhounds doing their thing, rides,music,etc. The dog show went very well, and again a good mix of all breeds, sizes and colours and to my delight another Saint Bernard youngster, female, of about 18 months old, which makes two I have seen this year. There was also a pair of very handsome Akita's and a ginormous Irish wolfhound of about 14 months old, dopey as they come and all legs. I came across a Bedlington Terrier cross a bit bigger than Bluebell, but also with a silver mohican lol, I had a good chat with her owner and we did laugh some, at this distinctive feature that occurs in some Beddy crosses. As I went with a friend she bought her two dogs with us (golden labs) and who are probably the most gentle and laid back pair of mutts I know, we did not even have to stake them out, and they wandered freely in and out of stall saying hello to everyone and in their own right drew some admiring comments and onlookers. As always I am doing a free portrait for the Best Child Handler Class, and this was won by a beautiful Newfoundland called Bertie. Being a previous owner of a Saint Bernard, I do love the giant breed dogs as I find them to be extremely gentle, benevolent and great fun, and this year there does seem to be an influx of Newfies, as each show I have done, there have been at least two or three. I also caught up with some people from previous shows including two wonderful Cairn terriers, and a threesome of Lhaso Apso's, and it is aways nice to say hello and have a natter. It was a great and fun day and I will be posting some pictures in my flickr album later.