May 4 - 6, 2006
Matamoras, Pennsylvania
Twenty-three Podengos, including wire and smooth coat Medios and Pequenos, attended this fabulous event. The sun and fun filled weekend took place at the Best Western at Hunts Landing, located in Matamoras, Pennsylvania overlooking the Delaware Gap and the junction of three states (NY, NJ, PA). Participants attended from as far as California, Arizona, Ohio, Massachusetts and Connecticut and many other states. The Specialty judge was the esteemed Vitor Veiga of Estoril, Portugal, author of The Portuguese Podengo and international judge and breeder.
Great Show! Matamoras Highlights
By Kip Bergstrom, PPCA President
The Portuguese Podengo Club of America (PPCA) held its 5th Annual USA Podengo Specialty Show and PPCA Annual Meeting the weekend of May 4-6 in Matamoras, Pennsylvania, hosted by Rarities, Inc. Twenty-three Portuguese Podengos, including wire and smooth coat Medios and Pequenos, attended this fabulous event. The sun and fun filled weekend took place at the Best Western at Hunts Landing, overlooking the Delaware Gap and the junction of three states (NY, NJ, PA). Participants attended from as far as California, Arizona, Ohio, Massachusetts and Connecticut and many other states. The weekend featured the National Specialty and four other shows.
Vitor Veiga, international judge, author of The Portuguese Podengo, President of the Podengo Club of Portugal, hunter and attorney, judged the Specialty, which took place on Saturday afternoon. Wire Hair Medio Daniela, bred by Antoneta Rodrigues of Portugal, and owned by Eve Parris of Arizona won the Specialty and Bacalhau de Viamonte, owned by Marilyn Piurek of Porto Novo Podengos in Connecticut and Miguel Sabino of Viamonte Kennels of Portugal won the Best Jr. Puppy in Show. Detailed results and photos can be found on our "Shows" page.
The weekend was lots of fun . . . in addition to the conformation shows, there was a Parade of Podengos, a costume contest (ably judged by Gabriela Veiga), a raffle and prizes and gifts for everyone. Throughout the weekend, PPCA members congregated in "Podengo Village", a row of pop-up tents and chairs, with our big, new PPCA logo banner at the center and helium-filled balloons in the colors of the Portuguese flag. PPCA Secretary Katie Goldman and PPCA Board Member Eve Parris did a terrific job organizing the Specialty Show and other events, including finding very thoughtful Portuguese arts and crafts for the Specialty prizes, and soliciting donations of great dog merchandise for the raffle from various national vendors. Saturday night we all dined together in the hotel restaurant, another opportunity to get to know each other better.
This Specialty marked an important turning point for the PPCA. While we all had a lot of fun, we also started to forge a serious learning community. The PPCA Annual Meeting, held the evening of Friday, May 4th, featured a hands-on PowerPoint presentation by me and Vitor Veiga, with members and their dogs in attendance. Fielding questions for two and a half hours, Veiga gave the PPCA members an in-depth immersion in the Breed Standard and history, using various dogs to illustrate key points. The PPCA members who attended displayed the requisite humility, desire and energy to be the best possible stewards of the breed, learning from our Portuguese partners.
Vitor Veiga conducted a clinic on Sunday morning where he provided a written and oral assessment of each of the dogs. It was clear that the U.S. now has some excellent dogs, and with careful breeding and a lot of luck, significant contributions can be made to the improvement of the Portuguese Podengo. We joke that our National Specialty is the "Podengo Dating Game" in America, an opportunity for owners to scope out possible matches for breeding. Stay tuned for the future announcement of nuptials resulting from the Matamoras event.
Each of the members also had time on Sunday for one-on-one conversations with Vitor and Gabriela Veiga, where they could further pursue questions about their dogs and the breed. Everyone who attended had a wonderful time, in large part due to this opportunity for intense personal contact and learning with Vitor and Gabriela. A special thank you to them for their generosity and openness, and for allowing us the privilege to share the stewardship of this magnificent breed. For complete Specialty Show results and photos, please go to our shows page.
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