December 2017
The final show of the year was Bridlington Open, no classes for Smooths, but we took Ripley, River & Dilys into AVNSC, they gained two seconds and a first, rounding the year off nicely. We’ve never been to this show before, but is was a nice venue (though the rings were quite small) with a welcoming committee and the biggest tombola I’ve every seen! Now we are finished showing for the year & look forward to what next year brings, but first we intend to have as relaxing a Christmas break as possible.
Due to issues with our van, I was unable to attend LKA this year, but Elaine & Deb very kindly took Ripley & Finn for me. Ripley won his class and Finn gained another RCC, the second year in a row he’s done this at LKA.
November 2017
One of our favourite shows of the year is the Collie Association Championship Show, always very friendly and often a last chance to see people before the New Year, we attended with River, Ripley, Dilys and Finn this year. Whilst not the huge success of last year, we were pleased with our placings and it was lovely to catchup with people I hadn’t seen for ages (and some more potential puppy owners). It was especially good to see Delia, who brought Dilys’ sister, Sparkle – it was interesting that the sisters seemed to remember each other even though it’s been several years since they last met.
London and Provincial Championship Show, which is held near Maidstone in Kent, meant a very early start for Rich and Deb (I had the excuse of my sister staying for the weekend, so got a lie-in!). Ripley, Finn and Dilys went with them and gained respectable placings under breed specialist Isobel.
October 2017
Lancs & Cheshire Collie Club held their Open show this month, although the entry was small, it was nice to catch up with people and we also met two more potential puppy owners. Ripley was Reserve Best Dog, River Reserve Best Bitch and Clara gained a first place. I was in trouble with Dilys though, because I had entered her for the show but then forgotten, so we didn’t take her, whoops!
September 2017
Pollard Canine Society (where we go to ringcraft) was the last show of the month. We met up with friends and, although it was a very long day, we were pleased with getting a Second and Third place with Ripley and River in AVNSC Junior, then Clara won the Open class and was Reserve Best AVNSC, which was fantastic.
Darlington Champ Show was a great chance to meet up with some potential puppy owners, who found showing fascinating and enjoyed themselves. We had a great day with Clara, River and Ripley. River got a 2nd place, Clara a 1st and Ripley was on form again, winning Best Dog and Reserve Best of Breed! Clever boy!
The Smooth Collie Club of GB held it’s Championship Show on 2nd September, this was the first time it was held in conjunction with City of Birmingham Champ Show. We were given use of the Best in Show ring, which was great and the club show was followed by the Smooth Collie judging for City of Birmingham in the same ring, which made it easy of exhibitors to attend two Champ Shows in one day. It was a very busy day for Deb and myself, as we are trophy stewards for SCCGB, it was a very early start but a very enjoyable day. We took four dogs with us, Ripley, Finn, River and Clara and the highlights of the day were Finn gaining Reserve Best Veteran in Show at SCCGB and Ripley winning Junior Dog at City of Birmingham. Both shows attracted substantial entries for our small vulnerable breed, so we were very pleased that all our dogs were placed in both shows. Even River, despite deciding that it would be much better to play with the other dogs rather than strut her stuff and she was not at all focused, naughty girl!
August 2017
Bank Holiday Monday, we were supposed to be attending Flint & Deeside Open Show with Ripley and Clara, where they had put classes on for Smooth Collies. Unfortunately due to being caught up in the huge traffic jam due to a tragic incident on the M62, we were forced to give up and eventually were turned around and had to travel home.
Sunday 20th August saw us at Carsington Water for Collie Chaos Carsington (in aid of Rough and Smooth Collie Rescue). We took River, Ripley, Clara and Enzo for this fun day out and they had a great time, lots of running around and playing with many of their fluffy cousins. We also met up with Claire and Lara (River and Ripley’s sister) and we had a good catch up. There was a fun dog show and Clara won Prettiest Bitch. We hope to be able to attend next year (July).
We can’t believe it’s been a year, the pups celebrated their 1st birthday on 12th of the month. What a year and it’s just flown by. We’ve had lots of updates from all the owners and all of them are doing incredibly well, being much loved family members. We are especially pleased that K. Enterprise (Merlin) is now an emotional support dog for the little boy in the family. He is currently enjoying a holiday in the USA with them, so is a well travelled dog! Updated pictures and comments about the litter are on the Previous Litters 2016 page.
A long journey down to East Anglia Collie Association Champ Show turned into a really lovely day with Ripley being Best Puppy Dog/Reserve Best Dog & River Best Puppy Bitch/Best Puppy in Breed/Reserve Best Bitch. This was a great way to end their puppy careers.
July 2017
Leeds Champ Show is one that we always enjoy, though this year was a first for us as it poured down with rain all morning, the afternoon was glorious though, the sun came out and the Red Kites were flying overhead. This is the Leeds Show we know and love! Ripley continued his winning form, taking Best Puppy in Breed. River and Finn were 2nd and 3rd in their classes and Clara was a clever girl winning her class.
The last month seemed to have flown by and NWPB Champ Show came round very quickly. Deb and Elaine took Ripley and Finn (myself & Rich had family commitments) all the way to Malvern for what turned out to be a long but exciting day. Finn found the heat a bit too much and was VHC in a strong Open Dog class. Ripley won his puppy class and then delighted Deb and Elaine by taking the RCC. This is our first big award with a home-bred dog and we are all thrilled. This boy is looking very promising and we are now even more excited to see what the future holds.
June 2017
The last event until mid-July, Smooth Collie of the Year took place on a scorchingly hot day. We had qualified Finn for Veteran of the Year and Clara for Puppy of the Year. We were so delighted when Finn was awarded Reserve Best Veteran of the Year and Clara Reserve Best Puppy of the Year. We are incredibly pleased with this result and so happy.
A beautiful sunny but windy day in the middle of June found us near Welwyn for the London Collie Club Champ Show, it was great to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen for a while. Finn was Best Veteran Dog, Ripley Best Puppy Dog and the girls (River and Dilys) got second places in their classes.
The first show of the month was British Collie Open Show, we took four of our dogs, Ripley and River, Dilys and Finn and the weather was kind to us, it was a lovely sunny day. River was Reserve Best Puppy in Breed and Finn was Best Dog, Reserve Best of Breed, Best Veteran in Breed, Reserve Best in Show and Best Veteran in Show.
May 2017
What an end to the month, we had a marvellous day at the Yorkshire Collie Club Open Show, it was a lovely atmosphere as always and the Koczkodan clan did us proud. Finn was Reserve Best Dog, Clara Reserve Best Bitch, Dilys Best Veteran in Breed, the real star of the day was Ripley though. He was Best Puppy in Breed, Best of Breed and the went on to become Best Puppy in Show and Best in Show, which is a first for a Koczkodan Smooth Collie. Deb and Elaine are thrilled and we are all very proud of him.
A very long day for Deb and Rich proved to be worthwhile, they took Finn to the Scottish Kennel Club Champ Show, where he gained his second CC, this boy is loving showing at the moment and doing so well for us, we love him to bits.
The second weekend in May was a hectic time for us. On Saturday we attended Lancs & Cheshire Collie Club Champ Show, taking five dogs with us. Finn, Ripley and Clara won their classes and River gained a respectable second place in a lovely puppy bitch class (despite deciding that rolling onto her back for the judge to rub her tummy was the correct thing to do in the ring – at least she made us all laugh!). Dilys showed her socks off, she just loves to be in the ring and whilst placed third, we were happy to see her enjoying herself.
The following day we headed to the Smooth Collie Club and Collie Association back-to-back Open Shows, we had a fantastic day gaining 12 first places. Finn got Reserve Best Veteran in the morning and followed that up with Best Veteran in Breed and Reserve Best Dog in the afternoon. Ripley won Best Dog, Best Puppy and Best Opposite Sex in Breed in the afternoon and River was a superstar gaining Best Puppy in Breed and Best Puppy in Show. An exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable day.
April 2017
The last weekend in April we headed into Wales to attend WELKS Championship Show. The weather was kind enough to not rain until we had been in the ring although the wind was very cold. Finn won his class and the pups were placed 3rd and Reserve in theirs, a quiet day but still good to catch up with friends.
This is a quiet month for us, Mansfield Open Show at the beginning of the month saw the pups take 2nd and reserve in AVNSC Puppy and Dilys was Reserve Best AVNSC and Best Veteran AVNSC. We now have no shows until the end of the month, so we’re enjoying the Spring sunshine and getting caught up at home.
March 2017
The last weekend in March saw us taking another mini-holiday, this time up to the Scottish Borders, beautiful scenery as usual and the weather was really kind to us on the Saturday when we attended the Scottish Breeds Champ Show. Ripley was Best Puppy Dog, River was Best Puppy Bitch, Best Puppy in Breed and went on to be shortlisted for Best Puppy in Show. Finn was Best Veteran in Breed.
Crufts took place this last weekend, we took the puppies on Saturday and they spent most of the day on the Discover Dogs Smooth Collie stand. They thoroughly enjoyed all the fuss and attention and behaved so well, we are very proud of them. I lost count of the number of times people told them how beautiful they were, what a tiring but amazing day. On the Sunday, we took Clara and Finn to show, both gaining second places in nice classes, so a good weekend all round.
First show of a busy month was British Collie Club Champ Show, River and Ripley had a fab day out both qualifying for Crufts 2018. Finn got Reserve in a very nice Open Dog class and Best Veteran Dog then went on to win Reserve Best Veteran in Breed and Reserve Best Veteran in Show. Dilys, not wanting to be outdone, won Best Veteran Bitch, Best Veteran in Breed and Best Veteran in Show, she strutted her stuff and enjoyed every minute of it.
February 2017
Matlock Open Show was the first outing for the pups and it was a long, tiring but fantastic day. Clara was Best of Breed, with Dilys Reserve best of Breed. River got 2nd in the Junior class and it was really nice to meet up with Lara at her first ever show (she got a third and a second place, which was really good as her young owner had never shown a dog before). The star of the day was Ripley, who was Best Puppy in Breed and then got Pastoral Puppy group 2 in a strong line-up. What a wonderful start to his show career.
A lovely local show to start this month off, Yorkshire Collie Club held their Open Show on 4th Feb and we had a lovely time catching up with friends. Finn was Best Dog, Best Veteran Dog and Best Opposite Sex in Breed. Clara won 1st Junior Bitch and Dilys was 2nd in Veteran Bitch. River and Ripley came in to see what all the fuss was about and were very chilled out and well behaved. Not long until their first show now!
January 2017
The first show of the year was Manchester and it was a successful start for Koczkodan Smooth Collies, Clara won the Junior Bitch class and Finn was Best Veteran in Breed. This year promises to be a busy year, with the pups making their show debut mid-February and the team up to five now (Finn, Dilys, Clara, River and Ripley). We are going to have our hands full, luckily we will have Elaine joining us for some shows, as she is keen to show Ripley.