Impressions of the 2010 German Sieger Show

By

Sanjit Kumar Mohanty

This year, the annual Sieger Show (the world championship of German Shepherd Dogs) was held in Nurnberg, Germany. The venue of the show was the new Credit Stadium. The venue was spacious with all arrangements in place.

The new stadium was used as follows:

3^rd September, 2010 (Friday) � Bitework test for open class males and females

4^th September, 2010 (Saturday) � Progeny groups parade

5^th September, 2010 (Sunday) � Open class males and females confirmation ring

The adjacent old stadium was used for youth and young classes. The weather was sunny and cool.

In this year's bitework phase, most of the top dogs and bitches (with a few exceptions) passed the bitework.

The exceptions in males were:

Cliffo vom D�belner Land

Ix aus der Birkensch�ferei

Morret vom Holtk�mper Tor

Kenzo Crveni Mayestoso

Dex von der Hirtenwiese

The exceptions in females were:

Yule von der Zenteiche

Emily Team de Nura

Nene vom Hasenborn

Urmel vom L�rchenhain

Katja Urko-Wima

Cicciolina Feetback

The judges for the show were as follows:

�         Youth class males � Mr. Helmut Koenig

�         Young class males � Mr. Bernd weber

�         Youth class females � Mr. Heinz Sheerer*

*(Unfortunately, Mr. Sheerer fell seriously ill and was hospitalized four days prior to the show. He was replaced by senior judge and breed warden of the previous years, Mr. Leonhardt Schwikert.)

�         Young female class � Mr. Nobert Scharsmit

�         Open class males � Mr. Reinhardt Meyer

�         Open class females � Mr. Erich Boesl

Although I have been a regular at the Sieger shows from the early ninetees, this year was special for me. I was ring stewarding in the Sieger show with SV permission (badge).

Let me start with a gist of the youth class males.

The judge for the class Mr. Koenig was looking for dogs with correct height, evident masculinity and expression, with firm elbows and strong hocks. The dogs with incorrect frontline, extreme angulation in the rear, and more than sixty-six centimeters in height were placed behind.

Dano v.d Ostfriesischen Thingst�tte

The winner in this class was Dano v.d Ostfriesischen Thingst�tte, a male of over-medium size, dry and firm with very good expression and harmony. He was the winner right from the beginning. In the L.G and O.G shows before the Sieger Show, he was shown seven times under seven different judges. He has always been number one. His father, Tyosn Kottershbush was SG 3 in the 2007 young class males category. Tyson has produced many deserving winners in different classes this year, including the young class male sieger. Dano's mother Crocika Pendler is a litter sister to Charika Pendler (this year's open class female siegerin). Dano is a combination of VA Quen from the sire side and Vegas from the dam side. We can hope that Dano with this bloodline will contribute to the German Shepherd gene pool in the future.

Omen v. Radhaus

The vice youth sieger (SG 2) Omen v. Radhaus, is one of my favorites from the youth class. A son of this year's open class vice sieger (VA 2) Remo vom Fichtenschlag, Omen has excellent anatomical virtues. Before the Sieger show, he was in puppy class and was not shown frequently. That did not deter him from becoming SG 2. A worthy winner, this dog is an absolute stunner with correct size, typical balance and very good movement. If I have to be critical, I would have liked his eye color to be darker. He also has a litter brother Opus v. Radhaus placed SG 8 in this class. This guarantees that Omen comes from a phenotype litter with very good siblings.

In this class, the most disappointing factor for all (including the judge) was the disqualification of Etoo aus Wattenscheid, a Paer vom Hasenborn (VA 13) son. Etoo was always placed first in L.G shows and O.G shows. He was crowned Belgium youth sieger and Holland youth sieger this year. During this Sieger show, he was called in the second position (SG 2) after the standing examinations, but was disqualified as he started biting the dogs in front and behind. He was warned twice by the judge, but unfortunately, the handler could not control him. He was asked to move out of the ring.

In the youth class males, the first twenty dogs were of standard size, with rich pigmentation, very good balance and expression, and a long underline. The highlight of this class is that the males came from different bloodlines, like Tyson, Remo, Ustinov, VA Ober, Unzo and Yukon.  

Apart from the above mentioned males, the following males from the class impressed me:

�         Yoker vom Westervenn

�         Sem del Seprio

�         Lumpi von der B�renschlucht

�         Eliot Ness du Normont

�         Sky vom Eichenplatz

�         Abu vom Holtk�mper See

The youth class females saw some changes as the judge Mr. Leonhardt Schwikert had not judged this class before the Sieger show. Mr. Schwikert chose females from medium to over-medium size for his top twenty. All the females chosen by him were a bit stretched and with normal wither height, very good expression and slightly more hind angulations.

(L to R) SG 1, SG 2, SG 3 Youth Class Females

The winning female SG 1 Chira del Frutteto is bred in Italy. She is a strong female with very good hind thrust.  

The SG 2 Elsa du Val D'Anzin is bred in France. Her breeder is the famous Eric Trentenaere who is a dear friend. Elsa is sired by this year's VA 13 Paer vom Hasenborn. I have been following her from L.G shows. She has turned out to be an outstanding female and is a consistent winner at different shows. I had seen her in the French, Belgium and German L.G shows (held prior to the Sieger show). I am happy that she was best presented in the Sieger show and very well handled. For me, she is the winner in this class.

The SG 3 Nika vom Pendler is a very darkly pigmented, strong female, with lot of spirit. She was handled immacutely by Walter Kotters, a dear friend.

I was a little surprised that Kaleya vom Amur was placed as SG 25. I felt she should have been among the top fifteen.

Apart from the above mentioned bitches, the following bitches from the class impressed me:

�         Queeni vom Thermodos

�         Shernaa Duxi

�         Emma du Val D'Anzin

�         Quitte von Tronje

�         Vanta Feetback

(L to R) SG 1, SG 2 and SG 3 Young Class Males

Lennox von Regina Pacis

The young class males category was judged by Mr. Bernd Wever who had already visited India to judge the Kozhikode chapter speciality show in December 2009. Among the young class males, many of the dogs in the front were big and substantial. The winner in the class was Lennox von Regina Pacis. He is a well pigmented, large, Tyosn Kottershbush son having absolute excellent expression. He moved with ease and style. The coat condition could have been better.

The SG 2 Ypsilon vom L�rchenhain was bred, owned and handled by senior judge Helmut Bus. Ypsilon is a large, powerful dog, of strong masculinity and substance. He is the son of VA Bojan Pendler and grandson of double sieger Vegas. Ypsilon has been shown more than a dozen times with first placements under different judges. This position was predictable for him.

The SG 3 Toni von der Rieser Perle, a VA Furvo Degli Achei son was also shown (like the SG 2) under many top judges in different shows prior to the Sieger show. His motherline comes from top VA female Odusha von der Winerau. He has very good siblings. His litter brother Tell was placed SG 27. He also has very good sisters.

The SG 4 Fulz di Zenevredo is my favorite in this class. I have been following him from his start at the L.G shows. Again a Furvo Degli Achei son, his motherline comes from double sieger Yasko Farbenspeil. Fulz is of excellent proportions and expression, impresses because of his faultless anatomy, rich pigmentation and powerful movement. He has very good brothers and sisters. One of his sisters Frau was placed SG 2 among the young class females. In the coming year, if he passes the bitework, I foresee him as a part of the VA group.

Apart from the above mentioned dogs, the following males from the class impressed me:

�         Conbhairean Uno

�         Hagadahls Figo

�         Calif von Arlett

�         Aku vom H�hnegrab

In this class, Mr. Weber chose dogs with evident masculinity, normal wither, firmness of limbs with normal hind angulation.

The young class females category was judged by Mr. Nobert Scharsmit. He chose females of big size with good feminity and exact height-to-length proportion.

Fenia de Los Madriles

The winner was Fenia de Los Madriles from Spain. This female is well-balanced, superbly constructed with excellent feminity, pigmentation and expression. She was the most deserving female for this position. She was well presented, was in the best condition and moved with great ease and expression in the ring.

The vice siegerin in this class was Frau di Zenevredo. She is a full sister to SG 4 male Fulz from the young class. This litter has brought great success for the Italian breeder Claudio Salentina of Kennel Zenevredo.

Apart from the above mentioned bitches, the following females from the class impressed me:

�         Honda v. Panoniansee

�         Amy von der Zenteiche

�         Dana vom Casselswald

�         Jessy dell Alto Piano

�         Kassieger Renata

I felt that many of the females were short-coupled, and lacked forereach with a clear, long underline.

The open class females category was judged by senior experienced judge, Mr. Erich Boesl. He emphasized on diverse bloodlines with good bone strength, movement and normal rear angulation.

Chakira vom Pendler

(L to R) VA 1 Chakira and VA 2 Egga

The winner from this class was VA 1 Chakira vom Pendler. A daughter of double sieger Vegas, she was the youth class siegerin in 2008 but unfortunately stayed out of competition in 2009 due to failing in the bitework test. Chakira, with her excellent expressions and proportions walked effortlessly to win this class; although in the first gait, she could have done better with more enthusiasm.

The VA 2 Egga vom Osterberger-Land is again a Vegas daughter. She is large and was not in the best condition when shown. But she won the VA 2 place because of her attitude and excellent movement.

The VA 3 Viana vom Fichtenschlag was bred by the same breeder as of the VA 2 male of the open class. This female displayed high spirit. In my opinion, she was definitely deep in the brisket.

Apart from the above mentioned bitches, the following females from the class impressed me:

�         Dara vom Murrtal

�         Chayenne vom Karth�user L�wentor

�         Elly del Seprio

�         Zara von der Zenteiche

�         Lara vom Messebau

�         Jana von der Plassenburg

Chayenne vom Karth�user L�wentor

The VA 5 female Chayenne vom Karth�user L�wentor is my personal favorite. I have seen her progress from her younger days. She has matured over the years. She is a powerful female with excellent drive and temperament. I am happy that we co-own her son Rivaldo who is now six months old sired by this year's vice sieger in the open class, Remo vom Fichtenschlag.

Here I would like to mention the V3 female Tamara v. Haus Christa. A last year SG 17, she is owned by an Indian, Mr. Nagaraj Shetty from Mumbai.

This year, the open class male category was surrounded by speculation and discussions before the annual sieger show. These speculations arose from articles written by the chief breed warden Mr. Meyer in the July and August 2010 issues of the SV monthly magazine. In these articles, he emphasizes on correct height measurement and states that over-sized dogs with instability in hind and hocks must be phased out. Such dogs are not good for this breed that is used for working trials and herding. The health and working ability of the breed is definitely related to its correct size and firmness.

Prior to the show, Mr. Meyer advised some past VA dog owners to retire their dogs so that new dogs with fresh blood and desired attributes could come in. Some of the owners complied with this request but a few went ahead with showing their dogs. Mr. Meyer reiterated that same point again, during the WUSV meeting held on the 6^th of September, 2010. As it was difficult for him to dislodge a VA dog from its VA status, we had to continue seeing 13 VAs this year.

Sieger Ober von Bad - Boll

This year's open class male sieger Ober von Bad - Boll is a richly pigmented, strong, masculine dog of very good height-to-length proportion. He has gradually risen from V 14 position in 2007 to this coveted title. Ober comes from Quantum Arminus through his sire Giovani Kapplenberg and VA Scot Aus Agrigento through his motherline Xena aus Agrigento. This year, we saw some very good males and females sired by him. One of his daughters was included in the VA category in the open class females. His daughter Honda v. Panoniansee clinched the SG 8 title in the young class females category. His son, Enosch v. Amasis was SG 15 in young class males category. Many of his other above average offsprings were pesented in different classes,

Ober also did exceedingly well in the bitework phase. He was among the top 14 best bitework dogs. Clearly, Ober was at an advantage. Mr. Meyer sent a clear message that he prefers a sound dog with credible producing ability.

VA 2 Remo vom Fichtenschlag

The VA 2 Remo vom Fichtenschlag is my favorite in this class. He is a dog with a faultless anatomy and absolute harmony. It is a pleasure to see that within a record period of less than seven months of stud use, Remo has produced a number of quality offsprings and top winners in the youth classes. Some of his offsprings were exactly a year old or a few weeks older than a year on the day of the Sieger show, namely, SG 2 Omen v. Radhaus, SG 8 Opus v. Radhaus, SG 24 Dario von der Piste Trophe, SG 56 Irano vom Fichtenschlag, SG 78 Fanto vom Fichtenschlag and a few among the youth class females. Remo displayed great movement in the first as well as the leash free phase, with good stride and reach. He was presented and handled well, but was not in the best coat condition.

The VA 3 was last year's vice sieger Yerom vom Haus Salihin. A VA for the last couple of years, Yerom is a well structured, large dog. I have never been impressed with his progeny as I do not see any of his sons perpetuating his sire line. He looked fresh and better at this show, unlike at the Belgium Sieger show where he looked tired. He lost one position as he could not perform well in the first gait.  

From the 13 VAs graded in this class, I am hopeful that the following dogs will produce well in the near future:

�         VA 6 Arex von der Wilhelmswarte

�         VA 7 Ustinov vom R�merland

�         VA 9 Quattro von der Partnachklamm

�         VA 11 Nino von Tronje

�         VA 12 Guccy vom Heinrichplatz

�         VA 13 Paer vom Hasenborn

I was not pleased with the progeny group presented by VA 5 Shicco von der Freiheit Westerholt. Most of his sons lacked masculinity (especially weak underjaw) and bone strength, and had raised backs.

Other than the Sieger and Vice Sieger, the following dogs from the VA category impressed me with their performance:

�         VA 7 Ustinov vom R�merland

�         VA 8 Gigolo von der B�renschlucht

�         VA 9 Quattro von der Partnachklamm

�         VA 11 Nino von Tronje

�         VA 12 Guccy vom Heinrichplatz

I was impressed by the following V rated dogs for their performance in the ring:

�         V 1 Peik vom Holtkamper Hof

�         V 2 Mentos vom Osterberger-Land

�         V 7 Koby von Fidelius

�         V 11 Zerxis vom Osterberger-Land

�         V 13 Team Marlboro Tiger

�         V 16 Bix von Arlett

�         V 28 Chivas von Bad-Boll

�         V 29 Bobo v. Arlett (CA)

VA 9 Quattro von der Partnachklamm

It is a proud moment for Indians as VA 9 Quattro von der Partnachklamm is co-owned by Mr. Kuljeet S. Gill of Punjab who resides in Germany.

During the SV election in December 2010, if Mr. Meyer is elected as the Chief Breed Warden, we will see more correct type, size, and angulated dogs.

The progeny group is a critical aspect of the annual Sieger show as it interests breeders from the world over to preview the progeny of particular studs and sires. This year, the top producer is Tyosn Kottershbush, who produced the youth class Sieger, the young class Sieger and many top placed males and females in youth and young classes. Some of Tyson's offsprings are a little oversized, with soft pasterns and loose hocks.

Tyosn Kottershbush

I was impressed by the progeny of VA Furvo Degli Achei. He was represented by many beautiful males and females in different classes. SG 3 Toni von der Rieser Perle, SG 4 Fulz di Zenevredo, SG 7 Hagadahls Figo, SG 20 Urbo vom Leithawald, SG 27 Tell von der Rieser Perle from young class males category, SG 21 Alf vom B�renstein, SG 29 Urk della Valcuvia from youth class males category, SG 2 Frau di Zenevredo from young class females category caught my eye. Furvo's offsprings were phenotype with excellent movement and pigmentation.

As I had earlier mentioned, the impeccable VA 2 Remo vom Fichtenschlag, with his stud use of seven months, presented top quality offsprings. I hope that during the coming year, he will have the best progeny group and ultimately win the deserving crown of Sieger.

The next progeny group that I would like to mention is that of VA 13 Paer vom Hasenborn, a VA Quen son, with a very dark mask. Paer is SG 2 from 2008 young class. He is a clean dog in front and behind. He was represented by many quality offsprings namely Etoo aus Wattenscheid, Kaleya von Amur, Raul von Godalis, Xen von Heerbusch, Elsa du Val D'Anzin, Erica du Val D'Anzin

The last group that I would like to mention is that of VA Bojan vom Pendler. A son of double Sieger Vegas, he produced many outstanding dogs with high positions, inspite of limited stud use, namely, SG 2 Ypsilon vom L�rchenhain from young class, SG 7 Lumpi von der B�renschlucht, SG 15 Sky vom Eichenplatz, SG 17 Zorro vom Ritterberg, SG 18 Panjo vom Stahlsh�ttenhof, SG 28 Tyson vom Moorbeck, SG 44 Solo von der Waterkant from youth class.

It is a regret that Bojan was injured during stud service and was under medical treatment. Hence, he has been unable to perform stud service. Hopefully, he will have a few litters this year which is good for the breeders.

Apart from the above mentioned dogs, many other stud dogs like Tino Godalis, Ober Bad-Boll, Yerom vom Haus Salihin, Kwantum vom Klostermoor, Shicco von der Freiheit Westerholt, Ustinov vom R�merland, Ober della Valcuvia, Hatto vom Huhnegrab, Zerxis vom Osterberger-Land, and past VA dogs like double Sieger Vegas, VA Quen, Sieger Zamp were represented by their progeny.

The kennel group was represented by the following kennels:

�         Zwinger von der Zenteiche

�         Zwinger vom Fichtenschlag

�         Zwinger vom Holtkamper See

�         Zwinger vom Klostermoor

�         Zwinger von Arlett

�         Zwinger von Bad-Boll

�         Zwinger von der Grafenburg (Ost)

�         Zwinger von der Kahler Heide

�         Zwinger Leri

�         Zwinger von der Urbecke

�         Zwinger zur Mavic Poland

�         Zwinger vom Leithawald

Zwinger vom Fichtenschlag won the kennel group title.

Zwinger vom Fichtenschlag

This year was important and very interesting for me. I will cherish the experience of ring-stewarding for a lifetime. To give a few details, ring-stewarding in the Sieger Show is very different from that in other shows. A ring-steward is involved in all aspects of the judging procedure, right from arranging the standing of dogs to writing the measurement of each dog, and providing accurate information (available at the judging table) on being asked by the judge.

Each dog's data that is available on the table includes the dog's past show records (prior to the Sieger show) including height, description of the dog, the number of times he has been shown, under which judges, the show-wise listing of the number of dogs present in his class, his hips and elbow status and DNA.

After the individual standing examination is conducted on Friday, the judge places the dogs in different groups and sends the list to the SV office present at the show. By Friday evening or latest by Saturday early morning, the list is published and available to the exhibitors.

On Saturday morning, the ring steward writes the exhibit numbers on the whiteboard placed in front of the ring. The exhibitors, who are not happy with the given standing positions, can go to the veterinary doctor present at the ground to get an 'unfit certificate' and give the same to the ring steward before the ring starts. This ensures that the dog gets an excuse (EZ) not to be present in the ring. But if the exhibitor does not furnish this certificate, the dog gets a 'U' rating (unsatisfactory) from the judge. It means that the dog cannot participate in any shows, working trials, and is barred from going for examinations and from breeding for six months.

When the ring starts, there are around sixty to seventy dogs shown at a time. Then, the judge divides the dogs into two groups. Further, these two groups are divided into smaller groups of five dogs each for gun-shot trials and gaiting test. Any change in standing position after the gaiting test must be noted by the ring-steward. After the group judging is complete, the ring steward must note down the standing position in the right order and submit the papers to the judge.

The best group is reserved to be shown on Sunday.

The judging procedure in Germany is very organized. Even the common public present at the show is aware of the dogs, their past records and overall performance. This makes the judges' task easier in grading the dogs. The disadvantage of this system is that a good dog from another country, who has never been shown in German L.G or O.G shows (local shows) prior to the Sieger show, or under the judge who is judging the class, cannot aspire to be a winner in the class.

Sieger shows are a platform to interact with experts, breeders and enthusiasts from all over the world. I look forward to the next year for new champions, new developments and better, healthy German Shepherds.