Show results 2003:

Hennef 14./15./16.02.2003:
The show included all categories on the first day and Lisa and Maxima both were judged. Lisa got her CAPE, but due to her gaining a little weight and showing little enthusiasm for being dragged out of the cage more than absolutely necessary, she wasnīt nominated. The same happened on saturday when only longhair and shorthair cats were shown.
Maxima got an Ex2 on friday which was okay, because the competition for the CAC was quite good and Maxima is still in full developement. At the moment, the size of her head is a bit small in comparison to her body and nonetheless she was recognized to be better than another competitor.
On sunday which was the last day, she regretfully only got Ex3, because another cat competeted for the second place and that was much older and better developed. Both judges were fond of her coat quality, the bushy tail and her beautiful red colour. They also said that with a little time she should be the one to get the CAC. We'll see.
This exhibition is always something special, because aside from the cat show there is a big exhibition for handiwork and for people like Birgit who like to make things, this is the ideal possibility for trying out new ideas.

Berlin-Mahlow 22./23.03.2003:
This cat show was, if everything goes well, one of the last shows for Lisa on her way to becoming European Premior. On both days she got her CAPE which means that she only needs four more such certificates.
To our joy she was nominated on saturday and in contrast to the usual procedure of being nominated and coming home without the cup, this time she became "Best opposite sex" which can be translated into "Best female shorthair neuter of the show". Of course, we were very proud of our cat.
To my sorrow Maxima got away empty handed again, which was additionally tragic, because the cat which got the CAC on both days was originally entered in another group, but due to having a (very) small part of white, she became competiton for Maxima. And so Maxima became 2nd of 3 and 2nd of 4 cats which competed for the CAC on saturday and sunday. Shit happens !
The cat show itself was taken as a possibility for discussion about the planned changes in our cat club by many people and on both days the president of the club invited the present members to do so openly in a seperated room. There still seems to be a great need for discussion.

Arnhem (NL) 20./21.04.2003:
Once in a year there is a 2*1 day show in the netherlands where a cat can get two certificates. In Arnhem this Eastern weekend, Lisa was trying to get her two foreign CAPE which were still missing. She didnīt only succeed in getting these certificates, but was also able to win the title "Best female shorthair neuter of the show" at the show on sunday. Because there is no competition between the male and female neuters in the netherlands, Lisa achieved all that she could on this day.
Maxima wasnīt quite so successfull on sunday and was judged as 3rd best of 4 cats. To my great joy she was more successful on monday and another judge gave her the first CAC. The best cat of sunday was second and a new competitor was 3rd. Of course Iīm now curious how she will fare at the two cat shows we plan to visit before she may be mated with a male. Both our cats now need 2 certificates to achieve the next title.

Norderstedt 24./25.05.2003:
Of course, at this cat show it was most important for us that Lisa could get her last two certificates to achieve the highest FIFe title which a neuter can get: "European Premior".
The exhibition hall is quite new and provided a nice atmosphere for 280 cats (max. capacity) on Saturday and 250 cats on sunday. As I helped on both days as judges assistant Birgit had to handle both cats and as nobody cares about somebody having cats from two different categories, they both were judged at the same time on sunday. Luckily I had a short break at this moment.
Lisa got her first certificate on saturday and lay the foundations so that she could go for the title on sunday. On that day we had some doubts, because Lisa was judged by the same woman who hadnīt given Gerad vom Stahlberg (owned by Birgits mother) a CACE on saturday with the justification that his coat is too dark for a colour point. But our doubts were unneccessary and Lisa got her last CAPE without any hesitation. The champagne corks flew only a few minutes later ... (if Lisa would have understood the significance of the moment, she would have been as glad about it, but for another reason, of course).
Maxima got certfied on both days by both judges that she is a very beautiful cat and fits excellent to the standard, but sorrowfully another cat from denmark was better and so she got an Ex2 on both days.

Kopenhagen (DK) 01./02.11.2003:
We drove to the show in Copenhavn without specific goals. Marcus hadnīt been on a World Show before and he was curious, if there would be a special atmosphere aside from the great amount of beautiful cats which would participate.
The show was really exciting, the largest World Show so far, with 1400 cats being shown. There were 350 Norwegian Forest Cats and surprisingly "only" 170 Maine Coon.
Altogether the show was organized very good, maybe there could have been more snack-bars, but the actual event went off without a hitch. The competition was high class and the 22 judges had very good cats on their judging tables.
Lisa was one of two British Short Hair Colourpoints overall and she got a Prix d'Honeur which is a nice souvenir of an amazing World Show. Maxima got "only" an Ex3, but we hadnīt hoped for more, anyway.
All results can be seen on this homepage: World Show 2003

Leipzig 08./09.11.2003:
We had decided to visit the show in Leipzig at short notice when Maxima didnīt want to get in heat again, after her first coupling with Tamino which didnīt produce any offspring. We saw the chance for her to get the certificates she still needed and become "Champion" before her first litter.
As we drove there anyway, we decided to take Lisa along as this would be the last year we are going to show her regularly.
The show was very small, but to our surprise we met many people living near Hamburg and we had many good talks. There also was a dog show, but luckily that took place in another hall.
The weekend was very successful for both our cats: Maxima won her second CAC against competition on saturday and without having to compete for it, her third CAC on sunday and with it became "Champion".
Lisa became "Best in Show" on saturday and for the second time this year. Additionally, she was nominated for the "Best in Show" on sunday. With this success, she collected many points for the Top10-ranking of our cat club, which was the reason for the application for the show in Stuttgart the following weekend.

Stuttgart 15./16.11.2003:
When we applied for the show in Stuttgart, we got a negative answer at first, as it was only three days before the show took place, but after we got the confirmation that our cats could participate on the next day, we booked the hotel and prepared everything as was possible ... including a short exclamation of compassion for our poor cats which were being dragged to a show on the third weekend in a row ... they could surely think of something better to do.
After we arrived on friday evening, we could start the saturday slow-going, at least as long as we arrived at the exhibition center ... where we became aware that parking near the hall was very limited, only allowed for one hour and against a deposit of 50,-.
Later on we had to park our car along the street ouside the exhibition center and walk the way back, luckily it was much easier on the next day before the drive back home.
But about the show, now: As there was a special show for the Norwegian Forest Cat on saturday relatively many Norwegian Forest Cats participated, even if the show was smaller than I had expected overall. At a "normal" show in Denmark you can usually see more than 90 Norwegian Forest Cats, anyway.
Due to her advancement to the Champion-Class, Maxima didnīt have any competition for the certificate on both days, whereas three cats had to compete for the CAC in the Open Class. Anyway, Maxima got her two national CACIBs and I was very happy about that, even if it would have been nicer with competition.
As the second reason for making the trip was to have the chance to collect points for the Top10-ranking with Lisa, we had hoped for her to be nominated on one of the days, but as usual, she was more successful. On both days she became "Best female Short Hair Neuter", on saturday against competition and on sunday without.
Therefore her chances of staying in the Top10-ranking until the end of this year have risen very high. We would think it a nice completion of her "show career".
As overall all our hopes for this show were excelled and Maxima only needs one international CACIB to become "International Champion", we are very glad that we have made the trip.

Giessen 13./14.12.2003:
As the results of the preceding cat show weren`t calculated into the Top2003 and we wanted to make sure that Lisa would stay in the Top-Ranking this year, I drove to the christmas show in Giessen.
The cat show itself was quite unspectacular, there were prices which the spectators could win, but there didnīt come up any christmas feeling.
Lisa was nominated on both days and with this success she ranked 7th best neuter and even 3rd best cat in category III in the Top2003, at the end.