DDBS 2005 National Specialty - Kalamazoo, MI
A very special thank you to the Rising Star family, extended family & friends who supported us at the show!!
A great picture of some of the Rising Star's at the show. From Left to Right: Jen, Heffalump, Hugo, Achilles, Bruno, Mike & Bella (Gizi)
We are very proud to report that we had 7 Rising Star dogues in attendance at the 2005 DDBS National Specialty in Kalamazoo, MI. We had dogs represented from six of our litters, and we are very honored to say that each of them placed during the weekend with competition!!! Six of our dogs received EXCELLENT ratings coming from French experts of the breed. This show was a dream come true for us in so many ways. It was wonderful to see the end result of finding such wonderful families for our puppies. And also wonderful to have all of them do so well and earn wonderful critiques, ratings & placements. We could not have asked for a more perfect weekend.
The following are the placements our Rising Star dogues earned at the show and what litter they represent:
B Litter: Rising Star's Bella Donna - 1st place Champion Female, Best Female, Best of Opposite Sex
C Litter: Rising Star's Callisto - 4th place Champion Male
D Litter: Rising Star's Diamond in the Rough - 2nd Place Open Female
F Litter: Rising Star's Feroz Achilles - 4th Place 9-12 month Youth Male
G Litter: Rising Star's Gizi - 2nd place 6-9 Female, 1st place 6-9 Puppy Sweeps, 4th place overall Puppy Sweeps
H Litter: Rising Star's Hugo Boss - 2nd place 3-6 month Puppy Male, 2nd place 3-6 month Puppy Sweeps
H Litter: Rising Star's Hamilton Bruno - 3rd place 3-6 month Puppy Sweeps
Thank you to Angie & Scott Reed, Raj Weerakkody, Hugo Lujan & Mike Pryor for presenting your dogs at this show!! Also thank you to Anthony McCauley for taking and sending us many of the great photos on this page. And last but not least, thank you to our good friend Kristin Unger for all of your help & support during the weekend.
Rising Star's Gizi (call name Bella) - pictured at 8 months old
owned by Mike & Anne Pryor of Minnesota
This was Bella's first time ever doing conformation and she performed like she had been doing it for years! Bella placed 1st in the 6-9 month class in the Puppy Sweepstakes and 4th place overall. This event was judged by AKC judge Rita Biddle. In Sunday's conformation event, Bella placed 2nd in her class with an EXCELLENT rating under judge Benoit Thevenon. We are so proud of how she performed and her great critique!
Also during the weekend Bella passed her Canine Good Citizen test AND won the Musical Chair fun competition!
Bella (Gizi) again
Puppy Sweepstakes 6-9 month female class
Bella (Gizi) again
Rising Star's Diamond in the Rough - pictured at just 2 years of age
owned by Angie & Scott Reed of Washington
Diamond placed 2nd in Open Female with an EXCELLENT rating! This is Diamond's third Nationals and she has placed each time. We are so proud of Diamond and can't thank Angie enough for all of the hard work & training she has put into her.
Diamond is shown above handled by her owner Angie Reed representing the NW Region for the Best Regional Specialty class.
Rising Star's Hugo Boss - pictured at 3 months of age
owned by us
2nd place 3-6 month male in Sunday's conformation event under judge Madame Helene Denis. Hugo received an EXCELLENT rating and a very promising critique!
Hugo also placed 2nd in the 3-6 month male Puppy Sweepstakes class. What was even better is his brother Bruno placed 3rd behind him!
Hugo
Hugo again
Hugo & Bruno in the Puppy Sweepstakes competition. 2nd & 3rd place 3-6 month male winners
Rising Star's Hamilton Bruno - pictured at 3 months of age
owned by Mike & Anne Pryor of Minnesota
Bruno placed 3rd in the Puppy Sweepstakes. This was also his first time in the ring. We want to thank Angie Reed for handling him. Bruno was such a happy boy and did great for a novice. He showed on Sunday also and received a VERY GOOD rating.
A very special thanks to Mike Pryor and family for taking the time to come to this show! It was wonderful to be reunited with both Bella & Bruno again. I am very proud of the love and training you have given them. They both seem to be happy additions to your wonderful family!
Bruno
Rising Star's Feroz Achilles - pictured at 10 months of age
owned by Hugo Lujan of Arizona
Achilles placed 4th in the 9-12 month male youth class with an EXCELLENT rating. Hugo did an outstanding job handling him. We are so very proud of them both. I cannot thank Hugo enough for making the long drive from AZ to participate at this show. The bond they share is very apparent and I am so grateful to have them both in our Rising Star family!
Achilles
Achilles again
Rising Star's Callisto - pictured at 3 years of age
Owned by Raj Weerakkody of California, handled by Lenard Clayton
This was Callisto's first year in the Champion male class. Amongst tough competition, he placed 4th with an EXCELLENT rating. Callisto has attended 4 nationals and has placed each time! We are very proud of this boy and still expect great things from him as he continues to mature & develop.
A very special congratulations to two of Callisto's sons - Maritime's Full Contact owned by Chris Smith placed 2nd in the large Open male class with an EXCELLENT rating, and his brother Maritime's V-rod also received an EXCELLENT rating. Congratulations to their breeder Paul Sunseri who also took Best of Breed youth with his import Sinbad de Legeane.
Rising Star's Bella Donna - pictured at 5 years old
owned, raised, loved & handled by us!
Bella placed 1st in the Champion Female class with an EXCELLENT rating, won Best Female and Best of Opposite Sex!!! This was Bella's retirement show and we could not have asked for a better ending. This win was truly a dream come true and it is hard to express in words how much it means to us. Bella is our pride and joy and for her to end her career on this ultimate high note is extremely rewarding!! Thank you to all of our friends who were there for us and truly as overjoyed as we were with this win.
The BIG moment - Bella wins BEST FEMALE!!!
Madame Helene Denis & Monsieur Benoit Thevenon with Rising Star's Bella Donna
This is a picture of Achilles taken during his long drive back to AZ.