Review from World Show – Pruszków 2016

Last weekend we attended World Cat Show in Pruszków, where among other breeds, 17 thai cats were present! Two of them came all the way from Hungary to take part in the show.

The Show was organised by Polski Związek Felinologiczny, a member of World Cat Federation. Seven judges from seven different countries were invited:

• Eduard Borras, from Spain
• Antonello Bardella, from Italy
• Albert Kurkowski, from Poland
• Genevieve Paquet-Franc, from Belgium
• Nadezhda Pilatova, from Belarus
• Klaas v.d. Wijk, from Netherlands
• Tomoko Vlach, from Austria

We went with Elmirka and Cody. Elma started collecting notes for European Champion title after she was admitted Grand International Champion last year (it is her third distinction so far). Cody was suppose to get use to show atmosphere so he can handle his future shows a lot easier. Apart from that he was also to be evaluated in kittens 3-6 month class.

On Saturday both our cats were evaluated by judge Albert Kurkowski and Mrs Magdalena Światowiak who was passing her judge exam from group IV breeds that includes thai cats.
While being seen by Mrs Magda, Cody was a bit stressed, maybe because it was his debut. Despite that he allowed to be checked and seen everywhere. Later with judge Kurkowski he didn’t feel afraid at all… almost 😉 In both cases he was noted EX1  – excellent. But only opinion of judge Albert is recognized for the diploma.

During the show Elmirka was a bit upset, probably because she was in heat. Despite that while being evaluated she behaved like a real lady and didn’t cause any troubles. She even posed for Mrs Magda so she can take a proper look and she also checked if the lady was writing good things about her in evaluation papers.

Both judges awarded Elma with EX1 for European Champion but again only one was valid for further qualifications.

Regarding the number of thai cats in seal point color, judge Kurkowski performed a comparison for Best In Variety title. This a distinction for the best cat in a certain color and all those cats take part not minding the age or sex. This was the only competition where among other cats – Elmirka and Cody were competing with each other. In the end the award went to Giboule White Elephant, who still regulary comes to shows even despite he has the highest possible title of World Champion. Giboule is father of Elmirka so it was another chance for those two to see each other.

Judge Kurkowski had to compare three adult thai females to choose one for another phase of the Show. He decided to pick Elmirka for further competition. After that Elma had to face a tonkiese female and she won her over and got nominated for Best In Show.

Cody also received  nomination for Best In Show but he didn’t have to be compared to other cats.

Apart from the time spent being evaluated and taking naps in the cage, both our cats have found some strenght and will to play in the cage as well as on it. We also managed to take some photos.

On Saturday final contest in kitten class, Cody with number 261 was competing with a bluea point female. In the end he got Best Opposite Sex title.

In Best In Show of adult cats, Elmirka was compared with another thai female. Elma’s number 256 was unanimously displayed by all the seven judges. She was chosen as the best female of 4th group and went further in the contest. As a result she was awarded Best Opposite Sex after being showed with an oriental male.

We went back to the hotel with two trophies – one Cody’s and one Elmirka’s for Best Opposite Sex – along with some gifts from sponsors and cat litter bags. Cody was so tired that he was falling asleep while still sitting.

Cat Show Sunday turned out to be a great surprise for us.

Both Elmirka and Cody were evaluated byt judge Eduard Boras from Spain.

Judge was talked about Elma in superlatives – he really liked her proportions, rounded head and well contrasted colors.

As it turned out later – he liked Elmirka so much, that she got nominated for Best In Show of adult cats.

Judge Boras also awarded her with second EX1 note for European Champion. With such a high title this means that for third note we will have to go on a show abroad 😉

Cody was evalueated as excellent in his class – open class of kittens aged 3-6 months. What we are most happy with is his behaviour on a second day of the show. He was way more calm when evaluated, he even tried to play with the feathers when judge was filling in his diploma. This time it went without nomination.

When we were waiting to be judged and for Best In Show, Cody was cool and didn’t stress much about the noise and mix-up at the show. He was eager to play on the cage or in it.

In the afternoon it was time for Best In Show. In 4th group there were two thai females selected for comparison. From these two judges again have chosen Elmirka unanimously.

From 4th group males, judges chose three thais and oriental cat. In comparison there was a tie for two thai males and the oriental but in the end last of those was chosen for further contest. And he was the one who was competing with Elmirka again. When it comes to that it’s hardly ever for thai to win. And here was our surprise! Judges from Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Poland and Austria voted for Elma and with advantage 5 to 2 she won in group four!

This means she was claimed the best cat in the group! Final competition was about comparing cats from main groups which gave Elmirka 4th place Best Of Best in the entire show! 4 th place on a World Show, where 17 thai cats were present among 268 others!

As a reward Elmirka received gifts from the sponors, beautiul trophy and blanket-bed.

We went home very very proud of Elma, glad that Cody handled everything so well and happy with this kind of ending for the show. All the way from Warsaw we were excited how Elmirka won with oriental cat and received Best Of Best IV on World Show!

We’d like to thank everyone for wonderful time at the show, thank those who have visited us and who kept their fingers crossed for our cats!