WORLD UNION OF BOUVIER CLUBS PROPOSED
Jim Engel
June 12, 1987 was a day that may, in future years, be seen as a watershed, a turning point in the history of the Bouvier des Flandres. The occasion was a symposium held by the Dutch club at Apeldoorn (in the Netherlands) on the 13th, the day before their specialty. The reason for this, as stated in the invitation, was "to come to the same way of judging Bouviers in all countries and to come to a better understanding." Throughout the history of our breed there have been differences in type, and in judging, between the Bouvier communities in Belgium, the Netherlands and France which have been a serious impediment to the welfare and advancement of the breed. Thus a meeting among the Bouvier enthusiasts of these nations, with the purpose of seeking unity in type and judging standards, was good news for Bouvier people world wide.
As so often happens, the unofficial or unplanned discussions at such gatherings are where the most important business transpires. This was no exception, for on the eve of the symposium a meeting was held before dinner, one which went on much longer than expected, for when the evening finally drew to a close it was nearly midnight.
Speaking for Belgium was Mr. Justin Chastel, president of the Belgian Club and a man who has been in the forefront of Bouvier affairs for over fifty years. Other Belgians present were Mr. J. Dumont, Treasurer, and Mr. J. Demierbes, Secretary. Each of these men are well respected conformation judges, and participated in the symposium the following day.
Representing France was Mr. Serge Shine, president of the French club. Also present were Mr. Gerhard Gelineau, vice president of the French club, Mrs. Gelineau, and Mrs. Beletout-Cibot. Mr. Shine, Mrs. Gelineau and Mrs. Beletout-Cibot are conformation judges, and Mr. Gelineau is a working trial judge who on several occasions has been a finalist for the French Ring Sport Championship. (The Ring is the working sport in France for the protective heritage breeds, and thus in a broad sense corresponds to the German Schutzhund sport. I will report on the Ring championships in France, and the efforts to introduce this sport to America, in a future article.)
Acting as host, and speaking for Holland, was Mr. Anton Kolvoort, President of the Dutch club. Henk Harmers (vice President), Peter van Leeuwen (Secretary) and M. de Boer (Comissioner for working Trials) were also present for Holland.
Representing the United States were Erik Houttuin, President of the North American Working Bouvier Association and myself as NAWBA Secretary. (Jane Saunders was not present for the meeting, but was there for the symposium the next day.) Also present was the President of the Swedish club and a number of other officials from various nations.
It went a little slow in the beginning, since everything ended up being translated at least twice. There were lengthy discussions of a number of topics, but the moment of importance came when Mr. Kolvoort proposed an international organization of Bouvier clubs, a sort of "World Union." There was a brief discussion between Chastel and Shine, at which point they replied that "this is all that we could ask for." An extensive discussion followed, and other matters were dealt with.
It would seem that there is a good chance that this will come to pass, that we will indeed see the formation of a world union. This can do nothing but good for the Bouvier, for it will encourage uniformity of judging world-wide, better breeding practices and increased emphasis on international competition in work and conformation. The Dutch Bouvier people are putting great emphasis on their IPO training, which is a slight variation of the Schutzhund Sport, and about half of the Dutch club membership are also members of a training club. Such training is also becoming more widely practiced in Belgium, and even to some extent in France. Hopefully, a world Bouvier organization will lead to the situation where we are all training in the same way, and thus the possibility of serious international Bouvier working competition.
The symposium itself began about 9:00 the next morning and was very successful. There were several hundred people present, including perhaps eight or ten Americans, and many if not most of the important Dutch breeders. Of the twelve Dutch Bouvier judges, at least five were present, and there were likely others.
We began with the Belgian, French and Dutch national anthems and the usual formalities. Henk Harmers, as organizer of the event, did most of the speaking at this point. Then we went outside, where each of the judges, two or three from each nation, made extensive notes and evaluated each of about fifteen Bouviers. There followed a lunch break and an IPO working demonstration, which is the international version of the German Schutzhund program.
In the afternoon the group gathered together in a large convention room, which was filled to overflowing. At the head table were the judges from each nation, that is, Chastel, Dumont, Shine and Gelineau for France and Belgium and Mr. A. Renders and Mrs. Onstenk-Schenk for Holland.
Each dog was brought in, and one judge would read his evaluation and rate the dog "Excellent," "Very good," or only "Good." Then the other judges would make a shorter commentary and give their evaluation. A discussion, at times heated, would follow. At moments tempers did flare, but over all a polite and cooperative atmosphere was maintained. I have the impression that Mr. Dumont, who did most of the translating, softened some of the sharper commentaries.
There was very little pulling of punches, for the Dutch brought forth a dog who, though rated "Excellent" by several Dutch judges, had been dismissed by Mr. Dumont as being of an unacceptably light color when shown in Belgium. Renders did a fairly complete evaluation of the dog, who was indeed quite nice but light gray in coloration, and then asked his Belgian and French colleagues to comment on the color.
It was a tense moment, but things eased off as an extensive discussion of the standard and the correct Dutch translation ensued. It was finally agreed that this particular animal could best be characterized as "at the absolute limit of acceptable color." I expect that this will result in a more critical evaluation of lighter dogs on the part of Dutch judges, which to my way of thinking would be a very good thing, since I have been of the opinion that the Dutch need to emphasize darker dogs for a number of years. I am told that Mr. Renders, judging in Belgium, recently rated a light colored dog, who had almost always been "excellent", as only "very good."
Mr. Renders, who served as the primary Dutch panelist, was very impressive both in terms of his over all evaluations and in his direct and forthright manner. He described several Dutch dogs as being excellent but tending to be "too much," that is, overly developed and exaggerated in type. He was perhaps speaking more to the Dutch breeders and judges present rather than the Belgians or Frenchmen, and that his point was well taken. A number of us were of the opinion that he would be an excellent judge to bring to America for a specialty or an informal evaluation. The symposium went on until about five, and was followed by a buffet supper.
The following morning was the Dutch Club Match, that is, their national specialty, held in its traditional location, the Expo-hall in Hilversum. This is truly a sight to behold, for about 500 Bouviers were being evaluated in eight rings. This is a little frustrating in that one can see only a small portion of the action, but if they did it in one ring it would take two weeks, which would have been fine by me, but a little long for the Dutch.
The most important judge was Mr. Shine, French club president, who had the open male class, the male working class and the male breeder's class, as well as the responsibility of selecting the best male from among the class winners, and together with Mr. Renders (who did the same classes for the females), selecting the best Bouvier from the almost five hundred present. Felix Grulois, proprietor at "du Posty-Arlequin" in Belgium, was scheduled to do the youth females, that is, the bitches from 18 to 23 months old. Unfortunately, he was ill and Mr. Dumont, also of Belgium, took his place.
With eight rings going, and many friends and acquaintances to greet and converse with, one simply had to make choices. Although most of my time was devoted to watching Mr. Shine evaluate the males, I did manage to get a good look at the male youth class, evaluated by Mrs. Onstenk-Schenk, who is doing the California specialty next year. The winner here was Shariff Reny van de Cerberushof, a son of Dutch Champion Spencer Jordina v. d. Boevers Garden. This is a very impressive young male, and we will no doubt hear more from him in the future. I first saw his sire Spencer, who became Champion of the Netherlands this year, as a feisty pup three years ago when Erik Houttuin and I visited Theo de Wagennar at his van de Boevers Garden kennel. Spencer seems to be one of the more popular young stud dogs, no doubt on his own merit of course, but also because he is a son of Hoscy Dukke Bianca van it Hanenhiem, a predominant Dutch stud who, sadly, passed away last year.
First open class male, and eventual best of breed, was Arkos Wanda van de Overstort, sired by Barry Diana v. d. Overstort and out of Wanda v. d. Overstort, bred by Joop Pater. Although this kennel has been building up its program for a number of years, it really attracted my attention last year at the World Show in Vienna, where I thought their female Filette Diana v. d. Overstort was clearly the best female, and probably the best Bouvier present. Although the judge apparently did not see it my way, she has since gone on to become a Dutch champion. All in all, it was a big day for Mr. Pater and his wife Annie, in that they took third open male and first in the male working class as well as best of breed.
As mentioned above, the best of breed is selected jointly by the judges of the open males and the open females. In this case, it came down to Arkos and Kirsten Elke van het Molengat, a beautiful young daughter of Ch. Falco Darwin v. h. Grendarcohof and Ch. Elke Byou v. h. Molengat. Shine and Renders took a long time in making their choice, probably indicating a difference of opinion, and in the end selected Arkos. (Elke Byou, by the way, is one of the most beautiful females I have ever seen. I first saw her win best in show at Arnhem in 1984, from the open class, where the note "Very impressive" is by her name in my catalog.)
Over all, it was a real showcase for the Dutch breeders, and the depth of quality and level of competition was most remarkable. Breeding is of course an inexact science, and even among the marvelous Dutch Bouviers there is room for progress. Areas where the Dutch need to concentrate, in my opinion, are darker dogs, better over all movement and moderation in size. We need to remember that the Bouvier must be a quick and agile dog, as well as imposing and powerful, a very difficult balance to achieve and maintain.