The UKC Premier Nationals Dog Show is the equivalent of the AKC’s Westminster Dog Show, so to be invited to their Top 10 Competition was an honor. We took four of the Top 10 positions for the Mi-Ki breed in 2022 with Cosmo at #2, Brighton at #3, Harley at #6, and Truffle at #7.

Since Bill needed to stay home and watch the fur babies, we were only able to show one dog in the Top 10 Competition. I decided to take Cosmo since Brighton has puppies and Harley is a goofball. Truffle has been retired.

Our UKC Top 10 Debut Event at Premier Nationals

We’ve previously been invited to the UKC’s Top 10 Event in years past, but we’ve never been able to make the trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan. We decided it would be important to have the experience and to represent the Mi-Ki breed at this national level. With a small window without any litters due, Bill and I decided that now was the time for me to go for it.

I was able to share a hotel room in Kalamazoo with Sue Versmesse of Little Angels Mi-Kis. She’s a seasoned show exhibitor, and I was glad to have her to pal around with. Sue brought a lot of beautiful dogs with her and had a lot to manage including hand-feeding a puppy. Needless to say, we were feeling fairly frazzled trying to get set up before the show. It was further complicated by a couple of the Mi-Ki females being in heat with amorous males around. So the dogs had to be strategically housed.

We arrived early, but not early enough! There were several missing breeds that were supposed to be shown before the Mi-Ki. Sue had stepped out to retrieve some missing items from the car and I heard the call for the Mi-Kis to come into the ring! Cosmo wasn’t brushed and he hadn’t had a chance to move around to get limber, relaxed, and get his nice movement going. Instead, I grabbed Sue’s Grand Champion Echo and two leads and rushed to the ring. The ring steward and other exhibitors tried to help me get the dogs into the ring, hastily putting on leads and figuring out if I was going to need an extra handler for Echo.

Thankfully, Sue arrived just in time and we walked into the ring. We made our rounds and had the table examination. As he was standing there, I was sad to see Cosmo’s glorious coat not looking its best. The judge picked Echo as the winner, and I was happy for them both. I could tell Cosmo hadn’t been walking as smoothly as he’s known for, and I knew Echo’s win was well deserved. I congratulated her and left the ring to go make sure my other dog Poppy was okay in her crate since I heard her fussing during the show.

As I was removing Cosmo’s lead, I realized it had been placed around his neck and his front leg. No wonder he hadn’t been walking nicely! To this day, I’m still not sure if I put it on him that way or if one of the helpful ladies did. It’s an easy mistake with his profuse coat, but it makes me sad that he didn’t get a chance to show off his beauty and movement that day.

UKC’s Premier National Show June 16-18, 2023

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were regular dog shows with lots of participants. Jennifer Martin of BFF Mi-Kis was able to join us and she showed her beautiful blue parti girl Champion Little Angels Anastasia, bred by and handled by Sue. Jennifer also showed her UKC Champion Midwest Mini’s Sebastian who is a descendant of Jubilee’s Southern Charm (Savannah) out of Royal T’s Remington. Sue also showed Anastasia’s blue parti sister in the open class. I showed Brumby’s Run Poppy in the open class.

Poppy took the best female in the open class on Friday and Sunday. This was a nice win particularly with it being Poppy’s first show. Those evenings spent at conformation classes paid off.

Echo was the only Grand Champion shown. Sebastian won over all the other Mi-Kis on Friday. Cosmo took Best of Breed on Saturday, and Anastasia took first on Sunday. The Mi-Kis didn’t get top placements in the group ring, but we noticed that most of the awards went to sporting breeds rather than companions.

Despite not getting the big group placement ribbons for our Mi-Kis, we were all happy to have nice wins evenly spread throughout our kennels. We all got nice competition wins and points to go towards the next achievement levels. We got lots of nice comments about the breed from seasoned handlers, breeders, and folks in the crowd. I handed out lots of cards! Hopefully, we will recruit people to the Mi-Ki – the “fun-sized” side of dog breeds!

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!

I don’t see myself going to Premier every year, even though it was a great experience. It was quite the effort getting everything ready at home for those caring for our dogs. Getting myself packed for two dogs, and then getting two dogs through security, and flying with a layover was also a challenge. It wasn’t exactly a vacation caring for so many Mi-Kis on the road. We were lucky to have each other for support, and it is a weekend we won’t ever forget!

When I got home, it was a lot of catching up to do as far as grooming and deeper cleaning, though Bill and my mom did a great job of keeping everyone in good shape while I was gone. I’m grateful they helped me go, and now I have the T-shirt to prove I went!

I’m ready for a nap!