The Irish Wolfhound Club should be applauded for hosting such a happy relaxed event with a very social atmosphere. The judge Ms Maggie Holder (Mascotts) had a super entry of 103 (making 105) and everyone said that she was not only very decisive and efficient but very kind to the dogs. It was particularly encouraging to see quite a few newcomers having a go in the ring and we are immensely proud of 2 of our owners who entered the ring for the 1st time. Bonaforte’s Miss Issippi (Pemba) made her debut at 9 months shown by her young friend Charlotte aged 12yrs. We are all so proud that they have qualified for Crufts. There is something very special about the relationship between a Wolfhound and a child and together these two really showed their deep connection. Owner Ann was simply bursting with pride as were we. It is important to encourage new people and if yesterday is anything to go by Charlotte could well go on to be a junior handler as she was a natural! Our 2nd owner who was entering the ring for the 1st time was none other than Andrea-aka The Lancashire Bomber, along with her gorgeous boy Bonaforte’s Kashmere who was also entering the ring for his 1st attempt. We were all delighted at how easily they took to it and Andrea being so proud of the fact that they both remained upright and all feet on the floor! The Irish Wolfhound Club Championship Show 2017, was an excellent venue for the Bonaforte show owners to meet up. It is heartening to spend time with our owners and their hounds, it was guaranteed to be fun and Good Friday was no different. In keeping with the Easter theme Amanda organised an Easter Bonnet Competition and what a creative group they were, it was a triumph of ingenuity getting bonnets to stay on Wolfhounds heads long enough to be judged and a lot of laughter at the spectacle we were. The laughter was of course accompanied by huge amounts of lovely Easter themed cakes made by the Cake Ladies. We put a lot of thought into the choices of homes for our puppies and it is wonderful to meet up with them and their owners and see how happy they are. The friendships forged between our owners and the support they give each other is so heartening and it is one of the things that gives us the most pleasure. Happy Easter to All