The California Magyar Agár

Oh boy am I delinquent

2011-09-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely delinquent in keeping this blog updated, and there's been lots to report on - especially on the pups.

I really should get a second writer for this blog because between school and everyday life I just can't keep up.

Anyway, I promise to make an effort to get this thing up to date before LGRA/NOTRA nationals in October.

Available - Stouthearted Babes in Toyland, 4 months

2011-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Stouthearted Babes in Toyland is a nearly 4 month old female Magyar Agar (aka Hungarian Greyhound) bitch available to the right home. "Babe" is a sweet, out-going little girl with lovely structure and beautiful movement. She would make a wonderful show dog, racing/coursing dog, or an outstanding companion for someone who enjoys an active lifestyle. This little girl is smart and eager to learn too; she might even be a good prospect for obedience or agility competition for someone who has experience working/training with hounds.

Babe is UTD on vaccines, wormed, microchipped and UKC/FCI registered.

Puppy Available: 3 month old female

2011-06-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

The littlest female from the GilxFecni litter is available to the right home. "Babe" as she is called, is a fun, out-going, loving and fearless little pup that already shows lots of lure drive. She would make a great prospect for racing, lure coursing or hunting.

For more information, you can send me an email at: audrey@stoutheartedhounds.com

Puppies!

2011-03-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Gil and Fecni's litter was born on Pi Day (3.14), March 14th 2011. There were a total of six puppies born, but sadly, three of them didn't make it. That left us with two girls and one boy, all extreme white with dark brindle markings.

The first born was a tiny little female. She came out legs first and was quite wiggly upon making her entrance into the world. She is still the smallest puppy of the three but she doesn't seem to realize it. Of all the puppies she's the only one that came out with dark pigment on her nose and mouth.

Second born was the lone male puppy. After the tiny little girl we were shocked to see this big white whale of a puppy. He's already got a nice masculine head, which we hope will take after his father and grandfather.

The last puppy born was a mid-sized female. Like her little sister, she also came out feet first and was clearly a strong little puppy ready to take the world by storm. She has since grown to be the largest of the three puppies, even surpassing her big brother. She is definitely her mother's daughter and is always first in line at the dinner table come feeding time. Even at this age she looks like she's going to be a very heavy-boned, rustic style MA just like Fecni.

Free Coursing 3/13/11

2011-03-13T16:33:00.000-07:00

Fecni and Gil are Expecting!

2011-03-10T11:06:00.001-08:00

I know, I know, it's a bit late for me to be posting this but better late then never. Fecni and her beau Gil are expecting puppies this month!

She's due to whelp on March 14th. Updates will be posted as soon as possible.

New Years Hunting Trip

2011-01-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Gil and Hawthorn attended the first rarebreed hunt of the new year on January 8th. We must have had one of the largest entries on record, or at least it felt that way as the day wore on.

We started out well and were popping rabbits every 10 minutes or so. We got enough up to finish the Ibizan Hound stake and the first half of the Silken Windhounds. Then as the last half of the silkens came up to the line we suddenly hit a complete dearth of rabbits that lasted for several hours. Since the second flight of silkens were all newbies their owners decided to scratch them so that if/when we did find the next rabbit the other rarebreeds would have a chance to run.

That put Gil up on the line in the first course of the rarebreed stake. We decided to move to the other side of the field where we hoped we would find the rabbits' secret hiding place. We weren't wrong. As soon as we got there a big jack bolted right under our feet. Gil was first off the line, followed closely by Wendy the Afghan. He wrenched a very hard turn on the hare that almost left him completely turned around, but Wendy, who was right behind him, was able to turn it back towards him. They gave the hare a good run from then on but were not able to catch it.

Here's a photographic sequence of Gil's course, courtesy of Rick Steele:

and, here's an aerial view of Gil's course, courtesy of my Garmin Astro:

Hawthorn came along for his very first hunt ever. Unfortunately he didn't sight his rabbit but he ran anyway!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Happy new year from the California MA's! We didn't attend very many shows this year, but Gil was undefeated in the UKC Top Ten rankings taking all Best of Breeds, several group placements and one Best in Show! It's been a great year and we think 2011 will be even better :)

Hunting 11/20/10

2010-12-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

This report is a little late, but I have a good excuse. Shortly after this trip I had to start to buckle down and study for my final exams. Now, on the eve of my very last exam I found some time to sit down and report on our first hunt of the season.

Gil and Fecni were both entered, and we were very excited to welcome our Silken Windhound friends for their very first official hunt. In addition to the MAs and Silkens there was a full stake of Ibizans and a lone Deerhound bitch. The MAs, Silkens and Deerhound made up the second stake of rare breeds, which added us up to two rare breed hunts and one Borzoi hunt.

Due to the very heavy cover it was very difficult for the dogs to get sighted and stay sighted. However, the rabbits weren't quite ready for us after having spent all summer snoozing and fattening up. The very first course of Borzoi resulted in an AK within the first 50 feet of the run!

From then on it wasn't hard for us to find the rabbits but it sure was hard for the dogs to chase them very far before they would duck into the brush.

Gil's prelim course was one of two good long courses we had that day. Below is a graphic image of his course transcribed from my Garmin GPS:

You can see at the top that he makes a 180 degree turn. I thought he almost had it at that point, but the hare managed to get away just in time.

The second rabbit that Gil ran wasn't as lucky. The jack popped right under our feet and almost as soon as I let Gil go he caught it. I don't think he ran more than 50 feet before he caught him; not much of a run but definitely very exciting!

That UK put Gil at the top of the line up at the end of the day, followed by the Deerhound in second. Fecni settled for a fifth place tie, but she redeemed herself at our last outing (more on that later ...)

News From Abroad: Puppies Available

2010-12-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

Vakvagta Jelenseg

Vakvagta Joslat

There are two beautiful puppies from the Vakvagta "J" litter that are still looking for their forever homes; one male and one female. These two pups are half siblings to our Fecni (same dam, different sire) and are located in Hungary.

These pups would make excellent racing, coursing and show prospects. Their pedigree can be viewed online here: http://www.sighthound-trophy.com/madb/testmating_show.php?sire=345&dam=721&actio%20n=Check

If you're interested in giving one of these pups a home you can contact their breeder, Annamária Lóky, at email: bijoufoxi@gmail.com

We have lots of experience importing dogs from Europe and would be happy to help in any way we can.

BRNC's Final Meet

2010-11-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

BRNC held it's very last LGRA/ISWS/All K9 race meet on November 6th and 7th. BRNC was the very first LGRA club to allow the MA's to come out and race, and they were instrumental in getting the breed recognized by LGRA and NOTRA. We will always be grateful for the opportunities they gave our dogs and we will sincerely miss all the fun we've had racing with them.

Luna ran the best she ever has yet and won both meets, taking home two more championship points towards her title. Gator was a close second on both days.

BRNC's October Races

2010-10-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was BRNC's first race meet of fall 2010. All the California MAs were in attendance in one form or another. On Saturday, Luna, Gator, Fecni, Willow and Gil were entered in the official race meet, and Nellie Belle was entered in the San Quentin Invitational. Hawthorn Dude also came out to have a bit of practice on the lure.

The track was very hard and dry since we've been having sort of a lingering summer with no rain. Due to the conditions of the track I decided to pull Gil out of the last program, but he still ran the first two programs very well considering his long absence from racing.

In the first program, Luna won the low point race against Fecni, moving her up to the high point for program two. Gator finished first in the high point race followed closely by Gil in second and Willow in third.

In the second program Willow moved down to the low point and won a victory against Fecni. That left the three young ones in the high point. Gator pulled off another strong first place finish followed by Gil in second and Luna in third. This left the lineup at:
1. Gator
2. Gil
3. Luna
4. Willow and
5. Fecni.

At that point I decided to pull Gil out of the third program leaving the other four MAs remaining. This dropped Gil from second to third place at the end of the day, the final lineup being:
1. Gator
2. Luna
3. Gil
4. Willow
5. Fecni

Gator took 2 points towards his national ranking and Luna got 1 point towards her GRC!

After lunch, BRNC ran the San Quentin Invitational for dogs that have a tendency to run dirty. Belle was joined in this special race by three Borzoi, Breezy, Lacy and Buddy. All four dogs ran exceptionally clean considering their prior histories, and Belle ended up taking first place in the race!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hard conditions of the track left many dogs' feet sore the next day, including the Tuzvihar gang, Willow, Gator and Belle. I also decided that Gil needed a rest, but Luna and Fecni were still game for competition so they returned for another day of racing.

Not surprisingly, Luna defeated Fecni in all three programs and took home another point towards her GRC. She now has 6.5 of the 12 points required for a GRC. We expect that she'll be able to wrap that title up in no time.

Not to be outdone by his big sister, the not so little dude, Hawthorn, got a chance to run some race practices. He was a bit unsure and distracted at first, but after several tries he started to get the hang of the game and ran a full 200 yard sprint. His form is good but he still needs a bit more training before he's ready to run for reals.

A Magyar Among Keeshonden

2010-09-23T16:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Cserihegyi E's!!

2010-09-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

It seems like only yesterday that Remy's puppies were born. A very happy birthday to our beautiful nieces and nephews from their uncle Gil :)

News from Abroad: A.U. "G" Puppies

2010-09-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

I apologize for failing to report on this earlier, but Gil has some new cousins born by his auntie Disco that are at least 10 or 12 weeks old now. This is a beautiful litter; two males and two females.

Disco is a lovely dog; she's the perfect mixture of the traditional, old fashioned MA and the elegant modern MA. The litter's father, Danger Dog Vazul is a gorgeously athletic fellow that really compliments Disco.

How I wish I could have one of these beautiful puppies!!

Anyway, pictures and video below.

This one's my favorite:

This video is so adorable. It just made me grin from ear to ear!

Another Best in Show for Gil!

2010-08-07T21:16:00.001-07:00

I promised to help some friends show their dogs at a local Rarities show so I decided to take Gil along just in case there was a good judge that I could show him under. To my good fortune the renowned Greyhound breeder/judge and author, Patricia Gail Burnham, was judging the second show of the day so I entered Gil for the one show. It was definitely worth it since he ended up going Best in Show! This is Gil's 6th BIS win, not counting the multiple Best Puppy in Show and Best Rare Breed in Show wins he's earned. I'm so proud of my boy!

GCH&H Summer Show Report

2010-07-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

We had a nice little outing at GCH&H's summer shows today. Four MAs were in attendance: Gil, Belle, Luna and Dude making his debut in the regular classes. The day was hot so the dogs were a bit sluggish, except for Gil who seems to always do his best in the heat. Go figure.

Anyway, Gil ended up winning Best of Breed in both shows which, I believe, should have finished his Grand Championship but that's still pending UKC approval. We had a large lineup of dogs in group this time; the Afghan, Basenji, Canaan Dog, Pharaoh Hound, Portuguese Podengo and Whippet.

In the first show, Gil took a Group 2 after the Whippet and followed by the Pharaoh in third and the Afghan in fourth. In show two, Gil took a Group 3 after the Afghan and Whippet and followed by the Pharaoh Hound.

All in all it was a lovely day. We had a chance to reconnect after our long trip and see lots of old friends, which is always nice.

Sorry, no pictures. Everyone forgot to bring a camera.

Our Premier Adventure: Part 8

2010-07-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday was our last day of competition at Premier and everyone was pooped to say the least. Both conformation and terrier racing were scheduled for 9:00am, which made things tricky for us yet again, but thankfully everyone was very understanding and accommodating so we were able to do both without too much friction.

The conformation judge for Sunday was Steven Melgreen. Mr. Melgreen was very complimentary and thorough, noting that he was particularly pleased with Gil's muscle tone and conditioning but thought that all the sighthounds needed some work done on their toenails. Every judge is different, and I took both comments into consideration for the future. Gil was Best of Breed again, but did not pick up a placement in group.

Since Opal was scratched from racing we decided to let her have a go at the new lure coursing program for all breeds. Both Opal and Bandit got to run the course once and both received a qualifying leg towards their "Coursing Aptitude" degree. More importantly, both had a fantastic time!

And so concludes our Premier Adventure. It was definitely a trip to remember and one for the MA history book. According to UKC officials, the 2011 Premier will be held in Richmond again next year. I'm not sure if we're going to make it but it's definitely an event I would attend again in the future.

Our Premier Adventure: Part 7

2010-07-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

After a decent night's rest we woke up bright and early again on Saturday to get ready for the morning's conformation show. Terrier racing didn't start till 5:00 so it was nice to not have to rush around like we had before.

Our judge for Saturday was Robert Collins, the same judge that presided over us in the second phase of Top Ten. Considering Mr. Collins' lack of enthusiasm over Gil two days before I did not expect to do very well in group, and I was right. Gil again won Best of Breed but did not get considered for a group placement. Nevertheless, he showed very well and his mood was great so I was happy about that.

At terrier racing Beryl did us proud again with some excellent runs. She didn't end up placing very high but that didn't matter. We were just so pleased with her continued enthusiasm and strong running. Normally she poops out after two days but she was going stronger than ever. Opal was clearly getting stressed with all the strangers and distractions so we decided to scratch her from the rest of the racing for the weekend and just let her relax and enjoy a game of fetch in the evening.

Leeroy ended up being the big winner of the day by taking home an Overall Fastest Dachshund award, along with some very nice prizes.

With just one more day to go we were feeling the strain of the long weekend and looked forward to finishing Sunday's competitions.

Our Premier Adventure: Part 6

2010-07-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

Since we didn't make the finals for Top Ten, we were only scheduled for a regular conformation show and terrier racing on the second day of Premier.

Our conformation judge this day was Nina Marie Sherrer. I was glad that up until this point every judge we showed under was unfamiliar to me. There were a number of judges present that we had already showed under back home and I was eager to show off the MAs to new faces. Ms. Sherrer was a thorough judge and gave every dog her undivided attention when it was their turn to show.

Fecni showed much better than she had in Top Ten (she was moving very well) and I really thought the judge was going to pick her for breed but Gil won out again. After breed judging was over we had a few hours before the group schedule would be announced and terrier racing wasn't going to start until 5:00 so we decided to crash in the RV for a little bit.

After a brief nap our uncle Alan and aunt Cheryl arrived. Both are dog lovers so they were eager to see what we were doing. By that time the group schedule had been posted and the sighthounds were scheduled to be judged first promptly at 1:30 which only gave us about a half hour before show time.

UKC did a lovely job setting up the group show rings; it felt just like being at Westminster. We were ordered into the ring by size/speed which put Gil and I up toward the front in back of the Borzoi. Ms. Sherrer was our group judge again and like she had done in breed she was very thorough in her judging. This was the largest group we had ever shown in so I was really hoping to make a placement. Gil showed well and was very jolly during the whole thing. After the judge was done going over all the dogs she went down the line and picked out dogs for her short list. To my delight she pointed at Gil and I took a spot behind the Deerhound. I was certain we had made a placement until I saw that she had pulled more dogs than there were ribbons for. After going over her short list she reshuffled us and unfortunately we did not place. Still, it was wonderful to have made the short list and I was delighted that the Greyhound was given a group 1. Greyhounds so seldom take top honors like that.

We hurried back to put Gil back in the RV and get the little ones out for the races. Alan and Cheryl were really excited to watch the races and they were definitely not disappointed. To our very great surprise, Beryl ran the best races she has ever run in her life against some very strong competition and pulled off a third place in the flat races and a second place in steeple! Considering that she's usually dead last when she runs at home we were beyond ecstatic. I believe she actually earned her first points towards her racing titles.

Bandit dominated the dachshund races as usual and took home some beautiful ribbons, much to the delight of his owner. Even though he's slower, Leeroy still ran with a lot of heart and did us all proud.

The races left us all thoroughly exhausted so we headed back to the RV for some much needed sleep before day three ...

Our South Dakota Adventure

2010-07-16T21:13:00.001-07:00

We had such an eventful time in South Dakota that I thought it warranted its own individual blog entry. I will continue my Premier summary in a separate post.

Anyway, the first big event we had in South Dakota was kind of a bad one. We believe Cali was bitten by some kind of bug, probably a spider. Whatever it was she developed a tennis ball-sized lump on her neck that was swelling fast and clearly very painful. So, we made an emergency trip to a local vet in the middle of the night to have it drained and treated. She's now sporting a rubber tube in her neck that will have to be removed in a few days, but she's looking and feeling much better. Just the same we figured it would be best to cut our trip short and try to get back home by Sunday or Monday. Cali's a trooper but even she gets stressed and at her age I think it's best to get on home and let her really rest.

Here's a gory picture for those who enjoy that sort of thing:

We hit the road for Rapid City around 7:00am. There were all kinds of funny sites along the way, including an 80 ft dinosaur statue. South Dakotans really seem fond of giant animal displays, real and fake.

After a few hours on the road we finally made it to Highway 16 which would take us to Mount Rushmore. Before heading on up we decided to fill up our gas tank at one of the roadside stations. We picked quite a station to stop at; this one had a "free wild animal exhibit" which consisted of a very large collection of taxidermy. Some of the pieces were quite well done; I think the best one was of the Nile crocodile pulling an antelope under water.

Once we were filled up we started the journey up Highway 16 towards Mount Rushmore. The monument is about 30-some miles off the main interstate and the Black Hills landscape along the way is just beautiful.

It's been a big dream of mine to visit Mount Rushmore and I was so excited to finally be able to see it. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on top of the mountain but our RV was parked in the perfect spot for a doggie photo-op with the monument right in back.

After we finished at Mount Rushmore we went about ten miles further to go see Crazy Horse Mountain. I really hope they finish it in my lifetime; it's going to be something else when it's done!

We are now at a campground in Hardin, Montana. We got to see part of the Little Bighorn and a beautiful Montana sunset. Now I know why they call this "Big Sky Country."

Our Premier Adventure: Part 5

2010-07-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The camp is nice and the scenery has been beautiful but we're looking forward to moving on to Rapid City tomorrow so we can hopefully catch a glimpse of Mount Rushmore.

The most exciting thing that's happened today is seeing Ol' Man River. We crossed over the Mississippi when we crossed into Minnesota. It's quite a site :)

Getting back to our Premier adventure, Thursday was our first day of competition. Both Gil and Fecni were scheduled to show in the Top Ten Invitational early in the morning along with hundreds of other dogs that had been invited to attend. For those who don't know, Top Ten is a special conformation competition for dogs that made it into the top ten rankings for their breed. Over the course of the year, dogs that defeat others of their own breed at UKC conformation shows earn top ten points for each dog they beat. The points are tallied and the dogs are ranked from 1 to 10. The top 10 dogs in each breed then get a chance to compete for "Best of the Top Ten" every year at Premier.

The Top Ten competition is broken down into three segments. The first part consists of choosing a best of breed winner from among the top ten dogs in each breed. Unfortunately only two of the top ten MAs (Gil and Fecni) were able to attend but some of the more popular breeds actually have all ten dogs in attendance.

For this first part of the Top Ten competition the two MAs were judged by Paul Bruneau. Mr. Bruneau did a thorough examination of both dogs and told us that he was very impressed with their quality. He even invited us to come and show them in Florida where he does most of his judging (maybe someday we'll make that trip). Although he liked both Gil and Fecni very much he ultimately conferred the Top Ten Best of Breed award to Gil. Even though there were only two dogs in competition I was thrilled with the win and the compliments the dogs received.

After the best of breed dogs were all chosen we moved on to the semi final round of the Top Ten competition. In this round all the best of breed winners are basically tossed into a hat and drawn at random into one of five large groups to be judged by a different judge whose name is not disclosed until the judging is about the begin. Robert Collins presided over Gil's group which consisted of, in part, the Doberman Pinscher, the American Pit Bull Terrier, the Irish Wolfhound, the French Bulldog and many others.

Only four dogs from each group are selected to go on to the final round of competition and even though Gil showed well he was not one of the four chosen. Oh well, better luck next time. We still had three more shows ahead of us ...

Our Premier Adventure: Part 4

2010-07-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, three guesses as to where we are today. I'll give you a hint:

For those who guessed Wisconsin you are correct :) We arrived in a little city outside Madison around 6:00 in the evening after saying goodbye to our relatives in Indiana this morning. Our plan is to take the I-90 through South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington then take the I-5 through Oregon all the way home.

Picking up where I left off last time, after a scenic drive through Iowa on Tuesday we landed in LaSalle Illinois by early evening. I really liked Iowa, the picturesque farms were so pretty, it made me feel like I was traveling back in time. Corny, I know, but it's true. I was really excited when we drove through Madison County (the setting of one of my favorite movies) but unfortunately there were no covered bridges for me to take pictures of.

From Illinois we drove on to Richmond for the last leg of our trip to Premier. Indiana is in the process of remodeling much of their freeway system so we got caught in a merry-go-round of detours but finally made it to the Wayne County fairgrounds by mid afternoon.

Next time we'll have to plan to arrive earlier because by the time we got to the fairgrounds all the water hookups were taken. Fortunately there were still some electric outlets available so we were able to camp in a nice spot in between the terrier racing track and the show arena.

The weather was unbearably hot and humid when we arrived so we all hid inside the camper until night time. The only time I ventured out was to give Gil and Fecni their baths for the Top Ten competition the next morning.

By 5:30 my grandma and aunt arrived with a carload of supper for us; sloppy joes, potato salad, pie, chips, cookies and sweet tea. It was the first real meal we had since we left and it was great.

After dinner we fed the dogs and went to bed in preparation for our first day of competition ...

Internet at last!

2010-07-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

I finally have internet! Unfortunately there was no wifi at the fairgrounds so no way to update the blog. The Premier is over and we are staying at my grandma's for a couple of days before we head home. I should have full internet access at our campsites on the way back so I'll try to post summaries of the weekend's events as best I can remember.

Livi and I have been trying to think of a word that best describes our Premier experience. The best we could come up with was "strange" lol. It was fun but we definitely had our fair share of mishaps so stay tuned for details.

Got to get to bed!

Our Premier Adventure: Part 3

2010-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

Today was our smoothest travel day yet. Gil is feeling much better and made it through the night without any accidents. We fixed him up a little bed up front in the cabin and he has been much calmer although he still won't let himself fall asleep for very long. Hopefully he'll get even better as we go along.

We departed for Nebraska early this morning around 6:30. We wanted to make up for the long day we had yesterday and with Gil feeling so much better we were able to make better time. Since the little dogs have had the privilege of riding up front for the past two days we figured it was only fair that the big dogs get their chance.

The little ones were understandably horrified ...

The drive through Nebraska was pleasant but not terribly interesting. There's lots of corn and cattle, that's for sure. Apparently everyone in this state listens to country western music or religious music so we didn't have much to choose from on the radio.

We rolled into the Omaha campgrounds at 4:00 which gave us plenty of time to get comfortable. The campgrounds here are AMAZING! This place escorts you to your site, picks up your garbage and delivers pizza to your door! Not to mention the staff is super friendly and helpful.

I set up a little yard for the dogs outside the RV which they immediately took advantage of. Gil loves being outside and after being stuck in a car all day he was soooooo happy to have a chance to enjoy the fresh air.

Unfortunately the weather has changed dramatically since we left Wyoming. We have finally reached the hot, humid climate that I have been dreading. As much as I want Gil to have a chance to relax outside, he (like me) tends to be a magnet for bugs and he has a history of having allergic reactions to bug bites (just like me!), which is the last thing I need for a dog I intend to show in a couple of days. Of course I forgot to bring fly spray for the dogs so the best I can do is hope that his flea/tick meds will keep the real bad bugs away.

Another great thing about this campground is that they have a little doggie play area with agility equipment set up. Livi and I let Gil and Beryl have a try at it and we have concluded that we don't have enough time to train for agility. Nevertheless, we had a good time trying out the A-frame and teeter totter.

We plan to leave early again tomorrow so I'm going to try and get to bed earlier tonight. One thing I want to mention while it's on my mind is that I may not have internet access once we get to Indiana so if my blog entries slow down or stop just be patient!

More tomorrow when we arrive in Illinois.

Our Premier Adventure: Part 2

2010-07-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

After a very rough first night (Gil got sick on the bed and the camper was rolling back and forth in the heavy wind), I was way too tired to even think of driving this morning so I handed the wheel over to Dad.

It's become very obvious over these past two days that traveling by RV is just not Gil's cup of tea. I think his nerves are what caused him to get sick overnight and he hasn't been able to relax at all during our 8 hours on the road. I have a theory that it's the noise that bothers him. The RV drives like a tin can so you can feel and hear every bump on the road. I wrapped one of the crate pads over his ears and that seemed to help a little. The one thing that does seem to calm him down a little is sitting way up front next to the driver.

Thankfully all the other dogs have been taking the trip in stride.

Aside from Gil's little traveling issues the trip has been pretty smooth; the only hitch is getting used to the time changes. We left Nevada around 8:00am, which is later than we would have preferred but we forgot to change our watches. We had a lovely scenic drive through Salt Lake City before reaching Wyoming.

The drive through Wyoming was... just, WOW. The landscape is absolutely beautiful, and GREEN, compared to the dry, brown Nevada desert. The pictures I took really don't do it justice. I can see now why people move to states like this. There's nothing but miles and miles of land for dogs to hunt and run on. Gil would love living here.

We finally reached the campgrounds in Cheyenne around 7:00. These grounds are a lot nicer than the ones in Wendover, unfortunately the weather is a bit too wet for us to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Oh well, hopefully tonight will be much less eventful than the one before. One thing for sure is that Cali (and me by default) is not going to get much rest if the wackos outside don't stop shooting off their fireworks.

We're off to Omaha tomorrow. More later.

Indiana or Bust! Our Premier Adventure: Part 1

2010-07-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Well, our journey has officially begun! We are off to our very first Premier in Richmond, IN and our biggest adventure yet. We picked up the rental RV on Friday and got it all packed and ready to go so we could hit the trail early Saturday morning.

We picked up one last extra passenger which gives us nearly a complete Noah's Ark of dogs: two Greyhounds, two Agars, two Rat Terriers, two Dachshunds and one token Chihuahua. Once everyone was settled in to the big rig we were off towards Reno, NV.

Since this is July 4th weekend we wanted to make sure that we beat traffic out of town (which we did successfully). After a somewhat treacherous drive over the Sierra Nevada mountains we finally made it to Reno for a quick pit stop. The weather here is surprisingly cool for this time of year, which is a real blessing considering how many bodies we have in the RV.

After a couple more hours we stopped at a rest area to water the dogs and fix ourselves a picnic lunch. Some ham sandwiches and a few crackers later and we were off again.

We arrived here at our campsite in Wendover, NV around 5:00pm giving us just enough time to get ourselves set up before dinner. Livi put together a lovely little meal of beans, rice, fresh cooked mushrooms and warm bread for us while the dogs basked outside the RV in their exercise pens.

As is usual here in Nevada our campsite is right by a casino so Dad decided to take a shuttle into town to check that out. In the meantime we're going to be getting ready for bed as we have a long drive towards Wyoming ahead of us tomorrow.

More later

A Day at the Beach

2010-06-27T18:22:00.001-07:00

WWWA Versatility Weekend: Part 4

2010-06-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

By Tom Koler

Lure-coursing was the fourth event to be held over the versatility weekend. Up to this point, Gator had squeaked ahead of his sister to win the sprints and oval, and Fecni took the conformation win. Luna’s forte, however, is the lure-course. In true form she was giving her brother another tough competitive run, when suddenly she came up lame by the end of the first course. Regretfully, we had to scratch her from the final run of the weekend. With his last run of the day, Gator won the ribbons for most versatile in breed by his wins the best of breed in LGRA and ASFA and high score in breed for NOTRA. All in all, it was a successful long weekend despite having to scratch Fecni from the racing and Luna having a bum foot.

The Western Washington Whippet Association has a very well run and efficient three day event over Memorial Day weekend. Our hats are off in thanks to Beth Levine who ran the show for the ASFA lure-coursing; and thanks again to Keri Swepton for her leadership in running the LGRA sprints, NOTRA oval, and the fun conformation match. During our stay, I was able to renew some old friendships from our days as members of WWWA in the 1980s. It was nice to see that our old organization is very much alive and thriving. We will definitely be sending Magyar Agárs to future WWWA Versatility Weekends!

By two in the afternoon we were packed and ready to make an early exit from the polo grounds. We had a twelve hour ride ahead of us, and getting off as early as possible was a necessity. Early in our trip we were to discover that Luna had started her heat. Poor Gator, worn out in competitive running for a total distance of just a little over a mile, was to endure twelve hours in a confined space with two very attractive girls. To say the least, his restlessness was a good source for staying awake during our trip. The trip itself was uneventful with the Great White Whale sailing down Interstate-5 breezing through western Washington and Oregon. At the California border, Audrey took over for a first trial run of the behemoth van. Eleven o’clock at night is a good time to try to drive a vehicle that drives like a helium-filled über balloon. Audrey drove like a pro and by 1:30 AM she pulled onto her driveway in Davis.

Our trip north would not have been successful without our friends in the Olympia area. Charlotte and Claire Lattimore were very gracious hosts, and hopefully future MA owners. Claire and the MAs were a little team of energy every morning before the events, and in the evening she captained the hounds into playful games. There’s nothing more full of energy than a five-year-old and three MAs!

WWWA Versatility Weekend: Part 3

2010-06-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

By Tom Koler and Audrey Hsia

The Tacoma Polo Grounds are well-hidden northeast from Olympia. With a little effort we were able to find the grounds and navigate the Great White Whale to a parking area. We got there just before check-in time, and found out that Fecni was in heat. That was the reason for Gator not having a very quiet road trip on Thursday and Friday. This left us with just Luna and Gator, although Fecni had several chances to meet new people and hounds.

The first day of the Western Washington Whippet Association’s Versatility Weekend is the LGRA 200 yard sprint. As usual the brother and sister team were nose to nose at the finish line but Gator in the end squeaked out the win. Several people expressed an interest in the MAs and we had a chance to visit with Ann Chamberlain, who has expressed a lot of interest in our breed. Everyone had kind words for Gator and Luna and both of them brought home plenty of loot for the trophy room.

After a long hot bath and some dinner with Charlotte and Claire we were ready to turn in for the night. Everyone slept soundly and woke up bright and early the next morning for the NOTRA race meet.

The two pups have only had limited experience running the oval but they both ran it like pros. The first race of the day drew loud applause from the onlookers as the two sped by in perfect unison for an even tie, which was confirmed by the club's video camera that they had set up at the finish line. Thankfully for the finish line judges the last two races were much easier to judge, although the two siblings were still running neck and neck for the most part. In the end Gator proved the victor yet again for another point towards his ORC.

To top things off, even Leeroy the longhaired dachshund got to do a fun run. We weren't sure if he was going to make it the entire 300 yards but to everyone’s surprise and delight he finished with a flurry across the finish line! He's now got a whole new fan club up in the PNW :-)

After the oval meet we stuck around for the fun match. This was Gator's debut appearance in the show ring and he did fantastic! For a dog that's had no show training he handled himself beautifully and was given lots of praise by the judge.

Since there's no restrictions on showing bitches in season, Fecni finally got her chance to step out of the van and into the spotlight. To our great delight she ended up winning best female and best of breed! The judge lauded her effortless movement and gave her serious consideration for best in match, but ultimately that award went to the whippet. Nevertheless it was great to have Fecni do so well since she couldn't participate in the running events.

Thanks to Kerie Swepton for helping us getting signed-up and checked-in. Kerie had a heck of a job with a very large entry of whippets along with the large gazehounds.

WWWA Versatility Weekend: Part 2

2010-06-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

By Tom Koler

We spent a quiet night in Ashland and hit the road first thing on Friday morning. Ashland is nestled in the Klamath Mountains which straddle the Oregon and California border. The Klamath geology is very complicated and geologists and miners are always attracted to this area. This is because over geologic time several Japan-size island archipelagoes have become “accreted” to the North American Plate. There are at least three of these volcanic arcs squished together, and all are sources for gold. The southern Oregon gold rush started in the early 1850s, shortly after the Californian Forty-Niners arrived in the Sierran foothills east of Sacramento.

This part of Oregon is very much like northern California, or as native Oregonians (like me) like to think, the northern fringes of California and southern Oregon are the great “state” of Jackson. At one point in history, Jackson almost became a state. The climate and vegetation are similar and this part of the US was settled by like-minded, independent thinkers as settlers entered this part of Oregon in the 1840s on the Applegate Trail (a part of the Oregon Trail).

Our trip in the Great White Whale (as we have named the white van) from Ashland to the Portland area was pleasant and relatively free of traffic. The MAs slept quietly with the exception of Gator who slept in starts and fits. We couldn’t quite figure out why he was such a worry-wart until Saturday morning (see Part 3). We made a mid-day stop to visit my folks who had never seen MAs before. They live just west of Portland and after lunch we then headed up I-5 towards Olympia.

The Mt. St. Helens’ Volcano Monument is about half way between Portland and Olympia. This was a good place for stretching our legs and the visit inside is worth the stop. On clear days you can see Mt. St. Helens from the viewing deck. Unfortunately the mountain was clouded in rain clouds and it was unlikely to clear while we were there. Mt. St. Helens is a special place for me because I started my geology career within the shadow of the mountain when it was erupting in the early 1980s.

The final leg of our trip ended in Olympia, the capital of Washington State. Lori and I lived here for thirteen years before our travels took us to Idaho and California. Fortunately Lori and I still have friends in the Olympia area, and we were warmly taken in by Charlotte and Claire Lattimore and their dog, Daisy. Claire and the pups took to each other right away :-)

Happy Birthday AU F's!!!!

2010-06-14T06:27:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to a very special litter, the Aranyági Utonálló "F" litter: Fruska, Fáma, Fagyöngy, Fenyves, Fabula (Remy), Fenség (Gil), Furfang, and Fortély (Füg).

You are three years old today and what a wonderful three years it has been! We love you all!!

WWWA Versatility Weekend: Part 1

2010-06-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

The Western Washington Whippet Association hosted three days of racing, lure coursing and a sighthound fun match over Memorial Day weekend. We have been meaning to travel up the PNW to do some PR work for the Magyar Agars for a long time now, so we finally decided to make the versatility weekend our debut so we could highlight the breed's athletic prowess to a new audience.

It takes about 12 hours to drive from Sacramento to Olympia, WA. Unfortunately I had jury duty obligations on Tuesday that could not be postponed, so we knew we'd be making a long trip back home on Monday. Thankfully however, we had the freedom to pace ourselves on the way up so we packed all our gear, the three MAs (Gator, Luna and Fecni) and the token dachshund, Leeroy, into the van and began our journey to Ashland, Oregon on Thursday afternoon.

Ashland is almost halfway between Sacramento and Olympia, and we made very good time despite periods of heavy rain. We stopped off at Shasta to meet up with one of Tom's geology colleagues. The temperature had dropped noticeably since leaving the Sacramento valley, but being the tough dogs that they are the MAs weren't phased a bit.

The scenery on the way up the states was absolutely breath-taking, and only got better as we moved along. There's definitely no shortage of wide open spaces and greenery in Oregon!

We reached Ashland by early evening and checked into our hotel before heading out to grab some dinner. After settling everyone into their respective rooms it wasn't long before we drifted off to sleep for the night. It's been a long time since I've stayed in anything nicer than a Motel 6, so the dogs and I definitely took advantage of the plush amenities in the hotel room.

And so concluded our first day of travel. Stay tuned for the next installment of our trip.

News from Abroad: New Coursing Champion!

2010-06-03T08:33:00.001-07:00

Aranyagi Utonallo Fenyves is now the first pup from the AU "F" Litter to earn a European coursing championship. She is also the first to complete both her European coursing championship and her European conformation championship. So far that makes two dual champions in the family (performance and conformation), and hopefully she'll be adding her third championship for racing very soon.

Congratulations to her owner Waltraud Sporer and her breeder Andrea Lugosi!

A Nice Little Weekend

2010-05-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice little weekend of UKC shows on the 22nd and 23rd. The Norcal APBT Club hosted a small specialty show in conjunction with a weight pull and we ended up going home with a lot more than I expected. The first day, Gil, Willow and Belle were all entered in the Champions class at the specialty with judge Dennis Blickenstaff presiding. Gil must have been feeling extra good that day because not only did he take Champion of Champions (for his second Grand Champion leg) he went on to win a Best in Multi-Breed Show!!! Not bad for a dog that isn't too crazy about showing. I think it has something to do with the weather; Gil always seems to do well when it's hot outside, which is surprising because hot weather and hounds don't usually mix. Anyway, this is Gil's third UKC Best in Show win and his sixth BIS win overall (UKC, Rarities, IABCA etc). Nellie Belle gave a pretty good showing as well and took her first Reserve Champion of Champions award. After the show Gil got geared up in his brand new John Deere harness and earned 5 points towards his UWPCH and took second place in his weight division.

On day two Fecni joined the rest of the Champions for the specialty and showed very well, although she did not make the final cut. Judge Mark Golden was presiding that day and, despite Gil's efforts to squelch his chances of winning by refusing to free stack at the end of the down and back, he gave Gil his third Grand Champion leg by going Champion of Champions. This time Willow took the reserve award even though she too was doing her best to show poorly. After the shows Gil amazed us all by earning 10 more points towards his UWPCH and pulling a new personal record. He also took another second place in his weight class. Unfortunately he had a small equipment malfunction so his brand new harness will have to be repaired before it can be used again.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the weekend. The only excuse I have is that I didn't nearly expect to get the kinds of results we did so I didn't bring my camera. Darn!

**Update 06/30/10**
Turns out Bill Hemby caught a candid of Gil and me in the Best in Show ring right before his big win:

News from Abroad: More Big Wins for Cserihegyi "E" Pups!

2010-05-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Cserihegyi E pups are at it again, taking home big wins in the European show ring. On May 15th, Cserihegyi Ejha followed in the footsteps of her brothers and sisters by taking home a Reserve Best in Show Puppy award. Congratulations to her owner, Rita, and her breeder, Diana. This is an amazing litter and we can only expect greater things from them in the future.

News from Abroad: Big Wins for Cserihegyi "E" Pups

2010-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

It was a weekend full of wins for two of the Cserihegyi "E" pups (Gil's niece and nephew). Two shows were held on one day in Budapest, a rarity according to Diana. In the first show, an all breed show, Emlék took Best Puppy and both she and her brother Elmés received very promising critiques from the judges.

Later in the day, Emlék went on to win second runner up to Best in Show Puppy!

The second show was a Magyar Agar specialty hosted by the MEOE and judged by world-renowned MA judge Tamas Jakkel. This time Elmés took the Best Puppy honors over his sister. To top it off, both pups took home a Best Brace award. Congratulations to their owner and breeder, Diana.

Here are the rest of the results for those who are interested:

All Breed Show, MA results

Dogs:
Puppy class (6-9 month)
Cserihegyi Elmés very promising 1.

Open (15 month and older)
Pottom Excellent 1. (without the CAC title)

Bitches:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Emlék very prom. 1., Best Puppy

Intermediate class (15 - 24 month)
Nagymancs Tappancs Marcsi Excellent 1. (without the CAC title)

Working class (with coursing or track licence, 15 month and older)
Kucorgó-Dombi Fodorka Excellent 1,, CAC, BOB

Open class
Kalandvadász Zsálya Excellent 1, CAC

Champion class
Kalandvadász Űző Excellent 1, CAC

MEOE MA Specialty

Dogs:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Elmés very promising 1., Best Puppy

Open
Pottom Exc 1., CAC

Bitches:
Puppy class
Cserihegyi Emlék very prom. 1.

Intermediate class
Nagymancs-Tappancs Marcsi Exc1, CAC
Kucorgó-Dombi Fodorka Very good

Open
Kalandvadász Zsálya Exc1, CAC
Nagymancs-Tappancs Trixi Very Good

Champion class
Kalandvadász Üzö Excellent 1, CAC, BOB

Happy Birthday BK N's!

2010-04-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Willow, Belle and the rest of the Betcha-Katcha "N" litter. They are 5 years old today.

New GRC!

2010-04-14T17:08:00.001-07:00

Big congratulations to Gator for finishing his Gazehound Racing Championship this weekend!

This boy is an amazing runner and has done his mother proud for sure!

It's Still Winter in April ...

2010-04-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

... for Bukky and Gypsy

The Wonders of GPS Technology

2010-03-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ever since I started running Gil in the open field I've been using the Garmin Astro dog tracking system to keep track of his whereabouts should he ever become lost, disoriented or injured while on hunt. The Astro is probably one of the best, if not the best, investment I ever made. They're not cheap but it sure does give me lots of peace of mind, plus I get all the cool features that come with it, like being able to review Gil's courses.

Below is an illustrated view of the last course Gil ran at this year's NOFCA Grand Course.

The image was created from information gathered from the collar and then superimposed onto Google Earth. The collar tracks all kinds of information including average speed, distance and location of the dog at any given point in time. I have highlighted the leg of the course where Gil was recorded to have reached his highest speed of 52 mph. In all honesty I doubt the accuracy of the collar but it does give you some idea of how fast these dogs can travel. The point at the far left is where I believe he lost the rabbit since the speeds from that point on become much slower and steadier. The whole course was about 2 miles, but if my guess is correct he only ran the rabbit for about half that distance. Nevertheless a mile long run at full speed is quite a feat.

The most important point to be taken from this is that it gives one a realistic view at how real rabbits run in their natural habitat. Lure coursing is held by many to be an adequate or even exemplary simulation of hare coursing when, in truth, most lure coursing plans do not even come close to simulating the natural course a hare would take while being pursued by a predator (be it dog, coyote or falcon). As a result, lure coursing can only give us a limited indication as to how well our dogs are fulfilling their original function. My hope is that we can start to use technology like this to create better lure coursing plans so that we may improve the ability of those who do not have access to open field coursing to test their hounds' skills in the field.

Split Weekend: LGRA and ASFA

2010-03-24T11:01:00.001-07:00

Since there were two events being held on the same weekend we decided to split it 50-50 with LGRA racing on Saturday and ASFA lure coursing on Sunday.

Gator, Luna, Fecni and Belle were entered for the sprint races. Unfortunately Fecni pulled up lame in the last program (she's much better now) and Belle had to be scratched for interfering with her competitors. Looks like Belle is in for some re-training in the near future. Hopefully we can correct her naughty behavior and get her back in good racing form.

With two of the four scratched that left the two siblings to battle it out for the points. In the end Gator won the meet, taking home one more point for his GRC (just a few more to go!) with Luna taking best opposite for half a point towards her GRC.

On Sunday Gator, Luna and Belle headed out to Sloughhouse for SSIH's ASFA lure coursing trial. Gator and Luna ran together in the Open Limited Stake while Belle ran solo in the Singles Stake. The course plan was very challenging and quite a few dogs had trouble with it but the brother-sister duo managed quite well. In their prelim run Gator edged out his sister by one point, but by the end of finals Gator was the clear victor, taking home 8 points towards his Field Championship. Luna took the other 6 points. With these two staying neck and neck with each other it will be interesting to see who finished their ASFA title first.

Miss Belle had a difficult time maneuvering the course and did not place in singles but she had a jolly good time just the same.

Unfortunately there's no photos this time, but here's a video of Gator and Luna's finals run:

Old/New Pictures

2010-03-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

These pictures aren't really new, but it's the first time I've seen them so they're "new" to me. These were taken by Dave Mills last season the day that Gil made his first kill. I was so proud, and so was he:

Extra! Extra! NAMAA Newsletter is Hot Off the Press!

2010-03-02T20:02:00.001-08:00

NAMAA just published it's latest newsletter. It's long overdue but it's finally here so download your copy today.

More Grand Course Photos

2010-02-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

Gil's win photo with judges Al Crume (left) and Steve Downs (right)

The Top Ten lineup:

L to R: Fanny, Pulsar, Harley, Muffet, EZ, Pagliacci, Ruby Too, Zoomi, Datura, and Oberon

Grand Course 2010

2010-02-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

Since we missed the Grand Course last year I decided we should definitely go this year. For those who don't know, the Grand Course is NOFCA's season-end finale to the open field coursing season every February. It consists of two breed hunts judged by two different judges and one final mixed hunt consisting of the top half of all the breed winners from the breed hunts the days before. Since the event is so big the breeds are usually split up into different fields. This year the rarebreeds (that's us) got to hunt in the same field with the Greyhounds, Wolfhounds and Borzoi while the Salukis and Whippets went to a separate field.

The first day of breed hunts we headed out to a field that ended up being like a hidden swamp due to all the strong rain we've had this year. Several cars in our hunting party, including mine, got stuck in the mud which held us up for a couple of hours while we dug them up and helped tow everyone out. Despite the delay we managed to finish before sunset. Gil walked away with the highest score in our breed hunt that day with Fecni coming in a close second. The cover was heavy and the rabbits hid themselves well which proved to be a challenge for the dogs but they still pulled off some good runs.

The second day we made a point to avoid muddy roads and headed to another field with drier ground. The brush was thicker and the terrain was rougher so several dogs had a hard time staying sighted. To utilize the field as efficiently as possible we worked as a double-ended gallery with two sets of hunters on each side. Unfortunately this caused several mishaps throughout the day when both ends would slip their dogs on the same hare by accident. This happened in Gil's course so in addition to running with his own trio he was also accompanied by a couple of wolfhounds. Despite the mistake the dogs had a great run and Gil ended up with the high score of the day, making him the winner of the rare breed hunt for the weekend. Fecni came in a close second and both were advanced to the final round.

Unfortunately the other hunting party didn't finish their second round of breed hunts and so had to continue on into the third day. The fog and lack of rabbits further delayed the completion of the saluki hunt so we were not able to start the final mixed hunt until 3:00pm. With barely two hours of sunlight left to hunt there was no way we were going to finish the Grand Course in three days. Fecni drew the seventh course with a Greyhound named Muffet for the mixed final and Gil drew the high score whippet. We only managed to find three rabbits before sunset so Gil and Fecni had to wait until the next day to run their courses.

The next day the fog delayed us from going into the field until 11:00am. We all worried that we might not finish but we only needed five more rabbits. Fecni's and Gil's courses were on the line at the same time so when a hare popped up on Gil's side we slipped the dogs. Unfortunately Fecni's handler slipped her at the same time which effectively put her out of the competition. Although Gil ran well the Whippet ended up winning the course.

The final winner of the Grand Course was a Greyhound named "Fanny", Huntington's Fantasia. Her sister, Huntington's Ruby Too, was the winner of the Grand Course last year so it was nice to see that her sister got a chance to follow the family tradition. Overall the competition was tough, as was the terrain, but the Magyars put on a good show and left several people with a good first impression. This is the first time a Magyar Agar has ever attended the Grand Course but it won't be the last. It's very possible that a Magyar Agar could make the top 10, or even win the Grand Course, in the future so we'll keep on trying :-)

2009 - 2010 OFC Season

2010-02-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Compared to last year this NOFCA season has been relatively quiet on the MA front. Despite the low attendance on our part, the season was still an eventful one with Gil earning the last few points needed to complete his Courser of Merit (CM) title, and both he and Fecni qualifying for the Grand Course. Even though Gil only attended two hunts this season he still earned 70 points, which is more than enough to qualify. Good boy, Gil :-)

He also had a hand in bringing down this guy:

Lure Coursing: Pup Debut

2010-02-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

Luna and Gator attended their first two ASFA lure coursing trials this year and there's no doubt that these two siblings will be tough to beat!

Their first trial was actually a fun run put on by the Silken Windhounds of California as part of their process for becoming an official ASFA affiliate club. The silken community has worked very hard to gain recognition and acceptance for their breed and have been very supportive of our small MA contingent. So, even though the event was unofficial it was a great opportunity to support our silken friends and get the two youngsters started in lure coursing at the same time.

The SWC fun run was held in beautiful Hollister near Monterey Bay. Auntie Belle came along as well and ran in the ever popular singles stake. The course plan was nice and simple, which was a plus for our newbies. Gator and Luna are pretty well-matched but in the end Gator beat out his sister by a few points and went home with first place.

Belle had a great time and put in some good runs as well. Out of at least a dozen other dogs that were running in singles Belle ended up tying for first place. Good job Belle!

About a month later the pups got a chance to run in their first official ASFA trial with the Northern California Irish Wolfhound Club down in Oakley. Cousin Fecni came along to fill in the trio but had a hard time keeping up with the two hot rod siblings.

As usual Gator and Luna were pretty well matched against each other but this time Luna ended up edging out her brother for the first place position, earning her first 12 points towards her ASFA Field Championship. Gator took a close second for 9 points towards his Field Championship with Fecni taking third place. Judge Kathy Kelly of Wirtu Hounds gave high praise to Luna for her amazing agility and speed. I think Luna may have found her niche in sighthound sports ;-)

Well done kids! Many thanks to Jackie Phillips for the wonderful photos!

Snow Dogs

2010-02-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

UKC Top Ten 2009

2010-02-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

All the California MAs did a lot of showing over the past year and for awhile it was no telling who was going to make it to the number one spot in UKC's Top Ten lineup. In the end Gil edged out Luna by a few points but it was a very tight race.

01. UWP CH Aranyagi Utonallo Fenseg	Audrey Hsia or Thomas Koler	26
02. GRCH Betcha-katcha Ojeda	Rita Yates or Tom Koler	20
03. CH Betcha-katcha Nubia	Lori Koler or Tom Koler	13
04. CH Betcha-katcha Nellie Belle	Thomas E Koler and Lori Koler	6
05. CH Vakvagta Fecni	Sally Barron or Tom Koler	3

Gold Country Hounds & Hunters Thanksgiving Dog Show Extravaganza

2010-01-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

And now for the long-awaited update. Gold Country Hounds & Hunters held the largest UKC event to hit the California coast over Thanksgiving weekend. Six UKC shows combined with an NKC American Bulldog specialty, UKC weight pulling trial and Rally obedience fun match rounded out a spectacular weekend of good fun and competition. Five of the nine California MAs were entered into the UKC shows and one, Gil, was entered in both the shows and the weight pull.

The first day of showing saw what was quite possibly the largest sighthound entry ever in California UKC competition. Other hounds representing the sighthound and pariah group besides the MAs were the Afghan, the Pharaoh Hound, the Whippet, and the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno. Luna took Best of Breed in both shows and also took home a Group 1 and a Group 3.

Luna's little bro also did well his first time showing and took home a Reserve BIS Puppy. Way to go little guy!

The next day was the first day of weight pull and Gil was going for a second try at a Total Dog Award. The conditions of the pulling chute were far from ideal so I was worried he wouldn't be able to pull a qualifying load. After a heavy rain/hail storm the previous night, pulling day was a cold and windy one. Despite the less-than-perfect conditions Gil put in 200% and made a qualifying pull. Now all he had to do was earn a first placement in the show ring. The first show of the day he took Reserve Best of Breed to Luna's third BOB win of the weekend; not enough to qualify for a Total Dog. He still had another chance in show 2 and after a long and thorough competition Gil pulled off a Best of Breed win and took home his first Total Dog Award! Gil continued his winning streak by taking a group first the same day.

Day three Luna moved up to the Grand Champion class and earned one more BOB. Willow took home the second BOB honors as well as a Group 1. Luna came very close to winning her first BIS or RBIS but was edged out at the last minute. Oh well; one of these days she'll get her chance in the spotlight, we just have to keep on trying.

Overall it was a great weekend and definitely one for the record books.

Happy New Year! - Updates Coming Soon

2010-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all! For those who are faithful readers of this blog I'm very sorry for the delay in getting new stories posted. There's a lot to report so please stay tuned for updates and news about the California MAs.

Gypsy and Bukky

2009-12-06T09:45:00.001-08:00

Gypsy and her uncle Bukky have been having a blast with all the new snow that just came their way. Here they are taking a break together:

BFF

2009-11-21T09:33:00.001-08:00

Gil and Beryl are BFF (Best Friends Forever)

New GRC for Willow!

2009-11-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

BRNC held their second and last meet of the year on November 7th-8th and all four Betcha-Katcha dogs were in attendance (Fecni was in season and Gil was on bed rest). Unfortunately Luna had to be scratched after the first race but by the end of the weekend Willow earned the last few points to finish her GRC! Congratulations to Willow, her owners Tom and Lori and her breeder Friederike Honstetter.

Puppy Reunion

2009-11-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

Gypa arrived at San Francisco airport from Hungary last night and had a little reunion with her brother before heading to her new home. The pups had a blast getting reacquainted with each other and their uncle Bukky had quite a fun little romp himself.

Gypa is tiny compared to her behemoth brother but she'll get filled out soon once she starts rasseling around in the snow with Bukky. She's a darling little girl and we're all so happy that she's finally here.

News From Abroad: Fenyves is #1!

2009-11-11T22:14:00.001-08:00

Puppy Videos

2009-11-10T23:52:00.000-08:00

Camel Dog

2009-11-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

Fecni sits like a camel.

New Family Photo

2009-11-01T22:13:00.001-08:00

This is my latest attempt at a group photo of all the dogs. I keep forgetting how hard it is to get everyone to look in the same direction. I must have taken a zillion photos, but this one was the best of the bunch. Everyone is sporting their own personal bandanna. It's not quite cold enough for full winter fashion items so we went with a lighter accessory :)

From left: Humer, Cali, Fecni, Gil, Beryl and Opal.

News From Abroad: Hiszti at the World Dog Show

2009-11-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

Cserihegyi Befogod (aka Hiszti) won Best Veteran at the World Dog Show this year. This boy is 9 years old, but he's still rockin'! Congratulations Diana, he's beautiful :)

BRNC's First Fall Race Meet 10/10-11

2009-10-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

BRNC had its first fall meet a couple of weeks ago and we had two really exciting days of racing. Gil was absent for the weekend but Willow, Belle, Gator, Fecni and Luna all made it out.

Saturday we had all five MAs entered. The track was pretty rough and hard on everyone's feet. By the end of the day Willow and Belle had sore pads so they stayed home on Sunday. Nevertheless, Willow put in some amazing runs and tied with her nephew Gator for first place, giving them both 1.5 points towards their GRCs.

Official Results for Saturday were:
1. Gator (Betcha-Katcha Omlin)
2. Willow (Betcha-Katcha Nubia)
3. Luna (Betcha-Katcha Ojeda)
4. Belle (Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle)
5. Fecni (Vakvagta Fecni)

Sunday was pup day. With Willow and Belle out for the rest of the weekend that left only Gator, Luna and good ol' Fecni. The brother and sister duo were battling for first place the whole day, but in the end Gator took home first prize for his second meet win and one more point towards his GRC. He's now more than half-way to completing his championship. Luna also picked up a half point towards her GRC.

Official Results for Sunday:
1. Gator
2. Luna
3. Fecni

The Stout-Hearted Terriers, Opal and Beryl, were also in attendance and gave it their all. Opal was undefeated in her class the whole weekend.

... and our friend Bandit did his best :)

Silly Gilly

2009-10-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

This is kind of an old video but it's pretty cute so I thought I'd post it here for posterity. I can't watch any dog-related videos on Youtube without Gil coming to my desk to listen. He listens so intently, I wonder what he's thinking. If I ever take a trip I'll have to make some videos of me for him so that he can still "see" me while I'm gone. Maybe I should buy the dogs a TV to watch while I'm out during the day, lol.

Fecni's Fitness Program

2009-10-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone, this is Fecni speaking (since I don't have fingers Audrey will be typing for me). For those who don't know me personally, I have a little weight problem. I'm kind of an easy-keeper as they say and over the long hot summer I gained a few extra pounds that I need to get off before the coursing season starts. So, since I know there's lots of other dogs out there who are also battling weight problems I thought I would take the opportunity to explain my personal fitness regimen so that others may follow along if they want.

The most important part of my fitness program is exercise. I believe that the majority of canine weight problems can be dramatically improved with just exercise alone. I usually do a brisk walk with my group for about one hour everyday, which translates into about 3 miles of walking. To increase my endurance, I walk with either a loaded backpack (see above and below) or I drag weight with a harness and chains every other day. For my cardio workout I jog about 3 or 4 times a week for about 30 minutes with adequate warm up and cool down periods to keep my muscles from cramping up.

The second most important part of my fitness program is diet. As I said before, I'm a really easy-keeper, plus I tend to be a little greedy when it comes to food. In order to keep myself feeling full, while also cutting back on calories, I eat a low-fat dry kibble mixed with a half a can of green beans.

Snacking is one of my major vices, but just because you're on a diet doesn't mean you can't have snacks every once and awhile or even everyday. The important thing is to cut back on high-calorie, high-fat snacks. I only eat a little of these right after a workout or right after a race to replenish my energy, but don't over do it!

For daily snacking, you can eat fresh fruits or vegetables (carrots, celery, apples, bananas etc), or my personal favorite, ice cubes.

You don't want to over do it with the ice cubes since it doesn't feel good to have a lot of cold ice in your stomach, but a few cubes in place of a dog biscuit will do wonders for your body and will leave you feeling satisfied until your next meal. Which reminds me, when I'm on a diet I prefer to eat twice a day rather than once a day. When dieting it's always better to eat more small meals over the course of the day rather than one big meal because it will lessen your hunger and help you eat less overall.

So, that's my fitness program in a nutshell. It's very simple and easy to follow and I guarantee it will work for you too.

Bye,
Fecni

News From Abroad: Racing in Germany

2009-10-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

I just got these photos from Willow, Belle, Luna and Gator's breeder in Germany. Betcha-Katcha Otis (brother to Gator and Luna) made his racing debut and placed third overall. Also in attendance were Belle and Willow's sister, Nookie, and Gil's sister, Fenyves. Nookie placed second overall and Fenyves placed fourth. All in all the BK and AU dogs did very well and we are very proud of them.

Now on to the pictures:

Otis in white, Fenyves in black and Nookie in blue

News From Abroad: Remy's puppies at 4 weeks

2009-10-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Girls:

Boys:

It was bromance

2009-10-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mr. Al E. Gator is visiting the Stout-Hearted crew for a week to get started on weight pull training. He and Gil acted like long lost brothers when we got home today and have been enjoying each others' company. It looks like bromance to me ...

Woofstock El Dorado Hills

2009-10-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Six of the eight California MAs went out to El Dorado Hills for Woofstock on Sunday Oct. 4th. We had a small booth set up for NAMAA with displays for the dogs' ribbons and a stack of flyers for curious passersby. Although it was a bit windy and chilly it was a beautiful day with a pretty decent sized crowd. We had quite a few people stop by and ask us questions about the dogs. Of course, there were many people who mistakenly thought we were Greyhound rescue but once the correction was made most of them seemed genuinly intrigued by our brood. At the end of the day our stack of flyers was completely gone so hopefully we've generated some new interest in the breed.

Hawthorn had his first big American adventure and was all pooped out midway through the day

Luna, ever the beauty queen, was dressed in her very finest for all the onlookers to admire ...

Luna was also kind enough to let Fecni borrow some of her bling for the day so that she could have a day of glamour too

News From Abroad: Remy's puppies are 3 weeks old

2009-10-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

IABCA Golden State Fall Sieger

2009-10-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Gil and Fecni attended this year's IABCA Golden State Fall Sieger in Antioch on September 26th and 27th. This was Fecni's first time in the International show ring and Gil's first time in the open class (IABCA doesn't consider dogs to be adults until they reach 18 months of age).

For those who don't know, IABCA is a show-giving organization that conducts its events in the style of European FCI shows; all dogs recieve a written critique and a rating ("excellent", "good", "fair" etc). If a dog recieves the minimum number of excellent ratings they then become eligible for an IABCA International Championship title. Gil started his show career in the IABCA show ring and has done very well in the past, taking group, Res. BIS and BIS rarebreed awards.

Best of Breed awards were split evenly between Gil and Fecni over the entire weekend, but neither of them took higher awards at the group level (better luck next time). However, our Silken Windhound friends were also in attendance and one of them ended up consistently winning group 3 awards with a fairly large group entry. Congratulations Cyndi and Dusty!

Despite our lack of success in group, the judges made many favorable remarks about the dogs in their written critiques.

Among other things, the judges noted the following about Gil:
Overall Impression: "typey, balanced, well built" - Juliann Kowalsky
Head: "Typey, masculine" - Sherry Swanson
Movement: "covered ground with ease" - Jane Roppolo

Among other things, the judges noted the following about Fecni:
Overall Impression: "well balanced, sound" - Sherry Swanson
Movement: "clean coming and going" - Juliann Kowalsky
Overall Impression: "Nice profile, clean/smooth" - Jane Roppolo

The Stout-Hearted Greyhounds, Cali and Humer, were also entered in the veterans class for the last two shows of the weekend. Queen Cali reigned supreme and beat her stinky brother twice for Best of Breed honors. Humer says, "oh well, maybe next time" :-)

Videos:

Gil in group:

Fecni in group:

Cali in veterans:

News From Abroad: Pics of Gil's familia

2009-09-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

I just got some new pictures of Gil's mom, A.U. Cicababa:

and half sister, A.U. Enyves:

New Hawthorn Pictures

2009-09-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

New pictures of our golden boy:

Everybody Loves Fecni

2009-09-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

Fecni has been staying with the Stout-Hearted Hounds for the past couple of weeks getting ready for the International Dog Shows in Antioch. As usual it has been a pleasure to have her around and she seems to be enjoying her time with us (especially Gil) too :)

He's here!

2009-09-22T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hawthorn arrived in sunny California today and we couldn't be more excited. He had a very long trip but seems to have handled it well considering how young he is. He was a bit timid at first but once he took the plunge and came out of his crate he was all hugs and kisses with us. This baby is pure gold and he's got the coat to prove it :)

News from Abroad: Remy's puppies have names

2009-09-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

Remy's puppies have names now and are growing by the minute. Check out the video above of one of the little puppers trying to stand up.

male 1 - Cserihegyi Elmés
named for King Shrewd in the Farseer Trilogy. Shrewd's name in Hungarian translates to Elmés.

male 2 - Cserihegyi Érdem
a nice and big puppy with a lovely coat color.
Érdem means merit or excellence in Hungarian.

male 3 - Cserihegyi Elfogod
he may not be as big as his bros but he's got one handsome little face.
Elfogod means "you get it", "you keep it"

female 1 - Cserihegyi Emlék
a great looking baby.
Emlék means remembrance; in memory of her late aunt Fagyöngy.

female 2 - Cserihegyi Ejha
a middlesized baby girl who already shows a desire to please. This little girl is going to be a courser and I'm sure she'll be victorious.
Ejha means "wow"

female 3 - Cserihegyi Estély
a big baby girl with eye-catching color and strong MA head.
Estély means "social evening" or "party"

female 4 - Cserihegyi Előzz
A little girl with deep red color. A good prospect for racing and hunting.
Előzz means "take over!"

female 5 - Cserihegyi Esti Mese
a beautiful, beautiful girl.
Esti Mese means "evening tale"

female 6 - Cserihegyi Éles
A great show prospect.
Éles means "sharp"

New pictures of Hawthorn

2009-09-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

We just got these pictures of our new puppy, whom we have dubbed "Hawthorn". "Galagonyas" translates roughly into "Hawthorn" so we thought that would be the perfect name for the little guy. He's really grown and developed since the last photos were taken; he actually looks like a sighthound now! Hawthorn will be traveling to the U.S. next week and we are all very excited!

News From Abroad: They're Here!

2009-09-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

Remy's puppies were born today! There's a grand total of 9 puppies, 6 females and 3 males, all brindle:

Congratulations Diana!

News From Abroad: Any day now ....

2009-09-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

Aranyági Utonálló Fagyöngy 06/14/07 - 09/09/09

2009-09-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Gil's sister, Fagyöngy, passed away today after undergoing surgery to fix an injury she sustained while racing. Our hearts go out to her breeder/owner, Andrea, and her family.

Rest in Peace Fagyöngy

Stout-Hearted Hounds Gets a "New" Ride

2009-09-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Not really a new ride, just a new look for our ride :-)

This fabulous custom decal was made by Ben and Sara Nally of Tablerock Kennels. Thanks guys! Now our hounds can proudly cruise around in style ;-)

News From Abroad: Remy is Expecting

2009-09-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag before I knew for sure but it's clear now that Gil's sister, Remy, is expecting puppies and will be whelping soon.

About mid July Remy was bred to a gorgeous red dog named Szársomlyó-hegyi Kende. Kende comes from strong working lines and at 11 years old he's in great shape! Remy has proven herself to be a superb racing/lure coursing dog and has also enjoyed success in the show ring. This combination is sure to produce some outstanding offspring.

Two new pups to join the CA Magyar Agár Crew!

2009-09-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

The California Magyar Agar crew will soon be welcoming two new puppies from the Kucorgó-Dombi "G" Litter, Galagonyás (left) and Gyopár (right). These pups were born in early July and will be making their way out west in a few weeks.

Gyopár, the little girl puppy, will be going to live with Bukky in the Sierra Nevada mountains and Galagonyás, the little boy puppy, will be staying with the Tuzvihar hounds, Willow, Belle and Gator. We're looking for a co-owner for Galagonyás, preferably someone who would be interested in open field coursing or hunting.

Needless to say we are all really excited about these two pups and can't wait for them to get here! Many thanks to their breeder, Orsi Bali, for allowing them to come and live in the states! Check back soon for continuing pupdates :)

Getting Ready for Woofstock 2009

2009-09-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for Woofstock in October and Kyle and Rita made these fantastic signs for each of the dogs. We're also planning on having banners for all the dogs to display their "loot" :) Here's a picture of Luna's banner:

For those who don't know, Woofstock is the largest canine festival held in all of North America and features all kinds of demos, booths, vendors etc all in celebration of the dog. Woofstock events are held in numerous cities across the states and this year we will be attending the one in El Dorado Hills. We'll be setting up a booth with all the MA's as kind of a "meet the breed" sort of thing, so come and visit us if you can!

http://www.woofstock.ca/

ATTS Temperament Test

2009-09-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

I neglected to mention last time that Gil underwent a temperament test given by the American Temperament Test Society at the annual Richmond Dog Fanciers show. That was the first time I had ever taken a dog through a temperament test of this sort and I don't know that I would do it again. Gil went went through all the stations and ended up with a passing score and overall the test-giver was pleased with his reactions to the stimuli.

ATTS just sent us the pretty certificate in the mail (see above) and eventually the Magyar Agar breed will be added to their database list online (http://www.atts.org/)

New Champion: Ch. Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle

2009-08-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Belle did indeed finish her UKC Championship over the GCH&H July show weekend in Rancho Cordova. Congratulations Belle, we knew you could do it! Belle will now join the rest of the California MAs in the Champions show ring so watch out for her in the future!

UKC Show Videos

2009-08-05T23:21:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Rita took a lot of great video at some of the recent UKC shows we attended. I uploaded them onto Youtube and organized them into three different playlists. Click on each screen below to view the playlist:

Coursing Trophy

2009-08-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier but better late than never, I guess. When all the scores were tallied and totaled, Gil ended up tying with Tea the Ibizan Hound for #1 Rare Breed for the 2008-2009 Coursing Season, making him eligible to have his name inscribed on the Rare Breed Perpetual Trophy for OFC. Since she has held the trophy for the past few consecutive years, Kathy Kelly was generous enough to allow me to take the trophy home for a year. So, it has been sitting on a shelf in the living room, visible to all that enter our home, and since we may not be taking it home again next year I wanted to document it's presence before it leaves. So here it is, the Rare Breed Perpetual Coursing Trophy, "Dedicated to those that ran before" ...

News From Abroad: New Pictures of Remy

2009-08-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

Days of Dogs and Roses

2009-08-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Kyle Yates took a bunch of wonderful pictures last year at our little 4th of July get-together. Although these pictures are over a year old, they are so nice that I wanted to post them here. There's too many to post individually so I made a little slide show. Click on the link at the bottom to see all the photos. Apparently they only allow a limited number to be shown on blogger:

News From Abroad: Betcha-Katcha Nookie Wins Big!

2009-07-28T08:48:00.001-07:00

The FCI Lure Coursing Championships were just held in Marienbad (Czech Republic) and MAs from all over Europe were in attendance including two of Gil's sisters, A.U. Fagyöngy and A.U. Fenyves, and one of Willow and Belle's littermates, Betcha-Katcha Nookie.

There were more than a dozen dogs of each sex entered and after days of hard, competitive running BK Nookie came out victorious as the Female FCI European Lure Coursing Champion of 2009!!! Congratulations to her owner, Waltraud Sporer, and her breeder Friederike Honstetter.

Both of Gil's littermates also finished in the top 6 for females with Fagyöngy taking a 4th place and Fenyves 6th place. Congratulations to their owners and breeder as well. Overall it sounds like it was a great event with great dogs and I only wish I could have been there to see it.

News From Abroad: Like dog like car?

2009-07-20T17:29:00.001-07:00

I just got this great photo of Gil's sister, Remy, and one mean car :)

Racing and Lure Coursing News

2009-07-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

The May racing period is a bit of a blur, but one thing that's for certain is that our young Luna made a big leap forward by winning her very first LGRA meet! All the CA MAs were in attendance, which translated into Luna earning her first 2 points towards her GRC. Gil took second place in the meet and finished his GRC.

The ASFA Regional Invitational was held in May and two of the CA MAs, Willow and Fecni, were in attendance. After her long rest period Fecni was rarin' to go and took home the Best of Breed award. This is the first time that any MA has competed in an ASFA Regional and we were very excited to participate. After the trial was over the club set aside time to do certification runs. Gator and Luna got to run together as a brother/sister brace, but their first run was an oval-look-alike so they had to run it a second time. After the second run they were back on track and received their certification slips. I can hardly wait to have the whole team out lure coursing this fall!

If/when I get more pictures I will be sure to post them.

Condensed Show Results: New Champs and Big Wins

2009-07-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Since there are too many shows to report on individually I thought I would just condense all the major show news into one post.

After their big success in Sparks the CA MAs got to stay in our home state for the Norcal APBT Club's May shows in Rancho Cordova. This was Luna's big debut in the ring and she took the shows by storm. She and Gil battled for Best of Breed wins the entire weekend and in the end they each took home two BOBs. That gave Luna three competition wins towards her championship and a boat load of points to spare. Not to be outdone by the youngsters, Willow earned her last few remaining points and finished her UKC Championship in style. Way to go Willow!

Continuing their conformation marathon the CA MAs then attended the Norcal APBT Club's June shows. This weekend proved to be eventful for all in attendance. Unfortunately Willow was absent due to injury but the other four showed in full force with two of our lovely ladies finishing their UKC Championships!

Luna dominated the Best Female competition with 3 wins in a row and earned the remainder of points required to finish her UKC Championship. To our delight, Fecni took the very first Best Female award, earning her last competition win and also finishing her UKC Championship. Way to go Luna and Fecni!

Gil put on a great show as well and took all four Best of Breed awards as well as two Best in Multi-Breed Show awards! He now joins the ranks of the few MAs to achieve this distinction and we couldn't be prouder.

Special thanks to Judges Debbi and Al Orwin for recognizing Gil and our breed.

Finishing out the show news are the results from our latest show outing with the Gold Country Hounds & Hunters and Rarities. On Saturday all five MAs attended the GCH&H shows in Rancho Cordova.

We now had five dogs showing in the champions class and one remaining class dog. Luna strutted her stuff and went home with two Champion of Champions wins, one BOB and two legs towards her UKC Grand Championship.

Gil took the two Reserve Champion of Champions and Belle won her very first Best of Breed! Way to go Belle!

On Sunday Belle and Fecni stayed on at GCH&H while Luna, Gil and Willow headed down to Livermore for some Rarities shows. There were a total of 5 Rarities shows all in one day and the July heat nearly made everyone melt. Nevertheless the dogs put on a good show and came home with lots of ribbons. At her Rarities debut Luna took three Winners Bitch awards and Willow took the other two. Gil was undefeated as the BOB winner 5x in a row and also took three Group 1's and a Best in Show!

Back in Rancho Cordova Belle was on a winning streak and won both BOB (finishing out her competitive win requirements) and finished the day with a Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show!

All in all the MA Show Marathon was a success, but we're all ready to take a break from showing for now :)

I finally got the Rarities pictures in the mail (see above).

Updates Coming Soon!

2009-07-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

I heard some sad statistic about most blogs ending up being abandoned within a short matter of time. I have been rather lax in updating the CAMA blog, but not to worry I will get back on track! I have a ton of news to report and I will do my best to get those posted by the end of the week. For the few that may be following please stay tuned!

UKC Show Results 4/18-19

2009-05-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Day 1 Show 1
Betcha-Katcha Nubia (Willow)- Best Female, Best of Breed, Group 1
Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle (Belle)- Reserve Best Female

Day 1 Show 2
Aranyagi Utonallo Fenseg (Gil)- Best of Breed
Betcha-Katcha Nubia (Willow)- Best Female
Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle (Belle)- Reserve Best Female

Day 2 Show 1
Vakvagta Fecni (Fecni) - Best Female, Best of Breed, Reserve Best in Multi-Breed Show!
Betcha-Katcha Nubia (Willow)- Reserve Best Female

Day 2 Show 2
Betcha-Katcha Nubia (Willow)- Best Female, Best of Breed, Best in Multi-Breed Show!
Betcha-Katcha Nellie Belle (Belle)- Reserve Best Female

Tűzvihar Magyar Agárs Has a New Website

2009-04-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tűzvihar Magyar Agárs now has a new home on the web. Check it out at: www.tuzviharhounds.com

I have also added a link to the new website under the "related links" column on this blog.

Belated Easter Race Results and Report

2009-04-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

We had the largest entry of MA's at the BRNC Easter races a few weeks ago. Willow, Belle, Gil, Gator and Luna all came together for one heck of a meet full of exciting and close races. Gator and his sister Luna are definitely catching on fast. Gator was Gil's main challenger all weekend and will probably be the top racing MA very soon (watch out Gil!).

The results for Saturday were:
1. Gil
2. Gator
3. Willow
4. Luna
5. Belle

Unfortunately Belle hurt her shoulder and was not able to return on Sunday for the next set of races. Even so the dogs put in some more good races and good competition.

The results for Sunday were:
1. Gil
2. Gator
3. Willow
4. Luna

All in all it was a great day, beautiful weather and good footing for the dogs. We hope to have many more like it soon!

Plans for a Magyar Agar Litter in the USA

2009-03-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

Gil x Willow

We have tentative plans for a Magyar Agár litter in 2010/2011. The parents for this litter will be Gil, Ch. Aranyági Utonálló Fenség CC JOR, and Willow, Betcha-Katcha Nubia.

The sire is an accomplished show, racing, and open field coursing dog. He was the number one Magyar Agar in LGRA and NOFCA for 2008 and number one in UKC conformation 2008 as well. The dam is close to completing her LGRA racing championship and was the number one LGRA MA in 2006 and 2007. Both parents will have their eyes, hearts and thyroids tested/screened for good health. We expect the puppies to be versatile and athletic examples of the breed, suitable for showing, racing, coursing, lure coursing and couch-potatoing. The puppies will be UKC and FCI registerable.

We are looking for responsible and dedicated individuals/families to provide homes for our puppies and are taking reservations now. If you are interested in acquiring a Magyar Agár puppy please contact us.

Racing Results for March 21st 2009

2009-03-28T15:39:00.000-07:00

We had a nice day of LGRA racing with four MA's entered. Here are the results:

1. Gil (by a hair)
2. Willow (a very, very close second)
3. Luna (getting better by the minute)
4. Gator (a very "earnest" runner)

Pups' Racing Debut

2009-03-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

After a long period of never-ending rain we were all very happy to finally see the sun again and head out for a weekend of racing. Unfortunately Willow and Belle came into season and had to stay home, and Fecni is still recovering from her open field injury. However, Gil and the two yearling pups, Gator and Luna, were ready and rarin' to go so we had a good showing of MA's for the St. Paddy's day races.

As usual LGRA was held on Saturday. All three dogs had to be hand slipped this weekend due to the starting boxes being a tad too small. This proved to be a bit more work than we anticipated (Luna decided that she just couldn't wait for the official start) but things definitely got easier as the day went along.

The pups did very well for their first official race meet and I definitely anticipate that they will improve with time and experience. In the end, Gil placed first in all three races with Gator coming in second (and earning his first GRC points) and Luna a very close third. She and her brother are very well-matched against each other so it will be interesting to see how they develop.

Unfortunately Luna couldn't make it back for the oval on Sunday but Gil and Gator returned for more fun and excitement. This was Gator's very first time on the oval and I wasn't sure how he was going to do on the corners. Well, I didn't have anything to worry about because he took to the oval like a pro. The first race he had a disadvantage being on the outside box but still took the first turn very well and remained close behind Gil the whole way. The second time around he drew the inside box and led the race to about the halfway mark before Gil passed him. I don't think it will be long before this boy gets his oval technique down pat.

All in all it was a great weekend with beautiful weather and great racing. We're looking forward to more weekends like this in the very near future.