France a trip of a lifetime!!!!

Have you ever thought of traveling overseas, but changed your mind because of the fear of the unknown?  Hopefully this article will help you to ease that fear. This is my second time over there and my husbands fourth.  Flying to France can be a bit scary to think about, and for the first time you might feel a bit overwhelmed.  But the experience is memorable for a lifetime. If you hear stories of the fabulous food and free flowing wine they are all true. I will say that both are of excellent quality.  Their culture is very formal for most meals.  You can find some fast food restaurants, but they are few and far between.

The plane trip from Detroit to Paris was non stop.  It is usually an 8 hour trip.  You usually fly out at night and arrive in the early morning of the next day, so if at all possible if you can get some sleep over there it will be much better.  The first day is usually a very tiresome one, as the jet lag hits you around the middle of the day.  So needless to say, if you can stay awake and go to bed early you will be much more refreshed by the next day.  Renting a car was with ease, but you must have an international driving permit.  My husband’s last trip he took the train which runs all through France.  This was with ease and not that costly.  Recommended for travel in Paris.  If you do not have to rent a car, this is the best way of transportation.

We have found that Paris is very diverse in language as it is a transit place.  We did not have a lot of trouble finding some one that spoke English.  If you can learn basic phrases to say you can get buy.  It can be frustrating when you are trying to speak to someone that does not know English; however most regions do speak our language.   One town that we stopped in to eat dinner did not speak English, so the waiter went down the street to find someone that did and we were treated as royalty.

Another good spot to visit is the Normandy area.  You will find that Americans are welcomed with open arms.  We drove from Paris to Normandy, and down a toll road.  This we found upsetting as we could not understand which one to go through and ended up in the Credit Card lane and the lady did not speak English.  Finally after figuring out what to do we were on our way.  Their roads are quite a bit smaller than ours and basically so are their vehicles.  We passed through many small quaint towns; most of them had the houses very close to the road.    

This past June we had the pleasure of once again visiting old friends and meeting new in Rion Des Landes, France.  I had the honor of being in the ring with Jean Louvet, a French Confirmatory of many years.  He also has written books on the Epagneul Breton.  One of which I am trying to get translated into English.  His dedication to our breed and detail of our standard has put a desire in me to have his book used as our “Bible” for our breed.

In France they do a written critique of each dog.  So this does take a bit longer, however the judge takes his time and evaluates each part of the dog and gives it a rating of Excellent, Tres Bon, Bon or Assez Bon.   Excellent of course being the best. 

The dog would enter the ring, and come straight at him so he could evaluate how it moved.  He would be looking to see if his shoulders would freely move or if the elbows would go out.  Then as the dog would go away from him he would then look to see if the dogs running pattern was straight and if the rear would fall in the same steps as the front.  As the dog ran around the ring at a side view, once again he would look for how he carried his top line.  A well balanced dog will not move at his withers and will not have a bouncing motion.  It will be smooth as he runs.  Flat, level run is the best way to describe it.  When the person approaches him he then checks his teeth to see if all are correct. And he has a good scissor bite.  He reviews the tightness of the lips as they should not be hanging down.  And looks at the level of the nose, as it should be level not snippy.  He pointed out to me many times that the mussel should be brought down more. Meaning if your mussel is at to sharp of an angle it gives it the appearance of being snippy.   The zygomatic arches are the next thing he would check and the eyes he would look for the expression and the width of them, they should be sweet and intelligent looking.  The ears would be pulled to the front of the nose.  If it was past the middle of the nose they would be considered to long.  Last he would look at the head as a whole to determine if it was of the proper ratio.  3 to 2. 

As he continued to evaluate the EB, he looked at the chest, to see if it was let down to the elbow level. Also the abdomen should be slightly tucked up, and he would look closely at the loin to see if short broad and muscular.   A long loin will have an unbalanced look to the dog.  An unbalanced dog will not run well and tire out easy. His running style and will hinder his performance in the field.  These dogs should be built to run a long time in the field without tiring out.  A well balanced dog is one that is correctly proportioned, being as tall as it is long and within the height standard. A dog that has excellent driving power from the rear and good front shoulders to except that force puts it into what is referred to a locomotion drive.  When you see this in a dog, you see that it is effortless in its movement.  Therefore allowing it to not tire out easy and allowing it to run all day long. 

When you attend a Nationale d’Elevage in France, you can expect to be treated very well.  When we were at St-Lo, (2003) a translator was available to help translate at expositions and meals.   The French always have an exposition planned on the Friday before the show.  It is generally something in the area that the show is being held at.  With St-Lo we visited a marsh area to view their native animals, and toured a Bell factory.  This was the same factory that made the Liberty Bell.  In Rion Des Landes the tour was of Marqueze a town dating back to the turn of the century.  We were introduced to how their culture was during the early days.  Oxen were used to carry water, plow fields and general everyday uses. 

After the tours, you can expect a welcome dinner.  This is the first formal gathering of the event.  This past years was at the famous Chez Maite.  Saturday morning is when the TAN is held followed by the water retrieval.  I was able to accompany this years CEB president Serge Guilbert.  Through his keen eye he showed me how the dog should run.  He checked for conformation of the dog before it ran.  During the run he was looking for the running style which to me is extremely important. The EB should run with enthusiasm, its head must be held high without exaggeration above the line of the spine. The line at the forehead held slightly inclined. The head is always mobile, showing flexibility and demonstrating a constant use of the nose in search of game. This is just one of many different things that judges look for. 

After viewing the TAN, water retrieval you should take a nap if at all possible to allow ample time for the Gala dinner.  This is usually a 6 or 7 course meal.  It is often started late around 8, their normal dinner time.  You can expect this to go into the early hours.  But pace yourself as the next day is the Exposition Nationale d’Elevage & de Championnat.  This is like our Westminster.  It is the show of shows for the Epagneul Breton.  You can expect to see at least 300 dogs at one time.  It is set up where you can walk through the staging area and view all dogs.  If gives you a chance to view what homogeneous in different lines.  It is brought down to at least one dog that is awarded the Best of Breed.  This year was presented to Patouche Toscane.  Below is a picture of Patricia Rush and Toscane. Below is a list of shows to attend for the coming 2006 year.  If any one is interested I will be more than happy to help you with arrangements, please contact me at:  luvmyeb@yahoo.com

Jan.7 and 8: PARIS-Vincennes or Le Bourget. Generally an entry around 30 EBs

Mar.4 and 5: FLIXECOURT (Picardy). Just a "national" show, but usually about 50
entries

Apr.23: AGEN (S-W of the country). "Super-special show": The awards will be of
the same value as at the Chship show, or at the Ntnal breed show, for the rating
of the dogs. Usually about 40 EBs, but considering the "SSS", more are expected.

Apr.29 and 30: AMIENS (Picardy). Always around 100 EBs entered. The second show
in France, numberwise!

May 14: SAINT BRIEUC (Britain): Another Super Special Show (SSS). Usually some
70 entries. More are hoped, considering SSS.

Jun.4: LYON: The 3rd and ultimate "SSS" of 2006. Close to 60 EBs last time.
Should be more this time.

Jun.17 and 18: PARIS-Le Bourget. The France Championship Show. Generally some 60
EBs are entered.

Jul.15 + 16: DOUAI (North). For the first time a show where a CACIB will be
awarded every of the two days. "Normal" shows at Douai = 50 EBs or so. More are
to expect this year.

Aug.13: The National Breed Show of the Club de l'Epagneul Breton. Will the
former record of entries (323) be broken?

After returning from France, we were inspired to bring France to the USA.  We have since organized an event at Purina Farms in St. Louis, MO May 19-21^st.  Together with other breeders we have put together what we consider to be an official event.

This year’s judge will be the respected Jacques-Francois Bordet. He has been a member of the CEB of France since 1971 and a judge of our breed since 1981. He is currently president of Commission of Judges and Confirmation Experts, and a field trial judge. With these qualifications Americans will be taught by an extremely qualified judge

Patricia Rush will accompany M. Bordet as his translator. She was born in France to French parents and has lived in England for many years. Her Patouche Toscane took the best of breed at this year’s National show in Rion Des Landes. She has been a breeder of 18 years. Her dedication to our breed clearly shows with her excellent puppies that she is producing. Also an accredited in England and a sure shoe in to judge Crufts.

This is a first in the US as we have not had a judge of this expertise at our disposal to teach us more about the breed.  There will be a show, field trial demonstration and seminars allowing us excellent education from one of the most respected judges of France.  If you are interested in attending please visit www.ebusa.us or email us at info@ebusa.us .  We are looking for sponsorships from breeders and corporations that would like to advertise in our magazine and exhibit their products.  This is a must for all EB enthusiasts, breeders and people just wanting to know more about our wonderful breed. 

We have committed ourselves to preserving and protecting the Epagneul Breton in the USA.  This is the first of many more French Judges to visit the USA.

From Left to right:

Jacques-Francois Bordet  - Esteemed judge coming in May to St. Louis

Chef Maite -  Famous Chef in France

Jean Louvet   - Judge that tutored  me

Serge Guilbert   - CEB President

Patricia Rush & Patouche Toscane