WOW, what an amazing experience judging the Crufts Obedience Championships for the last 2 days.
However a judge can’t do it without a brilliant hard working team. I picked my team with a view to who would be the best people I know for the various jobs at Crufts and who could bring their skills to complement mine to create my vision for the competition in the first place. This meant that although I knew everyone, they didn’t all know each other but amazingly with only 2 full team practices they gelled perfectly and you would have thought they’d been working together for years. An amazing group of people.
Everybody did a fantastic job on the 2 days and I can’t thank you all enough for your hard work not only at Crufts but also in the run up too.
Thank you to my stewards Karen Fone and Carl Thorne for all your hard work practicing the rounds with me and scribes Amanda Leek and Irene Cullum before the full practices and your suggestions for tweaking them so they were perfect. I know you both did other practices in between with others and your hard work paid off as you were both incredible on the day.
Thank you to Isabel Bradley for taking my ideas for what we might wear and making them a reality.
Thank you to Kathy Webb for making the Sendaway Back markers look so amazing and to Julie Morland for creating all the scoresheets.
Thank you to Lesley Holmes for being my right hand woman throughout, helping me track all the tasks, sorting out the hotel for us all, doing loads of admin for me, producing the competitors and stewards booklets and the many phone calls we had to organise everything. And doing all that whilst training for running the London Marathon in April!! You are amazing.
Thanks to Wendy Birch for being our reserve team member at Crufts and for helping in the collecting ring both days during scent. Also thank you for sourcing the retirement gifts for me.
Thank you to Kate McCartney for all your help before Crufts and to you and Michael for your help at Crufts. Thanks to Clare Williams for your brilliant commentating too.
Lastly thanks to my Mum for looking after my 3 dogs whilst I was away and to Alison Carey (yes she who did all the fantastic crocheting) for walking my dogs for me.
Sarah Delany