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FIFe Recognition Show for Ragdolls
in Rosenheim/Germany (March 16/17, 1991)
page 1
page 1 | pictures: 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
t's amazing how fast certain new breeds of cats have been recognized by FIFe lately. However, when the first Ragdolls in the early/mid 1980's were imported into Germany from England (GCCF-oriented!), things surely were different back then...
o make it even more difficult - together with the cats, the old wives' tales that had been invented by Ann Baker, the "creator" of the breed, just for marketing purposes, had found their way to Europe too. Dubious and, of course, entirely fictitious breed descriptions such as the Ragdoll's inability to feel pain, that it was kind of "disabled" re movement, etc. were not exactly helpful to speed up any recognition process.
nother big hindrance was the on a cursory glance certain resemblance to the Birman (on the page "Difference to other Breeds" you can find more information on "Ragdolls versus Birmans"). Often enough it took quite a few years for the somewhat sceptical judges and officials alone before they started to acknowledge that the Ragdoll was a wonderful, truly unique - and most importantly - normal cat, definitely deserving official FIFe recognition.
ontrary to FIFe, the Ragdoll was recognized by non-FIFe associations from the very beginning and able to win all kind of titles at "independent" shows. So, many a breeder preferred to be a member in these clubs as it made breeding and showing quite easy. I have no idea if this was true for all FIFe clubs worldwide, at least in the German FIFe club, the 1. DEKZV, all cats from non-FIFe associations lost their cattery name when transferred but were registered with the addition of the original association name. So my "Raggy's Chayene" became "Chayene (DRU)" (however, all cattery names are mentioned on the following pages). "Marriages" of FIFe and non-FIFe cats were a bit tricky too - a written application with an explanation of the breeding aim of this certain mating was to be sent in, and it had to be approved by the breeding committee before a breeding to a male registered in a non-FIFe association could take place.
t the time you did not even dare dream about mutual shows for FIFe- and non-FIFe members. The usual two-day shows with only one judging were quite expensive for a not recognized cat like the Ragdoll. No titles or any other big show success could be gained. Except for a "Best In Variety" once in a while, provided there were at least 3 cats present in the respective class, but that was rarely the case, the cats were only marked with I, II, III, etc. By the way, the Ragdoll did not count as a semilonghair breed yet but was still classified as "Other Longhair". And though the breed was divided into the classes Kittens 3 - 6 months, Kittens 6 - 10 months, Open Class (adult cats), Alter Class, the different colours and patterns didn't make a difference and were judged together.
n view of these conditions it seemed indeed rather labour-consuming and kind of crazy to work for FIFe recognition. However, first of all it was a lot of fun to promote the breed in different ways, I cannot remember that anybody saw it as a burden or pain, quite on the contrary. Secondly, a worldwide recognition certainly was desirable, besides, FIFe is still considered as "the" cat association by lots of cat fanciers. Someone or other might gibe at the opinion, but an official recognition process seemed somehow more prestigious to us too. There were associations accepting anything meowing on four legs as long as that brought money into the club's cash - this definitely acted as deterrent.
ast but not least, certain independent/non-FIFe associations weren't especially particular about the cat's descent. So, I know of cases where an unregistered cat from an unregistered breeder was issued an official 5 generation Ragdoll pedigree with all ancestors, a Birman/Ragdoll-mix was registered as Ragdoll without problems. Well, and once even a purebred Birman was accepted as "Ragdoll", since the kitten's breeder apparently was convincing enough that this very cat was a spontanously appearing "Ragdoll mutation" in the litter (the litter brothers and sisters, it appeared, weren't "mutated" and continued being Birmans)...
o, a group of dauntless Ragdoll fans stuck to their guns :-), the FIFe recognition always on their minds! However, above all, the Hughes-Dentler family deserves a special decoration in this regard! Without Karin and her husband Fritz the advance of the Ragdoll in FIFe wouldn't have been possible. It was Karin's idea and determination to reach championship status for the breed. And though they never bred cats themselves, they dedicated all their time and lots of private money to support the Ragdoll, for example by founding a breed club, the "Interessengemeinschaft Ragdoll", by frequently showing their Ragdolls and holding seminars nationally and internationally, by press releases, and so much more.
ue to the Ragdoll community's great team spirit it was no problem at all when the long awaited, sensational but also rather sudden news arrived that the needed number of judges from the International Judges and Standards Commission would be present at the Rosenheim show in two weeks. Finally our breed could be presented for recognition, but there had to be at least 15 different cats. On the very next day it was clear that we would be presenting more than 20 cats.
here were, of course, a lot more Ragdolls owned by FIFe breeders at the time, but like it is still today - usually only just a few breeders really like to show. But I think it is not presumptuous to say that without any exhibitors and shows the Ragdoll wouldn't be especially popular or wide spread here in Germany/Europe, or even worldwide... And everybody doubting the meaning of cat shows or impute exhibitors that their only motivation for showing is to satisfy one's vanity, greed for trophies, or the expectation to fetch a better price for kittens from prize-winning parents (that probably rarely works anyway, the costs for showing do exceed all *possible* advantages many times over) ought to think about if s/he ever would have had the chance and opportunity to share life with our awesome breed if it had not been for all these willing exhibitors. Interestingly enough, especially exhibitors with alters supported the recognition...
efore the show started, lots of paperwork had to be done. For example, a standard had to be drafted in three languages, pedigrees of all entered Ragdolls submitted (the pedigree copies were later put into a "judging map", so every judge was able to check the cats' background). One Ragdoll after another was presented on stage to the judges who thoroughly scrutinized the cats. The Bicolours were definitely in the majority, and especially the Mitteds had problems with their white markings (at the time a really perfect pattern was a true rarity. The Ragdoll breeding over here was still in its infancy, and as far as imports from abroad were concerned, you had to be lucky to get a Ragdoll at all - no matter what her look...). A member of the International Judges and Standards Commission stated our Colourpoints would too strongly resemble the Persian Colourpoints (Himalayans) in the member's home country - that was met with surprised head shaking. Was it our fault when the Persian Colourpoints there really looked *that* un-typey for a Persian!!??
inally the commission retired for deliberation, and after a seemingly endless time we were notified of the result: On the next FIFe general assembly the Ragdoll breed would get a proposal for recognition (all members would then have to vote for the end result), however, for the time being only the Bicolour would receive championship status. Of course, we certainly would have preferred that the Mitteds and Colourpoints too would have been eligible for championship, but after all these years it still was an awesome success that had to be properly celebrated!!
till in the show hall Karin/the Interessengemeinschaft Ragdoll was asked if we could present 4 Bicolour Ragdolls at the next FIFe general assembly in Estoril/Portugal and also refer a bit on the breed so that the other international judges present there could become familiar with the Ragdoll standard. No doubt we were all for it! In the end it was determined that Karin would bring her Patriarca Ragakevin, Claudia Herdegen her Patriarca Rageileen, Christl Ungeheuer Pink Wizard's Asia, a kitten born in her cattery but already sold to another breeder (and one of the very first Bicolours born over here with - almost - white legs...), and I myself would bring my Raggy's Chayene.
ince only 2 cats were allowed on the planes, one in the passenger cabin and one as cargo, we - Claudia with Eileen and I with Chayene - flew ahead from Munich to Lisbon. This was quite exciting for me, after all it was my very first flight! Karin with Kevin and Christl with Asia followed on a plane from Nuremberg. By the way, we had paid the costs for the trip from our own pockets at first. Quite a few donations from generous members of the German Ragdoll club "Interessengemeinschaft Ragdoll" made the expenses later bearable, but no matter the costs - we would have seized the chance of a lifetime to promote our breed anyway!
owever, since that time I feel slightly dizzy whenever I read "Entrecote" on a menu.... No matter what restaurant/hotel we went to - during our 4 days stay in Portugal there seemed to be 2 dishes only, namely grilled fish and Entrecote. Once in a while these dishes were offered under a different name, but when the eagerly awaited meal was served, it turned out to be once more grilled fish or steak with beans and potatoes.... Our hotel's barkeeper was also kind of remarkable. When we tried to pay with the change we had gotten from him for an earlier order, he indignantly refused our payment - as this would be "old" Escudos, in no way could he accept these expired bills!! - of course he had no chance against our united women power in the end :-)
ur 4 Raggies were very well received at the FIFe general assembly, and Karin's seminar was attentively listened to and the recognition of the Ragdoll breed incl championship status of the Bicolor pattern from January 1992 voted for by a large majority of all FIFe countries. It was very informative and interesting to learn what went on behind the scenes of a general assembly, how things worked and about the daily programme (in order to avoid possible misunderstandings among members with different mother tongues, everybody - we too - got a headset linked to one of several persons sitting in a glass box and simultaneously interpreting the statements in one of the official FIFe languages).
n the following pages you will find pictures of the recognition show in Rosenheim and our trip to Portugal. Well, I had used my brand new reflex camera in Rosenheim, but unfortunately I had not yet learned how to operate it. So the motifs are not quite overwhelming, besides, most of the pictured cats had fiery red eyes due to flash reflection that I had painstakingly painted over with a black felt pen :-). However, I think a bit "nostalgia" is still interesting and worthy to be archived. It's just a pity that I did not take pictures of all Ragdoll owners. The "Ragdoll pioneers" who brought and fought to have the breed recognized in FIFe should not be forgotten.
n case someone cares to check the exact number of cats, they might notice that only 20 cats are featured in this article. In fact, according to the catalogue there were even 22 entries. But if I remember correctly, one kitten was not present for some reason, and another could, due to the owner's fault, not be presented to the International Judges and Standards Commission. This kitten had been administered an oral sedative right after the show started, so it slept away the complete show, eyes crossed. Apart from possible (fatal) dangers for the kitten, the breed recognition could have been endangered too! Imagine if just 15 Ragdolls - the minimum required number of cats for a recognition show - had been entered and only one had missed... Thank heaven Karin had wisely called up on entering at least 18 cats, just to be on the safe side.
hough it doesn't exactly match to this article, I would like to take the opportunity to say more on the subject "tranquilizer": Normally cats put shows away without a problem and spend most of the day cosily snoozing in their pens. Some might be a bit nervous in the beginning but usually get all right in no time. Sometimes it helps to keep them company for a while, while it is better for others when the cat owner leaves the pen for a longer period. In case it turns out that a cat is severely scared or has other problems, it is always possible to withdraw the cat from judging and it stays at home in the future. Not every cat is a born "show star", there are those who simply feel more comfortable at home. Dragging an unwilling cat from show to show is quite cruel in my opinion.
nyway, tranquilizers are a big "no-no". Natural remedies to support the psyche such as Bach remedies or homeopathy might be still acceptable. But even this method should be handled with care as I experienced firsthand at a French show many years ago... Actually my Chayene usually mastered all her shows quite well, yet you always want to do the very best for your purring darling to reduce any possible stress to a minimum. So I decided to give her certain Bach remedies, a mixture especially recommended for shows. But unfortunately this had quite the opposite effect...
hile Chayene always was very sweet on the judging table, this time she growled and grumbled all the time. This alone was extremely embarrassing to me, especially in view of the Ragdoll's reputation for being extra lovable... An unfriendly cat gives a bad impression on the whole breed (for the same reason a very untypey cat shouldn't be shown either). Nevertheless Chayene was nominated for Best in Show (and finally became "Best opposite sex") - and I thought I was floored when she raised her paw on stage and hit in direction of a judge. I was unbelievably ashamed and sent the Scandinavian judge an "excuse letter" a couple of days later, explaining that *I* was responsible for my cat's bad behaviour, not Chayene. In goes without saying that I never ever applied any "wonder remedy" for shows again, and so once more she was always her sweet herself.
next FIFe Recognition Show for Ragdolls in Rosenheim, page 2
