It is always lovely to be asked back; consequently
Kath and Karen were thrilled to be invited to Russia once again. Their first visit was in 2010 when there was
more snow in the UK than
there was when the pair arrived in Moscow! They thoroughly enjoyed their visit to Moscow
but everyone kept asking if they had been to St Petersburg and when they
answered “no” everyone they said “You must go, it is beautiful”. To be invited to St Petersburg was extra special as they would
have chance to see some of this amazing city.
This trip involved judging the Russian
Championships, from which the team would be selected to represent Russia at the World Heelwork to Music Show to be
held in Helsinki, Finland. There was also a training day organised for
the following day.
Finding suitable flights was not easy as the show
was held during a Russian national holiday and many flights were already fully
booked. Kath and Karen’s flight landed
in St Petersburg
airport at midnight, as the
pair had been travelling since early morning they were more than ready to get
to the hotel for a rest. Happily their
chauffer and translator were waiting as they emerged from customs and they
pointed out the sights of St
Petersburg at night en route to the hotel. Kristina
Konstandenkova proved to be worth her weight in gold as their
translator, her English was perfect, as was her understanding of Kath and
Karen’s needs.
The hotel was very comfortable and although their
rooms were on different floors the pair were able to keep in touch by using the
hotel’s internal phone. By the time they
had unpacked, showered and wound down it was close to 2:30am before they finally entered the land of
nod.
From previous experience, Kath and Karen didn’t
have high hopes for the hotel breakfast and this proved a correct
assumption! The fruit juices are
actually cordials, porridge is ‘spot the oat floating in the warm milk’, the
cereals highly sweetened, and the bread – well let’s say it was highly
uninspiring, especially with unsalted butter.
There were processed meats and cheeses but really not to their taste
first thing in the morning.
The Heelwork to Music competition was taking place
within a large FCI breed show and there were a good number of other judges from
overseas in residence at the hotel. Those
who spoke English (around a dozen) were asked to meet in the Foyer at 11am in
readiness for a tour of The Hermitage Museum (Find more information about the
museum - http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/).
The judges
enjoying the breezy sunshine before entering the museum
The judges were from many countries including France, Israel,
Spain, Ireland, Portugal,
Argentina and Peru. They
were a friendly group and all chatted together as they travelled in the minibus
to their destination.
The Hermitage Museum
complex. From left to right: Hermitage Theatre – Old Hermitage – Small
Hermitage – Winter
Palace (the "New
Hermitage" is situated behind the Old Hermitage).
As you can see from the picture, the museum is
massive and the group had only a couple of hours to look around. They were given a guided tour but those who
wished to take their own route were instructed to meet back at the cloakroom at
2pm. Kath and Karen opted for the tour and had to
work hard to stay with their group as the museum was so busy it was easy to get
separated. The rooms are full of paintings by Picasso, Da
Vinci, Matisse, Rembrant, Titian, Renoir, Cezanne, Rubens… the list goes on and on! They say that if you look at each piece in
the museum it would take a lifetime!
Sadly Karen
became separated from the group and unable to find the cloakroom she decided to
make her way outside to meet at the door where they came in. (Only later did
they discover that the cloakroom was behind a door marked ‘Staff’)! Walking around the outside of the building,
she found the door where they had entered was now locked and no bus waiting for
them… then it happened… The sun went in, the wind sprung up and then
freezing rain turned into a snowstorm!
One hour later the group emerged from the museum to a frozen and
bedraggled Karen.
They
were then taken on a little scenic drive around St Petersburg. Oh dear, this turned into a farce as the
driver didn’t know where he was going and although they passed many ‘sights’,
the guide didn’t tell anyone what they were!
Finally they stopped at a café for a drink and a tasty local delicacy of
sweet or savoury pie before returning to the hotel to relax before dinner.
Dinner was delicious, the company was good and yet
more judges arrived from the USA. The only downside was that at midnight the sweet had still not yet
been served! As the Heelwork to Music
judges would be leaving the hotel in the morning 2 hours before the breed
judges, Kath and Karen decided that as they needed their beauty sleep more than
a pudding, they made their excuses and left.
The morning dawned all too soon and Kath and Karen
were soon being driven to the venue of the show which was at Ledovy Dvorets (Ice Palace)
primarily used for ice hockey and as a music venue
Ledovy Dvorets (Ice Palace)
The main arena had been sectioned into show rings,
the biggest of which was the Heelwork to Music ring. Further breed rings and trade stands were set
up on the huge balcony area behind the first floor seating.
The show was run by interleafing fun classes with
competition classes. There were 6
judges, 3 of which judged the fun and 3 the competition. The competition judges had to score and write
comments on the routines that they were marking the time that it took for a fun
performance to run. All the competitors
were given the exact time that they would perform as part of their running
order and it was important to try to keep to time as much as possible.
The HTM
Competition Judges and some of the Trophies
They had to judge all levels of competition, from
Starters to the Russian Master Class.
The standard was really good and these handlers worked very well with
such a mixture of breeds including an Alaskan Malamute which had great attitude
and focus and very accurate heel work and competing in the Masters Class and
several Cane Corso – which again had good attitude to work but most had docked
tails and cropped ears. Two competitors
were marked down for “dressing” their dogs – one with a discreet harness with
wings on and the other having “diamonds” stuck onto her Russian Black Terrier’s
ears for decoration. It was good to see
a variety of appropriate props carefully planned into the choreography. Accuracy
was very good – whether it was Freestyle or Heelwork To Music – the Russians
certainly maintain a very high standard in whatever they do which was great to
see.
Lunch was taken in a nice quiet area with a choice
of 3 starters and 2 main courses which were all very nice. Water, wine, juice, vodka and brandy were all
on offer but Kath and Karen elected to stick with the water. They still had a lot of judging to do that
afternoon!
Advanced
Freestyle Winners
The Heelwork to Music judging and prize giving
finished at around 5:30
after which Kath and Karen were free to look around the show and take advantage
of the judges’ room where they could have a snack and a drink whilst chatting
with any other judges who were also taking a break. The breed judging continued until around 7pm.
It was then followed by entertainment and judging of the groups etc. Looking at the groups which were still to be
judged it soon became apparent to Kath and Karen that it would not be finished
until around 9:30 followed
by a drive to a restaurant for the judges’ dinner, which was going to make for
a very late night. As they had an even
earlier start in the morning for the training seminar, Kath and Karen asked
that a taxi be arranged to return them to the hotel, where they could get a
snack and an early night. They were very
glad that they did as the other judges returned to the hotel at 1:30 that morning!!
Sunday morning began with an hour’s drive to the
training venue for the seminar. Kath and
Karen were very pleased to see some handlers who had been at their seminar in Moscow 4 years ago and had
returned seeking to improve their skills further. The training room was mirrored, light and
airy with a super floor for the dogs, a super venue!
The day was planned to start at 9am and finish at 6pm. However, the
participants had such a passion for the sport and thirst for knowledge that
they didn’t finish until 7pm. The day began with looking at motivation and
focus and continued by giving everyone on the seminar a set time during which
they could have one to one help on any subject of their choice. Exhausting but good fun too!
Teaching Heelwork
to a Puppy Sheltie
At the end of the day Kath and Karen were given
the choice of eating a posh dinner with the breed judges or to have something
simpler with the heelwork to music folk.
No contest! Italian food with Heelwork
to Music people and bed at a decent time was a winner. The following day it was obvious that they
had made the right decision as the breed folk were not back until way past midnight again!
Monday was travelling home day. As their flight wasn’t until late afternoon,
the HTM folk arranged for Kath and Karen to visit Catherine's Palace.
This is a beautiful building was completed in
1756, is nearly 1km in circumference and designed on a scale to rival Versailles. The interiors are quite amazing, from the
great hall to the amber room, the design is quite stunning.
Kath and Karen were given audio guides to listen
to on their tour and a pair of over-shoes to protect the ornate parquet flooring. Happily no-one got lost or separated and the
four of them left together to enjoy a delicious lunch before heading to the
airport for their flight home.
April in St Petersburg
is known for seeing 4 seasons in one day and it certainly showed how changeable
it could be – just like the UK
really!!!
Kath and Karen would like to thank their Russian
hosts for making their stay in St
Petersburg so enjoyable.
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