Page 25 - ShowSight Presents - The Lagotto Romagnolo
P. 25
FORUM ON
LAGOTTI ROMAGNOLO
NIKSA LEMO
I live in Zagreb, Croatia. I am a vet- erinarian and board certified veterinary dermatologist, professor at Vet School Zagreb. My life is devoted to dogs as a hobby as well as profession. My first dog was Doberman, I judged my first show in 1992 and since then I have judged world-
wide on all six continents including all groups and BIS.
MARY ELLEN MACKE
I live in a northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia and am an active real estate pro- fessional in the North Atlanta area. I have been involved in the sport of purebred dogs for over 30 years and have been judging sporting breeds for the last 10-12 years. Our first breed was Poodles but the draw of Sporting Dogs was strong in the family and when our daughter began her
Junior Showmanship involvement and asked for a Weimara- ner. That was in 1986 and we have lived with and loved that breed ever since. I began my judging career in 2002 and, by choice, moved slowly and deliberately through the sporting group, completing the group earlier this year. I am heavily involved in the Atlanta Kennel Club and in the two show clusters in which we participate each year. When I am not involved with “doggie things”, I love spending time with my husband, Jim, and our family which includes three grand- daughters, who are the light of our lives. I am also involved in my parish church, Our Lady of Lourdes in Atlanta. So we fill our days and evenings and weekends pretty easily.
JAMES REYNOLDS
I live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and am a retired superintendent of edu- cation. Dog shows and grandchildren occupy most of my time with the usual dollop of books and movies. I began showing in 1956 and have been judging for 49 years.
VIVA MARIA
SOLECKYJ-
SZPUNAR
I live in Warsaw, Poland. For the last decade I’ve been working in the Department of Administration in Polish Hunting Association, currently as a manager. Before that I was assisting Marcin Frybes—sociologist, academ- ic professor and author—in promot- ing Polish culture and creating books
and albums about modern history of Poland, focusing on Solidarity Movement and opposition during the time of Polish People’s Republic (communism time) and martial law in Poland. I was very lucky to be born in a family with many cynological traditions. My grandmother Maria Szczepanska started the Airedale Terrier kennel “Prima” in 1947. Maria was a breeder and FCI judge. Alongside her husband, the attorney Wiesław Jan Szczepanski and their friends, they participated in creating The Polish Kennel Club after the tragedy of the second World War. My mother, Joanna Szczpenska Korpetta, inherited her own mother’s passion and became the second generation judge and breeder of Airedale Terriers. Our ken- nel exists to this day and for many years my sister, Agata Korpetta (also a judge), and I are also co-owners. Our mom is the brain behind our kennel and our authority. I grew up in an environment where dogs where loved and cherished. We were always surrounded by incredible people who truly were experts in their breeds: judges, breeders, not only in my family, but also amongst our family friends. Dogs were around me since the day I was born. I first showed a dog as a handler when I was seven years old and I did it often before becoming a judge. Currently, I only show dogs that we bred ourselves or dogs that I or my relatives own. I’ve been a judge since 2001 (2004 as an international FCI judge). I judge the following FCI groups: two, three, four, eight, nine and Junior Handling.
When it comes to the art of presenting dogs at dog shows, my mom alongside our friends Małgorzata Supronowicz and Tomasz Borkowski (both breeders and FCI judges, too) were the first organizers of Junior Handling contest in Poland and the rules of the contest were imported from the US (it was during the 80s in Poland). Today’s Junior Handling became an inherent part of Polish dog shows and I was lucky to witness the way it happened. Nowadays, I am a Junior Handling committee member in the Polish Kennel Club and I actively try to support and educate youth about cynology.
