Specialty dates for 2019, 2020 and beyond

To assist exhibitors with forward planning, we are releasing the dates for the 2019 and 2020 specialties. We presently have signed contracts from each judge, but the judges contract and schedule is yet to be approved by Dogs NSW, so please keep in mind that these dates may change.

In 2019, the specialty will be held on 14th April at Dogs NSW, 44 Luddenham Rd, Orchard Hills. The judge will be Mr. Esa Ruotsalainen, from Finland. Mr. Ruotsalainen grew up with Finnish Spitz, Norwegian Elkhounds and German Shepherds, and has a particular fondness for Spitz breeds. Mr. Ruotsalainen breeds under the Tirhan affix, breeding Pomeranians, Klein Spitz and Finnish Lapphunds. He also co-owns Norwegian Elkhounds with his father. He has regularly judged Finnish Lapphunds throughout the Nordic countries, including breed specialties in Finland, Sweden and the UK.

In 2020, the specialty will be held on 5th April, at Dogs NSW, 44 Luddenham Rd, Orchard Hills. The judge will be Mrs Elina Haapaniemi, from Finland. While breeding Pyrenean Mountain Dogs under the Aspenella prefix, she is particularly fond of Finnish Lapphunds. She has judged at numerous specialties throughout Europe, and previously judged the breed in Australia.

We will be contacting the Sydney Royal show organisers and requesting for the breed judging to align with the dates of our specialties.

From 2021 onwards, the specialty date will be moved to a cooler month of the year. March and April can still be warm, and as I write this the forecast is for 39 degrees this Sunday at Orchard Hills, which is a week before the specialty. We don't want to see a situation where the specialty is cancelled due to the Dogs NSW extreme heat policy, or for dogs, judges and exhibitors to be suffering through warm temperatures. We are attempting to select a new show date that aligns with other major shows in the NSW show calendar.

We hope this information assists with your forward planning.