I've had a great day - all the team members were so welcoming. I spent the day mostly doggy-sitting (as a safety measure/ to prevent dog-theft, once the dogs are inside they're not allowed out until 4pm) - there is a wood shavings toilet area. However I also watched some of the Rally, which was interesting as I think it's a much more difficult place for a dog to perform than at a normal show - VERY noisy and a huge arena. In fact it must be because the dogs selected for the teams are obviously the best in normal circumstances but there were very few flawless rounds. The Northern team came in first place, second was Midland, 3rd Wales, 4th South East and East Anglia, 5th Scotland and joint 6th South West and Northern Ireland.
I had some time in the middle of the day to walk around the halls. Did a little bit of shopping - lead and dog treats. It was Pastoral and Working day for the Breed showing so I watched a little but as it was still at the individual breed stage I couldn't really see much difference between one beautiful Briard and another, so I didn't find that very interesting. I was surprised that the Breed 'rings' were just areas of carpet with chairs alongside for the audience (the Rally ring was properly fenced) - the dogs did well to focus.
Got lost on the way back to the hotel but made it in the end now flaking out before the journey home tomorrow.
