Concurso Nacional 2003

On September 27, the third "Concurso Nacional" - organised by the Club Nacional del Galgo Español - took place in Las Virtudes - Santa Cruz de Mudela, a little village close to Ciudad Real. At the beginning, it was possible to register dogs in the L.O.E. stud-book, only of course, if they meet the requirements of the breed Galgo Español. Such a confirmation and registration is obligatory for all Galgos, which want to participate in the hunting championship of the club, the so-called "Campeonato de Galgos en Campo".

In the morning, many hunters gathered in the little park of the village and waited for the beginning of the confirmation. The attendance was quiet high - one reason surely was the start of the mentioned hunting competition mid of October. The judge Jesús García de Lera inspected each single dog very intensively - and he had to send away some disappointed owners, who's dogs did not meet the requirements of the breed and therefore could not receive any registration papers. Those dogs, which were confirmed as pure breed Galgos, could then participate in the following Concurso, which again was judged by Jesús García de Lera. And the quality of these dogs were impressively high.

The following presentation of the winners took place in a bullfight arena from the 17th century. It is very special building, because it is the only square arena in Europe (or most probably in the whole world). After that, this year's assembly of the Club Nacional del Galgo Español followed. The event finished with a meal among friends, where specialities of the region "la mancha" were served, accompanied by a typical red wine.

Here are the photos of the winners:

Also the dogs, that didn't win, don't have to hide themselves:

Photos: Susanna Sáez and Claudia Gaede