Could I enter Charlie into the main show?

[Jane]

Well..the title says it all really.

Just wanna say before I start, I'm not planning anything lol and if I do enter him I don't expect to win

I was thinking about hammy shows earlier and was wondering whether there would be any point at all in entering him into the main show?? What do they look for? like whether he is in proportion and stuff? I really have no idea He's from a breeder but he has massive ears :P What else?? Of course he needs to be tame and healthy, right? I'd say he's really tame, he just has to have a good sniff at you first then he's lovely..what else?

I wouldn't expect to win anything..maybe should for the experience really? If I'm stupid for even thinking about entering him please say before I make a fool of myself

I'd enter him into the 'non standard' bit wouldn't I? If i do enter him it wont be at Rotherham because I dunno, it's soo big and I'd be scared of him going missing or something hahah, plus I bet it's a bit late to be entering. I've just been looking at the site - Lymm is too far away but there's two Mapplewell shows coming up? Are they massive?

Oh and err..anything else I should know?

Gah this is way too long and I feel so dumb lol

Jane

[Holly]

Jane, you know that I'm no expert, but I say yes, yes, yes.

The first thing I thought when I saw Charlie is why isn't he in the main show? He's a beautiful colour and has lovely features.

He's even a proper "breeder hamster"....just remember that I entered Mocha into the main show at Brockholes - and he came third in his class and won the novice class...and him a mere pet shop hamster whose colour isn't even certain!!!

I worried a lot about him beforehand - how would he cope being in the show pen all day etc etc?? He coped wonderfully and slept for most of it.

Charlie is a dove (isn't he?) which is a non-standard colour. I think that means that he can only go in his main class and can't be entered into any duplicates (junior, novice etc)....I'm sure souffle or Pophammy will correcty me if I'm wrong.....but I would definitely go for it

[Jane]

Thanks Holly...well, I'm glad that my first reply wasn't someone laughing at me for the thought of doing it

Is it possible to enter the main class without being a member of the hamster club? I reaalllly want to join but my parents are a bit iffy, I'm gunna get them to pay for me at Christmas time-ish but is it possible to enter without being a member for a few shows? Also, what about those little cage things they go in? would I need to buy one of those?

Yep Charlie is a dove

I wanna do it lol but I dunno, I'm scared I'll mess up and it will all go horribly wrong XD or Charlie will go crazy and hate it and bite the judge haha.

[Holly]

I'm sure that won't happen - the judges get them out on a wire board anyway and I expect Charlie will be fine - Mocha had never been handled by anyopne but me and Will and he was ok.

I think you can enter the show without being a member - I seem to remember something about not being able to take trophies away if you aren't - but you really need PH or Souffle or some other experienced person to tell you that. I have hired our dwarf pen for the last few shows so I know you can do that (I found our Syrian one on ebay).

HTH - I'm sure someone better than me will be along shortly

[pophammy]

Yes, you could put Charlie in the main show, but only in the Non standard class. The judging is split into different sections and a certain amount of points are awarded for each section. Some of the sections are eyes and ears, type, fur, condition, size and colour. In Non standard no points are awarded for colour. It is judged out of 100, with different points for each. The maximum points for each section are as follows:
colour ~ 30
type ~ 25
fur ~ 20
size ~ 10
Condition ~ 10
Eyes & Ears ~ 5

So the maximum Charlie could get would be 70 points, because in non standard colour doesn't count. As you have to put him in non standard you can't put him in any duplicate classes like Junior or Novice.

The Mapplewell showws aren't really that big, probably about the same size as Brockholes.

I think you can enter without being a member, but you can't take home any trophies. You will need to hire a show pen for the day. I'm not sure how much this costs ~ souffle will be able to tell you (I think!).

Hope this helps !!!!

[souffle]

Yes you could enter him Jane. Hire pers cost £1 and entry is 25p for the class. You would have to be prepared to have him there by 10.30 am and you are unlikely to be able to take him off the bench till around 4.30pm just in case your family did not want to hang around that long. Once he is benched you cannot touch him, talk to him or take him out. The pens have a pen steward who takes care of the public who will constantly stream around the tent so he will be safe enough. You can eneter without being a member but you will not get any points towards the Harry Hamster awards or be able to take trophies. There is a section on showing on the Northern site that tells you what to do and also a schedule. The closing date is Sat 2nd Sept and you phone in entries and pay on the day. remember to book a show pen and take some shavings. the non-standard class does not usually have a big entry. If you dont want to enter you could take him for pets
http://www.northernhamsterclub.co.uk/

[Jane]

Yay replies :P

Thanks Holly, do you know where you can buy the pens except if they occasionally pop up on ebay?

Thanks pophammy so for those sections, how would he get marked? like, I mean, how can he get the points in them? I don't know how to explain :P like say for 'Eyes & Ears' what do his eyes and ears need to be like to get the points? Am I making sense? Think we might go to the mapplewell show then, don't wanna go to a massive one though.

souffle - thanks hmmm..now, how do I convince my dad to spend that long at a hamster show? he'll go crazy..XD Will have a look at the website too I don't think I'm entering him at Rotherham but might at Mapplewell..hmm..

[souffle]

You asked how Charlie would be marked Jane. Each section has a written standard and the judge will judge the hamster as to how well they think it fits the standard for a perfect hamster. A good judge is judging each hamster against the standard and not against each other but humans being humans have their own opinions and personal preferences. In the sections Charlie would be judged :
Type (25 points) : The body shall be broad and cobby. The head shall be large in proportion to the body with a broad skull, short face and blunt nose. The head shall be well set into the body, the profile showing a smooth curve from nose over head to nape of neck.
So from this you could assume a hamster with a long mousy shaped face would not score well.

Fur (20 points) : The fur shall be soft and very dense. Special attention shall be paid to the density of the belly fur. In longhaired hamsters the coat shall be as long and dense as possible, but allowance must be made for sex. ie males must have longer fur than females and the females shall not be penalised for having shorter fur. The length of the fur must be taken into account when judging all classes.

You can see then that a hammy with a bald tummy and patchy fur would lose out.

Size: (10points) The hamster shall be as large as possible, but not fat. Allowance shall be made for sex ie females are generally larger than males.

The judges can tell the differernce between a large hamster that is nice and large and one who is large but fat and flabby and mark accordingly. Youngsters lose out here as they are not fully grown.

Condition (10 points) The hamster shall be fit, curious when well awake and tame to handle. The flesh shall be firm with no surplus fat. The coat shall have a healthy sheen and the hamster will be quite clean.

Older hams can go down here as they are not so fit. A hammy who puts his ears up is always judged better than one with flat ears looking nervous.

Eyes and Ears (5 poins): the eyes shall be large, prominent and widely set. The ears shall be large. set well apart and carried erect and unfolded when the hamster is well awake.

The judge has to decide how well each hamster fits the description of the perfect hamster in each section and awards points accordigly. Even if they thought say Charlie's ears were a bit large and wideset he would only lose maybe a point for that. (that is just an example not a judgement) I have never seen anyone get a full 5 for eyes and ears.
Each of the standard colours then has its own colour standard which is judged according to that.

If your parents wanted to drop you off at Mapplewell then pick you up at the end I am quite happy to make sure you are fine and occupied. Perhaps you could save your pocket money to join? Or a Christmas present is not too long to wait! You get a standards booklet when you join.
As to the pens you can only get them from certain places and it is best to ask at a show and someone will either sell one second hand or get a new one brought up from the maker.

[Jane]

Thanks Souffle Very interesting..hopefully Charlie would do okay lol! but hey, even if not we've tried

Thanks for the offer too - I think I'm going to invite my cousin along with me if I do go to Mapplewell, she's never been to a show before and I know she would enjoy it (although her hammy is craaazy and would probably run away if she entered her into pets )

How much does it cost to join? *runs to google* ahh, £8.50 a year? That's not much at all, it's just convincing my parents I should

I was just thinking too, I've never paid attention to his ears when I get him out, will see how long it is before he unfolds them :P

I might enter him into pets at rotherham - what do you think? Then maybe (and that's a big maybe haha) the other bit at Mapplewell?

Is there a pet show at Rotherham? What time is it judged? What time should Charlie be there for? Do I need to join the club before I can enter him into pets because I've already entered him once without being a member or doesnt it matter? also is it the same for pet classes at all shows, I don't have to call them to enter him do I?

Anything else I should know?

[souffle]

Pet class is 50p to enter and entries are taken on the day. No need to phone in advance. Pet judging is at 2pm prompt so as long as he was there for 2pm that is fine. You can leave him in the tent if you do not want to carry him round the show. He should be in a secure cage or pet carrier and I think the pets are judged without the owners at this show. You do not need to be a member to enter pets You dont need to even be a member to enter main show but I think you would enjoy the monthly magazine which is included in membership