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When Gene
Johnson and Karen Austin jokingly suggested that Barrie and
I brought Typhast Raindancer and Typhast Rainspots to America
personally, we laughed.
We had
tentatively negotiated with them that they run on the boys
at stud in the USA, as the outlets for studs in England were
still limited. The gene pool is too small to support many
males and they looked too nice to neuter. However, in the
negotiations we had certainly not envisaged the grandiose
ideas they had in store for us! We had hardly said 'what a
lovely thought' when they had not only arranged accommodation,
but had also faxed all the necessary forms etc for the boys
to be entered in the Bengal Congress.
I was
just getting ready to say that there was no way I could spare
four days away from the cats, especially as I had two litters
due, when Barrie informed me that he had had to book the tickets
for a period of seven days, otherwise we couldn't afford to
go, as there were no cheap offers for less than a week's stay!
Once again,
I was ready to forego the cost of the ticket so as to not
leave my babies, when the next fax from America said that
permission had been obtained for me to attend in the judging
rings to observeTICA judging. That bribe I could not resist,
so we arranged for trusted midwives with veterinary back up,
and packed.
When we
got to Heathrow Airport, the security was strict and we were
asked to take the cats out of their baskets while the carriers
went throught the scanners. We were to carry them around the
machines and return them to their baskets on the other side.
It was a particularly busy time and the area was very crowded.
As Bengal owners, you all will know how a Bengal would react
to the situation... You've got it – 'Hello everybody!
Here we are!' at the top of their voices! If someone had announced
that the President wore pink knickers you couldn't have had
a better reaction! A stunned, amazed silence, which
is quite an achievement in a busy airport! Perhaps in America,
where people fly their cats all over the place, no notice
would have been taken, but they don't get too many Bengals
at Heathrow, so the boys left England in a blaze of noisy
glory.
After
an uneverntful flight, we collected them with our baggage.
We might as well have just taken them down the garden for
all the fuss they made. A few purrs, a couple of quick washes,
and all was right with the world – they were certainly
not impressed with 'jet-setting'.
New York
in the rush hour was something again – especially as
I'm a lousy map-reader. It wouldn't have been so bad if the
car-hire company had given us a complete map, and I could
have seen where we were going, but the small section available
could have been in the middle of the Sahara Desert as far
as I was concerned! So we saw New York. Anything that led
out of the concrete jungle wasn't mentioned on my map, so
we did a concentrated tour in a circle until I realised there
was a flip side to the map, with a larger area detailed on
the back. We then escaped and headed (I think) north!
Needless
to say, we were somewhat late arriving at the hotel in West
Springfield. The boys hadn't made a murmur the whole way,
which was more than could be said for Barrie, who was beginning
to think that we might end up 'doing America' in one day!
When we
had signed in and taken our luggage to our room, we put Dancer
and Spots in the bathroom with food and a litter tray, and
now extremely hungry, went in search of food. On our return,
we checked the lads to find they had made themselves at home.
All the hotel towels haad been relegated to the floor, the
toilet rolls, including the spare one, had been shredded and
placed on top, and the boys were dead to the world, curled
up in each other's arms on top of the pile – obviously
they liked hotel life!
The following
day, we saw the local shopping mart, and waited for our friends,
Gordon and Gene Johnson, to arrive. In the evening, we attended
a fascinating talk on genetics by the TICA judge and geneticist,
Dr Solveig Pflueger This was a real marathon on her part,
as it went on for over three hours, but for us it was over
far too soon, as her knowledge and observations were invaluable.
Saturday
was the start of 'The Show'. We had never attended an American
Cat Show and at first, found it totally confusing, as the
concept is quite different from the English way – where
the emphasis is on total anonymity. It was hard to get used
to exhibitors handling their own exhibits and the judges talking
to the floor (not literally!). However, we came prepared to
learn, and after a few mistakes we were up with the rest,
rushing backwards and forwards to the various ringswith the
two boys. Sadly, we didn't realise about the points system
until the second day – but Rome wasn't built in a day!
When Karen
Austin asked if I would like to sit in with the judging, I
really appreciated the opportunity of learning about breeds
I had up to then seen only in books, and certainly never handled
at shows in England. I was most impressed by the showmanship
and expertise of the TICA judges, and their generosity in
allowing me to join them, for which I thank them very much.
It was certainly one of the highlights of my trip.
Another
highlight was the amazing lengths they went to in order to
provide us with spectacular weather. It was billed as 'the
storm of the century', and kept us in the hotel an extra two
days! However, the time was well spent, with Judges' Seminars
and in-depth talks with Bengal breeders. A wealth of experience
that we much appreciated.
On the
second day of the show, the boys were in the Bengal Congress.
Typhast Raindancer was the Best Adult Bengal, and Mrs Mills'
beautiful little girl was Best Kitten. The most amazed of
all the exhibitors were us – we had brought them over
to compete, not to win!
We had
by now been able to put faces to the names of various breeders
we had heard of since becoming involved with Bengals. Suddenly,
they were friends and they were congratulating us. Thank you
all so much for making us so welcome. The trip had been more
than worthwhile – the fact that Raindancer won was lovely,
but more important was that we realised that we had a common
bond that a few thousand miles of water couldn't separate
– we all loved Bengals!
Rosie
Alger-Street
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