AM MEX CH ELMFIELD'S APPLAUSE, UD, CGC, TDI

“BRAVO”

We purchased Bravo from Katie Carter in 1985. He was our first Samoyed and he immediately won our hearts. I’d had dogs (German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies and a Labrador Retriever, among others) since 1967 but only for obedience, sled dog racing and a little tracking. My goals for Bravo were to train and show him to the then highest dog obedience title AKC offered, the coveted Utility Dog title. I was not very experienced in the conformation ring. As we worked our way through the obedience titles and spent time training classes for Bakersfield Obedience Training Club in California, we met a delightful young junior handler, Jennifer Robert and her parents. Through Jennifer, I learned how to handle Bravo in the breed ring and eventually earned his AKC and Mexican championships. Believe me, there are a ton of stories that go with the years of travel, showing, meeting lots of great people. Bravo was a clown and he often revealed that in the obedience ring. He never did anything that upset me but he did like to make everyone laugh. Occasionally, that meant he failed the actual obedience test but would win the hearts of many spectators, making them laugh at his antics. On the flip side, he was a serious obedience dog who loved to please me so we did have our share of the spotlight with some very nice scores. When he completed his Utility Dog title at the Reno show in the fall of 1994, he had quite a cheering section! He earned the Top Obedience Dog award from the Samoyed Club of America in 1994.