A Veritable "Bon" anza Day - Crufts 2020

This year the usual excitement surrounded the Bonaforte Party Day -or Crufts as it is known to everyone else. The Bonafortes like nothing more than a get-together and this year the Covid19 was not going to stop them. Armed with containers of hand sanitizers/ wipes and the usual dog paraphernalia an intrepid group of Bon owners and their dogs set off to take their place on the famous green carpet. Of course 1st and foremost it is a dog show, and once again our owners did the kennel proud.

The judge this year was Ian Sexton, and everyone said how gentle and he was with all the hounds.

In minor puppy, Julie Grimwood and Bonaforte's Valhalla came 1st!! Not only did Little Elliot give the judge and Julie a run for their money- but the Viking also has qualified for next year :).

In PGD Julie and Bonaforte's Meldrew or Baby A came 3rd in what was one of the strongest classes of the day-and Bonaforte's Oydessus came 4th, handled for Tracy and Phil by Karen. Both hounds powered around the big ring, and both did their owners proud.

In Limit Bonaforte's Justice, or Stan the Man, wasn't the judge's choice -but he was very popular ringside- even giving kisses to some spectators on the front rows while waiting to be judged; he is a real charmer and loves the ladies.

And finally Helen Bligh and Bonaforte's Enchanted at Ravenscrag. Ava 1st in GC and, no wonder, such grace and ease of movement. She is a bit of a favourite amongst us all, and she has the sweetest nature and the prettiest face with very expressive ears! She can still put up and give hard chase to quarry(mostly her collie companions at home)

Of course, would a Bonaforte day be complete without cake? Lots and lots of cake, and Carole Kelly, Amanda Brown, Tracy Appeyard and Julie Grimwood kept the crowds happy with arrays of delicious homemade cakes and a bit of fizz for the non-drivers.

The icing on the cake this year was an impromptu photo shoot with Clare Balding: She had come ringside to interview the BOB winner Chris Amoo and Julie Grimwood promptly nabbed her for some pics.

Everyone said how lovely and naturally friendly Clare was, and whilst interviewing Chris Amoo; Channel 4 asked for Wolfhounds to line up behind them so the public would see the breed on the television coverage. There on our screens that night, to our delight, was Julie, Tony and Helen with Ava, Little E and Baby A !!

It is always easy to focus on the positives, but we are very aware of the hard work money and effort that our owners put in to get their dogs qualified for Crufts. There are always the times when you aren't placed etc. What shines through from every show our owners attend is the support they give to one another and the friendships forged.

Then onto the bitches and in Junior Bivarddi Summer Dreams came 3rd in her class; Dave having had a major panic that they wouldn't arrive at Crufts 2020 in time, but they did, and she powered around the ring making it look easy. She is such a pretty girl.

For Hugh and I, as breeders, one of the best rewards, is our amazing and dedicated owners, whether you show or not, your support is fabulous and makes our breeding program even more worthwhile.

While we always take every care to place our puppies with the right people to see and be part of such a supportive network of people is a privilege. To see our hounds out and about being fabulous ambassadors for the breed gives us immense pride and satisfaction.

While Crufts is a happy party day for the Bonafortes; we genuinely believe that our owners and their Wolfhounds have earned their right to enjoy the kudos of showing at this prestigious event.

“We had our very first trip to Crufts as spectators 5 years ago , we went to see our Deerhound’s breeder and friend Nicola who had several of her hounds in the show . Nicola took us up to the hall where the Wolfhounds were showing and there we saw for the first time Wheaten coloured Wolfhounds. That was it , smitten ❤ Our beautiful Baby Arthur ‘Bonafortes Meldrew ‘ came into our lives in 2016 and he changed our lives forever , we’d never shown before but were persuaded by our friend Julie Williams to give it a go so took him to his first Championship Show. He qualified for Crufts in that first show and has taken part in 2018 , 2019 and 2020 gaining 3rd place in a very strong Post Graduate class , now following in his footsteps his brother Little Elliot ‘Bonafortes Valhalla ‘ also qualified in his very first show , taking part and gaining 1st place Minor Puppy in Crufts 2020 . Team Bonaforte, The Bons , what can I say , you really are so very special , the true friends who are always there for us , we share the laughter and the tears (and the cake and cocktails 😂) , looking forward to many more great times together xx Carla du Rose and Hugh Broadbent how can we ever thank you not only for all your support but for trusting us with your beautiful special hounds who have changed our lives in so many ways xx 💖”

— Julie Grimwood