leu garden show

[luke frisbee]

well I saw some good small koi today...I'd like to know which ones won...anybody got some pics?

[TategoiKohaku]

David and Keren won the GC with their 18'' Kohaku. I don't have the pics. Mike or HenryC will post the pics later.

[luke frisbee]

very nice of you....That was one of the "quality' fish. I saw a dozen that were better than what I got...good thing I didn't drag 'em up there.

[TategoiKohaku]

Quote: Originally Posted by luke frisbee very nice of you....That was one of the "quality' fish. I saw a dozen that were better than what I got...good thing I didn't drag 'em up there.

It's fun to show. I used to think like that before. I didn't want to show any "non-show quality" fish and afraid of losing. I've changed my attitude completely. I'll show my fish anyway and enjoy the show. I really enjoyed our show today. It was fun and relaxing.

[kgt1223]

This one by LeeB won best in Variety in sanke under 12". Should look familiar to ya.


She also won best variety in shiro bekko and and second in variety hikari and third place in showa undr 12".

[HenryC]

I'll post some shots tomorrow. I'm beat and going to bed.

Congratulations to David and Karen Hardcastle on taking Grand Champion with a Maruyama Kohaku. It is one of the Maruyama Kohaku that the ZNA Southern Koi Association got from Ray Abell for our 2005/2006 grow out contest. In David and Karen's care, the Kohaku has already grown from 7" in March to a little over 17" today.

Also congrats to John Sprinkle for taking Reserve Champion with a Torazo Sanke. Not surprising, another from Ray Abell for the same grow out contest.

Henry

[HenryC]

Yesterday’s Orlando Young Koi Show at Leu Gardens reminded us what makes us love this hobby so much, the combination of beautiful Koi and great friends. I would like to personally thank Mike McMahon, Show Chair and Merle DeLand, Club President for envisioning this show and for securing this gorgeous show site. So many times we concentrate of the large shows, but this show brought back my love of the small show experience. No vendors, no raffles, just Koi. We had 3 first time entrants and I believe we now have 3 more Koi show addicts. The Orlando club had always concentrated on the extensive planning required to pull off the large March show, Central FL Koi Show and previously the All FL Koi Show. This show was a pure pleasure to hold. I’m sure the club will continue to hold this show each fall, but resist the temptation to grow the show larger.



Even with the smaller size of this show, it provided an excellent mix of great examples of all the varieties. You would think a small show is easy to judge. Not in this case. It provided a real work out for the judge, Joe White. For the top size, Joe had to decide between 8 top quality Kohakus. It required inspecting each very carefully. Several other varieties required breaking down each aspect of the Koi in order to rank them.



Now down to a few shots:



Photo 1&2: never have I been to a show with a more gorgeous back drop. Entrants and visitors could take in the Koi and the extensive gardens.

Photo 3: Grand Champion Maruyama Kohaku owned by David and Karen Hardcastle.

Photo 4: Reserve Champion Torazo Sanke owned by John Sprinkle

[HenryC]

And a little blue for Dick. This was an excellent example of a young Asagi. Even though this was the only Asagi in its size, Joe requested it be bowled up so he could actually take the time to appreciate it and talk to the crowd about it (something else you don’t have time to do when you have 300 Koi to judge). This Asagi provided great teaching opportunity. For its age, it had just what you want to look for in a young Asagi. The beni is starting to develop from the belly up and was very even from front to back. The blue is not yet overpowering and has a few more years before providing that sharp reticulation we look for, but all the scales are lined up and sized perfectly. Each scale also had a very interesting white almost ginrin accent on the trailing edge that will really make them stand out as blue develops. The head was perfectly clean, which is rare for Florida. Is this an expensive Japanese import? Not a chance. Marty bought this Asagi from Joe Pawlak (Blackwater Creek) at 4” for a mere $20 back at the Central FL show last March. If Joe can keep that up, Orlando will be the place to come to get your Asagi.

[Lee B]

I was one of the "first timers"; I've never done fish from home before. And yeh, I'll be back . A "young show" is a good way to get your feet wet (literally, as well as figuratively!). The fish are small enough to be handled without too much fear; males compete better at this age; and many times, by the time a fish gets to 20 inches or more, they're no longer as good as they were when they were younger (that beautiful kohaku develops shimis and becomes a worthless sanke wannabe), or are showing "dings" from pond accidents.

It was a great experience in a lovely setting. As Henry said, no vendors, no pressure, just a bunch of fish freaks comparing notes and gossip, having a good ol' time. And aside from sheer size, the quality of these younger fish was just as spectacular as the major shows. Like, *really* good - these are the future champions!

I had FUN. I'll be back. It was a *great* show!

[aquitori]

The Gosanke posted have a bright future ahead of them and I would be happy to see how these fish look in a year or 2...Congrats to the winners...