SLOVAK BRONZE

I love Slovakia in all its aspects, from the captivating beauty of its mountains to its proud and healthily self-confident inhabitants, and I am always happy to return there.

Every success achieved in Slovakia at meticulously organized canine rescue events is all the more gratifying. From May 17–19, 2024, the 7th edition of the Cassovia Cup was held in Košice, organized under the auspices of IRO and FCI as the Slovak Championship in all IPOR categories. The historic name Cassovia has its roots in the Latin name for Košice. This year's edition was flawless. Although every event is always the work of the entire team, special mention must be made of Mirka Smrčová, who had every detail under absolute control. We can only repeatedly thank her and commend her dedication of such caliber. The championship, as is customary abroad, was open to participants from around the world, attracting 61 competitors from virtually all over Europe. Their performances were judged by international judges Gerald Odložilík (rubble), Hanes Hiltpold (areas), and Jaroslav Sedlák (tracks, mantrailing). Although I unfortunately had no contact with the sole Czech representative and, of course, K9 Rescue CZ, Ing. Petr Prokeš and his Border Collie Lex throughout the three days of the event, the final results announcement came as a pleasant surprise. In the FL B category, with a performance of 251 points, he secured third place, and the bronze cup thus symbolically heads to South Bohemia's Londonka. After last year's first start at the B level at the Czech Championship, where he achieved comparable points in the special phase but, due to substandard obedience, did not make it into the rated standings, the Slovak bronze is a fantastic satisfaction for the handler. Also, for the sending organization K9 Rescue CZ, after last year's 2nd place by the Australian Shepherd Exe in RH TB (handler J. Sedlák) at the aforementioned Czech Championship, this is a great testament to the training level within the organization. His last year's winner, Tereza Literová with Fiona from Hückel's Villa, has already continued this year by winning a bronze medal at the Belgian Shepherd Championship in Italy and deserves not only huge congratulations but also high recognition of the training level within the Sirius organization.

Another remarkable individual worthy of admiration in Košice was Lucia Frísová with Alba Gardenia verus, who competed in two categories, placing 2nd in rubble and confidently winning in the area category. She became the Slovak Rescue Champion and, with her excellent performance, also received the highest performance award, the CACIT. Although I once judged her first trial with this bitch, we did not meet at all during this event. It is a consolation to me that she is a regular visitor to Londonka, so it can be said without exaggeration that her performance level has somewhat been shaped by Londonka.

The bronze cup for Petr Prokeš with his eleven-year-old Border Collie Lex is also the only reward for trainer Hedvika, who set his preparation for RH FL B as her personal training goal for the year last year. The silver of the Australian Exe from the Czech Championship 2023 and Lex's bronze from the Slovak Championship 2024 are thus the very first tangible successes of the new era of K9 Rescue CZ, which still has many tasks ahead, most of which are primarily of a practical nature. The Londonka facility currently requires not only a huge amount of effort in maintenance but also an immense number of working hours in preparing the facility for the World Championship, which is to be held here in 2025. So, as the Americans say: God help us...