Sandy to the Vet, Adrahan Show, Sunday 12th July

This morning, Sandy's paw was enormous. I rang the vet and he said he'd meet me at the surgery in Gort in half an hour. So off I went, while Jim took a rather crazy Buster for a long walk. He knew something was going on and it allowed me to deal with Sandy and get him into the cat basket and to the vet. He yowled most of the way of course. The vet was lovely and tried not to poke and prod too much. He thought it was probably caused by a 'trauma', a fall or some such as there didn't seem to be any puncture wounds suggesting a bit. He gave Sandy a strong painkiller via injection and some more for me to give him at home, but via a dropper into his mouth. It tastes good apparently - to cats. Just as I drove into our bit of land, Jim and Buster appeared. He's been walking all that time. Sandy soon settled down and we decided we would make the effort and go to the Adrahan Show.

The weather wasn't too bad, a bit windy with the odd shower. We were lucky as it only rained on us as we were leaving the show. It's very much an agricultural show with horse events, chickens, ducks and a big dog show. The judge at the dog show was the same one who'd been the judge for the Gort Show last year. The one who told me Buster is an English Foxhound.

We took Buster with us but he was a bit of a pain, pulling on the lead and wanting to chat to every dog and child there. We watched the 'cob' class until a champion was chosen. I captured the moment on camera and everyone clapped, it was great fun.
A proud owner holding his horse for judging by the two judges.
The Lady Judge all in her best outfit.
The Champion. He was so excited!

I remember these miniature ponies from last year, with a new foal of course. Can you see Buster in the background?
The foal decided it was time for a drink.
There were a few sheep there too. Bottoms Up!

Jim was cold and Buster was being a nuisance so Jim took him back to the car, Buster soon settled down as he was tired from his long walk earlier. When he came back, we partook of the mobile chippy's wares and sat and enjoyed some refreshments - and a much needed coffee for me. We watched the Hunter class after that. I love those big horses but it's a long procedure. There are two judges, one male, one female, and each has to ride every horse. The lady was very large but knew what she was doing with those magnificent horses.
I loved the wonderful coat of this horse and doesn't the rider look so Irish?

This is the marvellous lady judge. She just loved the job and smiled as she rode those superb
hunters.A rather bored looking Buster with Jim.

I knew that the hunter class would go on at least another hour and I was getting a bit cold. We decided to call it a day and walked through the show towards the car. At the dog show, the judge was about to choose his 'best of show', so we stood and watched. One of the committee from the Gort Show, Pat, has a Collie dog and he was in the line up. I love the way the dog judges walk round and tease the owners by walking over to them, then walking away again! It's all a real act. This chap was so good at it.
You can hardly see his little dog, so I enlarged it:
How cute is that?
Pat's dog was the reserve champion. Look at that judge's body language as he strode towards Pat! Marvellous stuff.

The heavens opened just then but I managed one more shot of this magnificent bird of prey:
So it's Monday again and I'm hoping for progress by the builders. Maybe the plumber will come. I hope the sun shone on your weekend.