In my experience, there are two main roles that is fulfilled by a head judge at Koi shows: first is to facilitate the method as to how the Koi are going to be judged and second is to act as a “tie-breaker” or a final decision maker when there are differing opinions between the judges.…
Congratulations are in order for Michael Chang, Bob and Rhonda Mucerino, and Koi Acres! 🙂 Grand Champion Owned by: Michael Chang Supplied by: Koi Acres Breeder: Marudo Koi Farm Nourished exclusively with TOMiGAi Koi Food. Reserve Grand Champion Owned by: Bob and Rhonda Mucerino Supplied by: Koi Acres Breeder : Sakai Fish Farms (Hiroshima, Japan) Nourished exclusively with TOMiGAi…
In order to keep procrastination from creeping up on me, I decided blog about the show while at the show! 😉 Guess who came to the show this morning? Head Judge Michael Hernandez!! Papa looking so dapper and at his best! 🙂 We were so thrilled and honored by Bryan Bateman’s invitation when he…
“He who knows does not care to speak about it; he who speaks about it does not know it.” –Proverb taken from Nishikigoi Mondo as quoted by Shuji Fujita, Editor in Chief of Rinko Magazine I have had the great privilege of growing up in an industry I now call my own, and my whole life has…
Happy Sunday everyone! Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota and it looks like it’s here to stay (yes, I realize that I might be counting my chickens before they hatch once again). The warming weather is quite the welcome respite from this year’s long and hard winter and I for one am so pleased to…
This is the event that my entire year revolves around; and I’ve delayed writing about it because, quite honestly, it is hardest to write about the things closest to the heart. But I feel I’ve delayed too long now – there is much to share about the event and even more people to thank for…
I was late in the afternoon when Devin departed with Marudo to return back to Niigata. After I said my goodbye’s to Devin and Marudo, I wandered into the Tani Fish Farm office where I ran into a few people who had themselves been long time customers of Kenji. Among them was a couple from…
It was forecasted to rain, but for the entire day this was all we saw: Perfectly blue skies and Sakura trees in full bloom! When we arrived, several of the breeders were already there busy releasing the Koi that was put aside for auction the previous day. Each of the breeders got their own vats…
Spring in Japan is a magical and difficult time. How can you resist the beauty of the Sakura trees blooming at every corner? But while the Sakura trees bloom, an equal amount of pollen from Cedar Trees is released into the air. Pretty much for the entire trip I was suffering from chronic sneezes and…
I am so excited for this! Grow Out Contests are always so much fun because it really challenges one’s skill in all aspects of Koi Keeping – selecting, raising, maintaining and conditioning. Best of all? The payoff is immediate. The success of last year’s Grow Out Contest in Manila was so much so that we…