DENVER COUNTY FAIR:
Former college football player flies 2 million miles to judge cat shows.
P The rince Nikolai was somewhat of a celebrity at the Denver County Fair’s pedigreed and household pet cat show, and he knew it. massive Siberian kitty sprawled out along a chair while his owner, Kelly Condi, gave him a luxurious brushing in front of his adoring fans.
Condi is a self-professed “crazy cat lady” who exhibited the tell-tale signs. Her T-shirt, bearing the pun “catpuccino,” was coated in Prince Nikolai’s thick orange and white fur. Condi is also a veteran in the cat show circuit, and 3-year-old Prince Nikolai’s résumé includes a regional supreme grand championship.
“He’s won all the awards,” said Condi, who lives in Aurora.
Someone familiar with pet shows might envision cats being paraded around on leashes in a ring like the dog competitions broadcast on television, but that’s not how things work in the world of cat showing.
An upstairs room at the fair’s National Western Complex was set up with rows of long tables topped with huge carriers where the pageant cats lounged. These aren’t the kinds of carriers one would see on veterinarian office floors. They came in all kinds of patterns — leopard print, Lion King, personalized logos — and were often made out of a tentlike material. Many had multiple stories or hammocks where sleeping kitties got their beauty rest between judging.
When their category was up, the cats would be carried out onto a scratching post-lined viewing table, where they’d meet a judge, such as Harley Devilbiss.
After playing football in college, Devilbiss became a judge at cat shows somewhere along the way. The trade runs in the family — Devilbiss’ mom started judging in 1999 and soon became the president of The International Cat Association, which put on the Denver County Fair’s show.
Devilbiss has judged more than 60,000 cats in his 15-year career and has flown almost 2 million miles around the world to judge, when he can get away from his “regular” job as a tax analyst at the IRS.
“I figured I like traveling all over the world for free, so why not?” Devilbiss said.
Devibliss was a softie, speaking baby talk to the kittens and dangling a ribbon in front of their pink-nosed faces as he inspected their tails, coloring, ears, build and more.
Prince Nikolai’s Condi has been showing cats for about six years with no end in sight.
“The best part is hanging out with your cats,” Condi said. “And meeting all the other crazy cat ladies.” The hobby doesn’t come cheap. Elyse Ramsey of Parker just bought an $80 plane ticket for her and a $175 plane ticket for her Scottish Fold cat named Cartier to travel to an upcoming Alabama cat show.
Ramsey held Cartier after his judging Saturday, planting kisses on his furry head.
“It’s just kind of what we do,” Ramsey said. “It’s a passion.”
The fair continues Sunday at the National Western Complex with the standard carnival rides and retail booths along with a Guinness World Record attempt for the largest goat yoga session, a stinky feet contest, a spelling bee and more.