Sounds like you had a great time!
You may well have and take home the 'best' dog, but that will not equate to success.
Yes, this is a useful thing to understand for any of us interested in showing or thinking about it, so as not to take the judgments in the ring as a criticism of one's 'best' dog at home, as we all know ours are! :lol: But the flip side is also true: simply because we think we have a lovely dog doesn't mean s/he is top show quality, and not to take this personally. There is often a huge difference between what we see as beautiful and what judges and the show community thinks as the best examples of the breed standard across conformation and personality in the ring.
One thing that generally is very useful for anyone wishing to show is to have one's own dog critically analysed, good and bad, by a very experienced show person or judge privately (if you get involved with the club, this should be easy to do with a friendly, experienced member). Also to find a good show mentor, someone who will sit with you at ringside and explain the positives and negatives of the dogs on show and work with you on all aspects of understanding the breed and showing.
While I think each of my cavaliers is beautiful, only one is really 'beautiful' in appearance in what would be desireable in terms of conformation, and that is Lucy, who is a retired show breeding bitch. She was never really shown for a few reasons but was retained in the breeding programme for her many good qualities in health, conformation and personality terms, and has produced solid show dogs.
When I got my first cavalier, Jaspar, like many new cavalier owners I was sure he must be 'show quality' not least as he had his IKC registration (little did I realise how little this means, though I think it is an important starting point when looking for a good breeder that they have recognised national registration, not the 'other' registries); But of course he isn't at all :lol:; he's a lovely pet quality dog (but the 'most beautiful' of all mine, in my own eyes, as he is just that little bit extra special to me).
Over time I have learned to look at him and see what wouldn't be right for the show ring (only an OK head, thin longish legs, not enough 'bone', gay tail etc)... but he is my idea of a perfect dog in personality, looks and health -- a very healthy dog, heart clear at nearly 6, MRI'd clear of SM twice (at 1 and again at 5.5), fit and very intelligent and intuitive (he does better than many collies at agility! :lol
. He is my once-in-a-lifetime dog where we have that special connection, and ribbons, trophies and prizes mean nothing compared to that.
But for showing, a person needs to at times be able to separate heart and head and use a cold analytical eye to learn and do well. The same is really true for any area of endeavour of course!