A Day With The Champions

"Americas Most Distinguished Dog Show", The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second oldest continuous sporting event in the country, after the Kentucky Derby. This year was the 126th Westminster show. It was the 19th year that USA Network broadcast the show. We first started watching it about 7 or 8 years ago and since then it´s an annual TV event we never miss.

Westminster is a show of champions, limited to dogs who have already earned their AKC champion of record title. It´s a 2 day event. The show opens on a Monday morning with more than 2,500 dogs from 159 AKC breeds. (The Polish Lowland Sheepdog, new this year, is the 159th breed to be recognized by the AKC) . Each breed belongs to 1 of 7 groups. Dogs of the same breed compete for "Best of Breed". These events, which are not televised, take place during the morning and afternoon on Monday & Tuesday. Later,159 Best of Breed winners compete with other winners in their group for Best of Group. These events are broadcast live on USA Network. Group judging for Working Dogs, Terriers, Toy and Non-Sporting Dogs is on Monday evening. Group judging for Sporting Dogs, Hounds, and Herding Dogs, followed by the 7 group winners in Best of Show competition on Tuesday evening.

Many years ago, when we sent away for AKC registration papers for the first time, we ordered "The Complete Dog Book",* the AKC´s official publication. It was fascinating to see examples of and read about all the different breeds. Watching the Westminster shows on TV made it possible to see living examples of all those rare breeds that you just never see anywhere. Even among some of the popular breeds, we see dogs with uncommon varieties of coats and color combinations.

madiaon square garden Last month, after so many years of watching on TV, my husband and I went to New York City´s Madison Square Garden to see the Tuesday events at The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in person. Here´s my review of a day at Westminster along with some trivia about this famous dog show.

As expected, anyone entering the building had to go through a security screening. It was thorough....guards ran handheld scanners up, down, and around everyone and examined every purse, briefcase, knapsack or package, but there was an ample number of guards who handled the process very efficiently. Lines there remained short without a traffic jam.

An official program book is a must have to find out who is being judged in what ring, at what time. Between the entrance to the building and the show area, there are many opportunities to buy one along the way. Crowds do begin to form closer to the the arena doors, as everyone arrives in time for the first scheduled judging of the day. Tickets must be shown to enter the arena, but seat numbers on the tickets are for nighttime events only.

"http://homecookhost.homestead.com/files/images3/englishspringers.jpg" height=81 width=250 alt="english springers" hspace=12> The arena floor is divided into 8 show rings. Between the rings, the aisles are packed with people. As a spectator you may stay on the floor for ringside views of all the best of breed events all day long. Since it was nearly impossible to move around from ring to ring, we somehow managed to find our way off the floor, and over to stairs going up to the seating areas. We found good seats near the judging of the breed we wanted to see and it was much easier to move around up there. salukis Down on the arena floor, dogs from the next group to be judged in a ring waited patiently with their handlers. Quick last minute primping and grooming touch-ups sometimes go on until the last second. Handlers carry bits of dried liver and other irresistible treats to keep their dogs attention and as a reward for standing still and performing as expected. Inside the ring, the dogs trot around the ring or back and forth as the judge observes each one´s general appearance, body structure and movement. The dogs are judged by how they conform to the breed standards. Loud cheering and applause breaks out from ring to ring throughout the day. Many of the winning dogs are as happy and excited as their owners and handlers. They literally jump for joy and yap with delight. Some even jumped up and hugged their handlers.

We moved over to the section near the ring that the Weimaraners were scheduled to be shown in about a half hour ahead of time to make sure we´d get the best seats possible. The sight of 25 gorgeous Weimaraner champions gliding around a show ring is just incredible. Seeing them was the highlight of the whole show for me!

pbgv & spinone Near the end of the Weimaraner judging another group of incredibly beautiful dogs began lining up to enter that ring. This was only the second year "Spinone Italianos" were recognized by the AKC and shown at Westminster. They have beautiful wavy coats in soft muted light brown and white or pale orange and white. They have a slightly shaggy dog look with sweet faces and gentle expressions. They´re also said to be excellent hunting dogs.

The Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen, the PVGV, was a breed I had to see. These adorable, happy little dogs are even cuter in person.

benches Westminster is one of only a few "benched shows". This simply means that all dogs entered in the competition are "benched" throughout the show. Rows of wide wooden benches with removable partitions fill much of the area surrounding the arena. Each dog has a bench number. The benches are filled with all shapes and sizes of pet crates and carriers, pet care items, stuffed animals, etc. borzoi Some are lined with blankets for uncaged contestants to nap. Many of the exhibitors display signs with their kennel logos, pictures of their dogs, ribbons and awards, flags and banners. Except for their time in the show ring and breaks for exercise, pottying, or serious grooming, the dogs stay on their benches until it´s time for them to be judged. The pottys are large chain link kennels with thick layers of wood chips on the floors. We were amused by the sight of dogs standing in line waiting patiently for their turn to relieve themselves.

grooming

Nearby in the grooming area, towels, brushes, clippers, blow dryers and other essentials surround tables where dogs of all shapes and sizes are being groomed. When grooming is complete, the challenge is to keep that look until showtime. Just before the basset hound judging, all the bassets were wearing large scrunchies around their heads to cover their clean ears and keep them from dragging on the floor.

The vendors area surrounds the benching area. Dog food companies gave free samples of dog food and dog treats. Pedigree must have given away thousands of free shopping bags! Nearly everyone walking around was carrying a bright yellow pedigree shopping bag. Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Alpo and Mighty Dog were also handing out shopping bags too, but it looked like no one missed out on getting a Pedigree bag. The AKC booth offered pamphlets and brochures on responsible dog ownership, breeding, showing and more. They were also promoting "DOGNY" an effort to raise funds for America´s Search & Rescue Dog Organizations.

sweater sale Other merchants sold grooming supplies, vitamins, toys, dishes, collars and leashes for dogs. For dog lovers, there was clothing ...t-shirts, sweatshirts, caps, neckties, scarves, jackets. Plus... books, a wide array of plates and other collectables, pillows and beautiful jewelry. Most of the popular dog magazines had booths there. Some of them had stacks of back issues for sale at $10 a copy...for Collie owners who missed the issue with a Collie on the cover, or Dalmation owners who missed the issue with a Dalmation on the cover, for example.

For most of the day, the aisles between the rows of dogs and the surrounding vendor area was extremely crowded, sometimes shoulder to shoulder. To thousands of dog lovers, the opportunity to see all those wonderful animals up close, talk to them, and ask questions about them was a unique experience, well worth the wait.

On Tuesday night excitement fills the arena for the main event, the televised part of the show. The judges and many of the handlers and owners are dressed in formal attire. The individual rings are gone, and the arena has been transformed. Everyone is in their seats for the night time show. Three groups will be judged. Best Hound, Best Herding Dog and Best Sporting Dog will be chosen from the dogs who won Best of Breed titles earlier in the day. They will then compete with Monday´s winners from Terrier, Toy, Working and Non-Sporting Dog groups. The crowd roars as the top seven dogs prance into the ring for the Best In Show competition - an Affenpinscher, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a Brittany Spaniel, a Standard Schnauzer, a Kerry Blue Terrier, and a Miniature Poodle.

One of the best things about the whole experience was Ch Surrey Spice Girl winning best of show. Not because she was my favorite...although she´s a great little poodle. Every year the announcers talk about who is expected to take top honors. There´s a "buzz" around the show about a dog who is favored to win Best of Show and that´s often the one who does win. This year the overwhelming favorite, the one to watch was the Kerry Blue Terrier. This year it was more than a buzz. In pre-show columns, canine news writers predicted his win. Shortly after we arrived I asked a friendly security guard a question about our seat numbers. She answered my question, then added, "How´bout that Kerry Blue." We heard it again and again throughout the day. The poodle's win was a great surprise. In my amateur opinion, that´s the way it should be. It makes future shows more exciting.

Our day at Westminster was everything I thought it would be and more. The dogs are true champions in the arena, but it was nice to see that backstage, most of them, just like our dogs at home, are someone´s lovable pets. They´re snuggled up to their people, snuggled up to their stuffed animals, and a mound of hair is 2 salukis napping, snuggled together, using each other as a pillow.

The proud owners, breeders, and handlers are true champions too. These people spend much of their lives traveling from show to show. The dogs look glamorous because they´ve been groomed to perfection by experts who had to learn the art. They are stars in the show ring because someone devoted hours to training them. We can enjoy the great variety of breeds and admire all the beautiful examples of each one thanks to the dedication of generations of educated breeders.