First Westminster, then Eukanuba. Shows that we all hoped we might be invited
to someday. Then when we got that
invitation in the mail...IT WAS SPECIAL!
We called our friends, we made plans.
It meant something to be invited to those shows. For Westminster, you had to be in the Top 5
of your breed and Eukanuba was the Top 25, then the Bred By Champions, then the
Puppy Champions, then the Grand Champions, etc.
As Eukanuba qualification became easier, more people were
still trying to qualify for it. For the
125th Anniversary of the American Kennel Club, it was turned into a 'regular'
all-breed show. You didn't have to
qualify. OK, we got it, a special year,
let's make an exception. Then when we
found out that all of the international exhibitors had portions, if not all, of
their expenses covered by the AKC, that was upsetting. Now, there will be the international
exhibitors to deal with and THE
AKC/EUKANUBA CLASSIC WILL BE A REGULAR ALL-BREED DOG SHOW. Mike Canalizo said it was because 'people'
wanted it. NOT ANY PEOPLE THAT I HAVE
TALKED TO. Sounds like AKC thinks they
will make more money. It totally demeans all of the work that
those of us have done over the years to qualify. I, for one, will not be going out of my way
to go to Eukanuba as long as it is a regular show. What's the point in spending all of that
money to travel across the country for an all-breed show, that is filled with
excess restrictions and has people in charge that are a royal PIA. That was the majority opinion at the dog show
this weekend. http://classic.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=4633
Those of us that have dogs that have 'qualified' have
received our special acknowledgements. A
link to a certificate in which we type our dog's name and print it out. Yay.
Be still my heart!
At the Joplin show I heard another upsetting, and very
disappointing, fact: You don't have to
be a Champion to enter Westminster! Yep,
you heard it right. THE WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW IS NO LONGER AN ALL-CHAMPION SHOW. You just have to have a 3 point major or
better to enter. It will not be at the
Garden, which is probably a good thing, since that was a disaster waiting to
happen. This year WKC will be held out
at Pier 92/94. Evening groups will still
be held at Madison Square Garden. With
the new venue, they have increased the entry limit to 3,200. They could have increased the entry limit and
still kept it an all champion show, still kept it special. Maybe invite the Top 10 of each breed instead
of just the Top 5. Still make us want to
spend thousands of dollars just to attend that one big show. That invitation makes people want to
attend. With Eukanuba in December, then
Christmas, then Westminster, New York was always an expensive trip at a time
when many people couldn't afford it. Now
I won't feel guilty for not going. What
is the incentive now? Many people in the
country that watch Westminster on TV won't know the difference, and the bottom
line is what this is all coming down to, not the exhibitors or the prestige
associated with the only All-Champion Show in the World. Honestly, it doesn't do anything for me now,
except make me sad.
I will always be proud of the awards that we won at both of
these shows, but I don't feel the same desire to push ourselves to qualify for
either one anymore, and come hell or high water make sure that we attend, no
matter the breed judge. Now it's just
another show. Let's just see where our
stats end up and enter if we like the judge and if the weather is good.
It
is the end of an era.
