Looking Back With Lee
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Westminster or Bust!
By Lee Canalizo
I spent almost two full days and nights doing what any God Fearing Good Dog Show Enthusiast would have done this past week. Watching Westminster! While I didn’t download the WKC App or choose to watch from my IPhone…I did go from my IPad to the IMac and then on to the big screen TV, in that order, from 8:30 am Monday until 11:00 pm Tuesday with just enough breaks to eat and visit the closest bathroom so as not to miss much of the action. By the way, I am soooo glad I own stock in Apple! Just in case you’re not up on all this high tech stuff like I am (NOT!)…Apple brings all those “I” things to the marketplace…and it seems the entire world buys them!
Sure, I have a long history with that venerable Westminster Kennel Club. I lived most of my life within 30 miles of New York City. I drove when exhibiting at the Garden and rode the Long Island Rail Road when no dogs were involved. There was always some level of excitement surrounding those yearly pilgrimages to the “Mecca of Dog Shows”. For many years, my breed (the Afghan Hound) held their National Specialty at the Hotel Pennsylvania, then called the Statler Hilton. I think it was a Ramada for a short time, and now it’s simply the Hotel Pennsylvania. The structure may have had a few name variations but the phone number has remained the same for a century: Pennsylvania 6-5000… Just like the lyrics in the song of the same name!
There were years with a massive snow event of one kind or another…but that never stopped us. Our car was towed once; a few kids were lost at one time or another, and we managed to win our share both at the National and the Garden. Between those two major gatherings it was the week to scout out future dogs to incorporate into the line, and I expect that is still done today to some degree. The Afghan Hound still has a strong presence during the weekend with a few local specialties filling the void when the National became a roving event (never having returned to New York on this date or another). It’s hard to imagine that the breed once hosted over 300 entries at the NY show. It was not uncommon for Westminster to have an entry close to 100.
While the numbers may have dwindled, the panache of the show has not and some memorable moments are made every year. I have come full circle with Westminster. I was first a spectator, then an exhibitor, and on many occasions a judge. Now I’m back to being a spectator. The show still has the allure of the past, and the respect and pride I hold for the tradition each February has never waned over the years.
I have to admit it stinks big time not to be there in person and I know I’m not alone in missing it firsthand, but with all the new media offerings I still get to be part of the experience… right down to a call to Michael to remind him to sit up straight when I catch him slumping on a table ringside! With this advancing technology comes some hard core reality. It still doesn’t replace actually being there, damn it! I watched some breeds judged with great skill…watching hands on dogs that left no stone unturned, which gave witness to some Garden-worthy performances at least from the vantage point of the camera. I was happy to be able to jump swiftly from one ring to another or play catch-up after the fact for some of the breeds that conflicted. That’s all good. What’s not so good is if one misses the mark, be it handler, dog or judge…more eyeballs will take notice. I won’t get into some “sights” that made me cringe due to a judge’s or exhibitor’s wardrobe malfunction. Is it lack of foresight or just plain bad judgment when it comes to understanding the dynamics of what bending and running will do to some garments? I don’t care if they are St. John’s or K-Mart, some things will always be hard to erase from your memory; or worse your bad choices will garner over thousands of views on Facebook or YouTube! So enjoy your 15 minutes of fame even if it was supposed to be your dog that got noticed.
I did see a few breeds I think I know a bit about that just were not judged well. I caught a few moments on screen where obviously lame dogs were rewarded at a level that boggled the mind. Trust me if one can see it on a personal viewing mechanism…it should have been obvious in person…or so I would think!
A few breeds had some judges looking confused on which awards were to be given. I think I also saw one judge award Best of Breed before all the dogs were actually examined. These little glitches plague every show, every judge, and every exhibitor, regardless of their tenure in the sport. I know because it has happened to me on occasion…but I may not have had a huge audience watching me when it happened. Well, I do recall having that sort of fear hit me on the occasion of my first Group Assignment on that green carpet. Of course, I took advantage of my friendship with Anne Clark (who had many WKC performances at that level) to ask for her advice about what to do when I strode out in front of God and everyone to judge the group. Her words were simple: “Don’t walk backwards”! It did lighten the mood at the time. Geez…now one has to walk AND watch for the red or green lights; and if that wasn’t enough of a distraction, what could be worse for a judge at the height of concentration than to have to take a seat in the middle of the judging! I often wondered why they can let the judge just do a secondary stroll down the line they just moved to reconfirm what they are thinking. Maybe they should give them an ear bud to keep them on track, or simply tell them to count to 120! Nevertheless, the finals are always exceptional and you can count on one hand the times anything has gone too far off course.
This year I was rooting for a few personal favorites in the big ring. The lineup was as strong as ever and each dog gave a winning performance. The Honorable Judge David Merriam performed admirably and was so eloquent and sincere with his comments.
So we close on another Westminster, and I will close with, ”See you next year!”It may be in person or maybe under the clever all-seeing eye of the cameras!
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Posted by ralbee
on Mar 13 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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