Westchester Kennel Club

photo by Lisa Croft-Elliott

by Francine Reisman

I understand that many people are not happy that the Westchester Kennel Club show has moved from Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York to Bridgewater, New Jersey. This is not to say that North Branch Park is not a first-rate show grounds, but it certainly lacks the charm of the the park-like estate with the castle and the beautiful white framework of what had been the greenhouse.

When I was living back East we would make sure to get to this show early so as to set up under one of the beautiful old trees. There would usually be a picnic with local friends and those who had flown in for the show. The Westchester Show was always looked forward to not only for the dogs that had arrived from around the country to be shown among the finest of exhibits, but it was considered the beginning of the Fall season. It was the time to wear your new Fall outfits and observe your peers dressed up in their best. It was the Fall Easter Parade. (Although there were those years that Fall seemed a long way off with temperatures in the 80s.) Many people stayed till late in the afternoon. There was always a crowd, three people deep, around the beautiful Group rings. Winning a Group at Westchester was one of the wins you always looked back on with pride.

Sadly clubs all over the country are losing their sites. But not every one of them has the nationwide reputation of Westchester (or it’s sister club Tuxedo Park). Those that do owe it to their past history to try and keep the standards high. Your events are special and you should endeavor to maintain the luster of your past shows.

photo by Lisa Croft Eliott

I just want to say to all of you who are feeling badly about this move, think about Santa Barbara Kennel Club! Clubs can “rise again”. It’s up to the members to make whatever site you have as beautiful as possible and retain the flavor that will keep your show special. What you need is heart and a few members who believe in the history and glory of the show. Santa Barbara seemed an impossible task. They lost one beautiful show site after another. The only place they had left to go was the horse show arena; lots of dirt, walls falling apart, and very little grass; but as the President of the club said, “at least it had real toilets!” Well, Westchester, you have the grounds. Now you need to go that extra mile to bring back the glory. It can be done!

Francine Reisman

Santa Barbara, CA

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=7741

Posted by amy on Sep 21 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.