Monday at Westminster

Photo ©Michael Hill

By Amy Fernandez

Nothing hones your coping skills like a few years in this game. Emergency Response protocol becomes second nature. So, when Pier 92 got trashed by the cruise liner, canceling the show was not even an issue.

144 years into the deal you gotta admit that Westminster is resilient.  Cram the whole show into half the space –not a problem. And it true that I had my eye on the situation. At first, walking in there was like a trip in the way back machine to those good (bad) old days of benching at MSG. The arrangement was basically similar, so there was that similarity. It was definitely nice having the vendors right there by the benching again. Yeah, it was more crowded, but this wasn’t even close to the stifling, claustrophobic experience back in those days at the Garden.

There was more aisle space between the bench rows, but the real difference was that they limited spectator ticket sales. It’s possible that this was due to stability questions about the pier, but who cares. Although it was sold out crowded, it was possible to truck your dog to the ring without a battle plan.  Visibility was also better. They never invested in bigger screens, but the ones they have are all over the place. Likewise, there is finally enough seating.

The biggest innovation was the shocking focus on exhibitor comfort. And Westminster has NEVER been accused of that somewhat important detail. For example, the sandpaper carpeting has been an ongoing issue. It kills your knees and the dogs hate walking on it. Long after everyone gave up hope…it’s fixed!

The upgrade is not limited to valid complaints. Exhibitors get breakfast and lunch tickets. It resonates better once you’ve checked out the snack bar prices. Yes, NYC is all about fine dining, but when you’re benched, you don’t have options.

That brings me to the next nice thing. They suddenly realized that exhibitors rarely show up without backup. Nothing like flying cross-country to see your dog in the ring only to hear “Sorry sold out.” It has happened. Spectator tickets sold out, but they have enough respect for us to keep a few on hold for situations like that.  And maybe I caught it at a good moment but the infamous shuttle buses seemed to be better organized, possibly because one pier makes for better logistics. Nobody got flattened by an Uber and no five mile lines waiting for the mystery bus, which is nice considering the sleet and rain all day.

I have no access to the Star Chamber so I can only speculate about the reasons for the changes, but the buck stops with David Helming. And like any dedicated show chairman, he was patrolling his show all day long.

Actual benched shows were long gone when I started doing this, but my standout impression of Westminster 144 is the effortless, comfortable dog talk that made every show an endless classroom back then. We need that more than anything.

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Posted by admin on Feb 11 2020. Filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.