Westminster, Neither Rain, Nor Snow…
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By Amy Fernandez
Inevitably, that perennial Westminster question comes up this time of year. Why don’t they move the show date? Let’s face it; throwing a dart at the calendar would result in something preferable to February in NYC.
Possibly, the club sticks with this inauspicious arrangement simply because it is resigned to its fate. Back in its early days when show calendars were a blank slate, they opted for a May show. Normally, it’s a delightful time of year around here. Long warm, sunny days, sultry breezes, flowers blooming, just lovely in every way.
Unfortunately, 1884 was a striking exception to that general rule. It was meant to be a memorable year for Westminster, but not for that reason. After staging seven consecutive blockbuster shows, the gang got ambitious. For the first and only time in its history, they opted to hold two shows, the first being May 6-9. As noted in this New York Times report, it didn’t get off to a promising start. “More than a thousand canine voices wailed aloud in Madison Square Garden yesterday morning when the canines found that the weather, instead of being composed of the traditional sunshine and balm of May, was a howling blast of driven rain and northeast wind. The dogs did not like it.”
For those unfamiliar with the venue, the article explained, “Madison Square Garden is an airy structure, and the chill winds found their way through the chinks into the kennels where the dog curled up and shivered in the corner.” The first incarnation of the Garden had walls and a roof, but “airy structure” was a generous description of the enormous, drafty, open air pavilion. Needless to say, Westminster’s benching regulations required every dog to remain on display throughout the four day event. “Their owners did all they could to make them comfortable. Ladies who owned delicate black and tans, greyhounds, and other fancy dogs arrived early in the day with shawls and worsted wool wraps which they threw around their pets. Many of the valuable Pointers and Setters were carefully encased in blankets and had fresh straw put in their kennels,” it was reported.
Despite the disagreeable conditions, they got to the ring. Pointer judging was the headline event and spectators packed the arena. “The great interest of the day among those who regarded the dog as a useful companion of man and the gun was centered on the contest for the prize for champion pointers over 55 pounds. The money of the prize was only $25 but the glory of winning it could not be expressed in either cash or words,” the Times reported. Even then, the cachet of a Westminster win was an established fact. “The winner was a three-year-old son of the famous Sensation who reposed in his kennel beside the other fine dogs of the Westminster Kennel Club’s exhibit. His owner values him at $500.” That price tag works out to about $12,500 today.
The show also had plenty to interest spectators less interested in useful companions. Former New York Governor and Presidential candidate Samuel Tilden was among the celebrities in attendance. Then 70, and recently retired from a lifetime in the political arena, Tilden apparently came in search of a low-key companion. A Pug by the name of Duke caught his eye although Duke didn’t seem to share Tilden’s reaction to the encounter, reportedly dozing off in response to his fond attentions. Tilden wasn’t deterred, “recognizing Duke’s un-limited capacity for sitting on sheepskin rugs and making himself useless, Tilden began negotiations with the dog’s owner”. Hopefully, the pair enjoyed a leisurely retirement.
Pugs weren’t the only crowd pleaser. “The ladies were naturally interested very deeply in the judging of the delicate, graceful Italian Greyhounds. These little animals with their finely drawn bodies and limbs and satiny coats were admired with many exclamations… The prize was finally awarded to Queenie, a beautiful three-year-old animal born in Italy and imported in 1882,” the reporter said.
More energetic Hound lovers didn’t need to worry. “The speeding of the Greyhounds interested many persons. The fleet-footed animals were held at one end of the enclosure by their attendants while the owners walked to the other end. Then the dogs were let loose and rushed madly to their owners. It was lots of fun and made the sawdust fly.”
That year’s show plan featured an enormous fenced ring, 276 long x 24 feet wide, which could be partitioned and rearranged for various events. That was important because the show’s roster certainly offered something for everyone. Greyhounds also competed in a high jump contest. It was written, “In the evening, a troupe of trick dogs made their appearance in the ring and performed various acrobatic feats, much to the children’s delight.”
That culminated in another thrilling award for Best Trick Dog in Show. That wasn’t the only rather dubious competitive event. “The Bulldog Ben rejoiced in the distinction of being the ugliest animal in the show.” Maybe Ben was no beauty but he had the goods. His son, Bill, went on to win two major prizes in regular class competition.
This ambitious, expanded show schedule was the result one of the Garden’s newest innovations – electricity. After coming up with the light bulb in 1879, Edison launched the first public electric company in September, 1882. It served only 85 customers in lower Manhattan including Madison Square Garden. From a safety standpoint, it was an understandably wise investment considering the venue’s ongoing track record of gas lighting disasters. Still, from a canine perspective, prolonged glaring daylight was another strange twist of this doubtful adventure. “The glare of electric lights in the evening seemed to annoy many of the animals and they dug down in their straw and buried their heads.” That incandescent novelty probably wasn’t the only reason for the show’s newsworthy spate of antisocial canine incidents. “There were a great number of signs informing visitors that they must not handle the dogs. Visitors, however, paid little attention to these instructions and affectionately fondled the beautiful setters and pointers,” wrote the Times reporter. The feeling was not mutual. “The dogs began to show the effects of cramped quarters and lay in their kennels utterly regardless of the admiring glances bestowed upon them.”
According to the Times, a few breeds managed to evade this endless bout of public adoration. “It was noticeable the Bulldogs and Mastiffs were let alone with singular unanimity.” In retrospect, that was a sensible precaution because apathetic resentment wasn’t the only reaction to this interminable ordeal. At the end of day three, all prize winners were once again prompted and prodded out of their warm nests for the umpteenth parade of champions …and that was the last straw. “A Mastiff broke loose from his owner and seized an unfortunate Deerhound by the throat. Before anyone could interfere, the Mastiff pinioned him to the ground and it was only by the combined efforts of half a dozen attendants that he was compelled to loosen his grip.”
The Times went on to say, “Although the weather has been as cold and the Garden as damp as it well could be, not a dog required the services of the eminent canine physician who was constantly in attendance.” Luckily, everyone survived the Mastiff/Deerhound altercation unscathed. By then, Westminster knew how to roll with unforeseen complications, which was good because everything that could go wrong did go wrong at that show. “Owing to the stormy weather during the show, it seemed as if the managers would come out at the ‘small end of the financial horn’.” Their fears were unfounded because another Westminster tradition had already taken hold.
The Times reported, “The New York Bench Show closed last evening… the show was a great success for never before in this city have so many really fine dogs been assembled… No amount of frigid cold, drenching rain, harsh electric lighting, or dog fights could deter the dog loving public. The crowd of visitors yesterday, in spite of the rain, was very much larger than on the previous day… the managers of the show had beaming countenances.” They had beaucoup reasons to smile, “Superintendent Lincoln said at the close of the exhibition that the club had not lost any money.”
As for the exhibitors, that part of the story also had a familiar ring. “It was particularly unfortunate for exhibitors that the weather was stormy, as they had to remove their dogs from the Garden. Many of the entries were so large that it was impossible to get the animals into carriages, and their owners were obliged to tramp through the rain with them.” Even back then, they displayed the stoic perseverance that will soon carry us through one more action-packed Westminster week.
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Posted by ralbee
on Jan 10 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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