Ah, it’s good to be back! A phrase uttered by many a competitor at one of the first horse shows to resume since the COVID-19 outbreak. Over Memorial Day weekend, there was the OPHC Welcome Back to the World held in Oklahoma; the Memorial Day Mane Event in Georgia; and the Keep Your Distance Show in Arkansas.
I was encouraged to see the list of shows for June and July that are still scheduled to occur! Pending the mayor’s decision regarding the number of people allowed at a social gathering, the Western Ohio Summer Cluster is still scheduled for June 26-28. Those of you who know Nina Fetter as well as I do know that if there is any way to make this show happen, she is the woman for the job! If social gathering limitations prevent the cluster from occurring at the end of June, it will be rescheduled in the July/August time frame. Fanciers should continue to make plans to attend the following shows in June and July:
The many types of interaction and collective behavior within any fraternity of individuals is always an interesting subject to discuss and what goes on among participants in the sport of purebred dogs is surely no exception.
Restaurants are closed and who wants takeout every night? We know you’re cooking! The Canine Chronicle wants the recipe for the favorite dish you are making while you are waiting for dog shows to start again. Send it to us and we’ll share it with everyone in the fancy! Don’t cook? Send us the recipe [...]
Shortly after I had settled into my aisle seat on the flight from Atlanta to Portland, this fortyish man in a rather rumpled tweedy suit stopped and informed me that he had the window seat. I got up and let him in. Almost immediately he told me that he had spent several days in Atlanta and was now enroute to Oregon to attend another conference there. Then he asked if I was on my way home to Portland.
On occasion it seems useful and salutary to reflect upon the state of our sport as it relates to how we act in relation to one another, how we go about the business of practicing respect, how we view the central role of sportsmanship in all of the various activities which we undertake. What beneficial effect this might have is anyone’s guess but one never quite knows, especially among newer comers into our midst. And perhaps even some old-timers might welcome a cognitive refresher in this area.
The client, first of all, must have a worthy dog and must be able to afford to compete, i.e., handler fees, entry fees, advertising; and they must be willing to pay each in a timely manner. The client must be capable of communicating with the handler as well as others. More importantly, the client should be a humble loser as well as a gracious winner. A temperamental, arrogant owner can materially influence the show career of a dog. An owner must be appreciative of the merits as well as the faults of his dog and respect the qualities of the competition’s dog. It is helpful if the owner is a true dog lover and not just a wealthy person who buys and promotes dogs just to massage their ego.
