By Amy Fernandez After day one, Westminster’s second year at the Piers is working better in some ways. But it’s far from perfect yet. This year’s weather posed new challenges and waterfront locations like the Piers redefine the concept of frigid. Thankfully, the shuttle buses run more frequently, which prevented long lines at corner bus stops. […]
by Joan Harrigan The set-up was familiar to anyone who attended Westminster’s daytime competition at the Piers last year. The benches were up, minus the breed labels. However, the crates were largely collapsible canvas, rather than the solid metal shipping crates that are a hallmark of the conformation world. There were only two enormous rings—each […]
By Joan Harrigan When Jean Hetherington was a baby in northern New Jersey, her parents—no doubt influenced by author Albert Payson Terhune—had a collie named “Laddie.” During WWII, they couldn’t obtain sufficient meat to feed him, so they donated Laddie to the military, and he served the country as a war dog. “After the war, […]
By Kerry Rushby I had the pleasure this month of speaking with the breeder of the top winning Affenpinscher of all time in the USA, Banana Joe Tani Kazari, Mieke Cooijmans. Mieke lives in the Netherlands with her partner of 30 years and here Mieke describes the beginnings of her involvement in the breed and […]
by Francine Reisman As with many “dog show people”, much of my time is taken up by long discussions about dogs and dog shows. The popular topic among my peers is the seemingly end of our sport as we knew it. There have been great changes in the past 20 some-odd years, with seemingly more […]
By Joan Harrigan Betty Regina Leininger of Frisco, Texas is the kind of judge who finds excitement and glamour at every dog show. Whether dressed in an evening gown and judging a group at Westminster or enduring the heat without a hat at an outdoor show, Leininger says, “there are always wonderful dogs!” Over the […]
By Dr. Bob G. Smith The second trip to China was filled with more exciting new adventures for this country boy from Alabama. Venturing out from Shanghai into Zhengzhou to judge an all-breed dog show was a great experience as it was the first dog show presented in this area of China. Dr. Bob G […]
By Amy Fernandez Moving is never fun. When all the dredging and hauling is finished, it takes time to get situated into a new space. It’s fair to say that Westminster is still settling into its spacious new site at Piers 92/94 at 55th Street and the West Side Highway. Organizational efficiency has been the club’s […]
By Amy Fernandez For the second time since 1992, class dogs will compete at Westminster. Many veteran exhibitors rejoiced when this aspect of competition was reinstated. It has long been the source of cherished Westminster memories and big wins from the classes. After all, Westminster has a longstanding reputation for shocking upsets. Class dogs regularly […]
by Amy Fernandez Sightseeing Down at the ferry slip, you can stroll around the South Street Seaport’s cobblestone street pedestrian mall. It’s still recovering from Sandy, but it’s definitely a dog hangout with plenty to do. For info visit: southstreetseaport.com You’ll probably be ravenous by then, but that doesn’t mean banishing your dogs to the […]
