Looking Back With Lee
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Remembering Jane Forsyth
By Lee Canalizo
It seems all too frequently over the last year that – while preparing to gather my thoughts for my Looking Back column – someone who was an important part of my life passes away and takes precedence over all else. As you all know, on Friday, July 3, 2015 Mrs. Jane Forsyth left this world. It doesn’t seem possible that one so important that I have known for so long is not invincible! I’m finding this to be true and occurring much too frequent lately.
Jane’s passing leaves many of us dog folks in somewhat stunned sadness. She was so much of all that we know and remembered for so many years. I started showing dogs, Afghan Hounds, in the ring next to her… when she showed Ch. Holly Hill Desert Wind (c. 1965). I was never competition for her, but I didn’t know that at the time. I watched how she groomed him, how she handled him in the ring, etc. Not too much rubbed off on me, but I watched! Lots of years went by as exhibitors in the ring with both Jane and Bob. Soon Mike would be the “Canalizo” competing against the “Dynamic Duo”. Here is an interesting sidebar about them as a “duo”. I understood they had a system with each rotating a client’s dog from one day to the next. It was their way to remain impartial to their clients in some small way. Quite frankly, I wouldn’t have thought it made any difference. Both Bob and Jane had so much talent as handlers… there was never a reason to doubt their charges weren’t shown to their best. Watching their operation in action was amazing. Their Bluebird bus was a fixture at the shows. The hustle and bustle by their staff of well-tuned apprentices was the starting point of many of today’s bold-faced names in the history of our sport. They had a client list that was considered the “Who’s-Who” of the sport. Together the two of them carved a legacy in our sport as rock-solid as Mount Rushmore!
I’m not sure why, maybe it was strictly a “woman to woman” thing, but Jane left an impression on me for things other than just being great with her hands on a dog. She dressed with impeccable style considering that her profession had her running non-stop morning to night, and though it’s a cliché , she never let them see her sweat! I won’t even begin to tell you how she managed the almost impossible feat of showing to full term one weekend and being back in the ring the very next weekend after the birth of Sioux! While it was strictly business during peak show hours (which for them meant all day) she never seemed to mind a chat from her ubiquitous lawn chair by the “Bluebird”. Jane was not shy about much of anything. She was equally generous with compliments as she was with criticism. I vividly remember the Bronx County show where Mike debuted Roger Rechler’s new Ch. Blu Shah of Grandeur. He captured the breed over a formidable entry. Once in the Hound Group Shah had an “accident” at the top of his down-and-back. I recall asking Mike what Janie had said to him in the ring. Her words to him went something like this, “Hey Kid, we’re going to see a lot of that dog in here, and we don’t want to see that happen again!” Kid says, “But I walked him.” Jane says, “Did you match him?” Let’s suffice to say Mike got his first lesson on how to “match” a dog! Yet, before the day was over, Jane sent a representative to Roger inquiring about letting her take him as the last dog she would campaign for Mrs. Porter who was a formidable campaigner of the breed having owned the aforementioned “Desert Wind” (who was sired by a Grandeur dog). Long story short, Blu Shah stayed with Mike and as far as I know, never required a “clean up to the ring” ever again!
Time went on and before I knew it she was showing all her major dogs to me in my new position as an approved judge. Some of my favorites were the beautiful white Salukis of Judith Rothschild-Myrer, who later hired Mike upon Bob and Jane’s retirement from handling. I loved the handsome black and tan Afghan Ch. Jamica’s Rani Fafnir she showed.
When Jane and Bob retired, there was a noticeable adjustment in the Northeast show world. I remember the big kerfuffle about judging while owning a kennel which Jane, being the ever-so-savvy business lady she was, deftly handled with a minor zoning change of the property to include a second driveway which “on paper” made the kennel and the residence into two separate addresses. Jane would become legendary for her meticulous management of all things related to her craft. Many of her contemporaries would follow her lead on building a sound business model in our incredibly unstructured profession.
As time passed, Janie was a judge who could barely meet the demand of the fancy, but she did her best to judge whenever asked. Indeed she used her keen business sense to know there was a benefit to get (at that time) approved as a Licensed Travel Agent. We found ourselves on the same panels very frequently with her other “Sisters” Annie and Mike. Being in this company was the big time for a little breeder/exhibitor judge like me! They were always inclusive as far as the judge talk was concerned; there was never any looking down their noses at the newcomer. They certainly made me feel part of the group. They were true professionals! The little things Jane would share with me were carried on as my advancement through the judging ranks progressed. I would seek out that new provisional judge as they entered the dining room or club dinner before a show and do what Janie used to do… invite them over to the table and let them get to know us a bit.
Things like that I will fondly remember about Janie. Her greatness came in many forms and I’m not sure anyone will ever be able to replace what she did for the sport. I hope no one does. She is worthy of the “legend” she created as part of the “Forsyth Saga” and I know many will miss her for so many reasons.
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Posted by ralbee
on Aug 17 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
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