Table Talk · February 24, 2021
Three out of four isn’t bad… in fact it is great! Hats off to the hard-working volunteers in Midland, Texas who would not allow that terrible Texas weather to stop their shows. Thursday’s show had to be cancelled primarily due to travel difficulties of the judges, but the remainder of the cluster went on! There was a larger than normal percentage of absentees, which could be expected given travel conditions to and from just about every part of the country. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who worked so hard to ensure the shows from Friday-Sunday happened. Congratulations on a job well done!!
David Williams was in an automobile accident involving an 18-wheeler on his way to the Midland shows. David and all the dogs are fine, and Jeff Wright went to the rescue and picked up David and his dogs and brought them to the show.
Tara Martin-Rowell had a much longer trip than expected while returning from the cluster in Lakeland, Florida. As dangerous road conditions plagued much of the nation, Tara stayed in Florida until it was safe to head home, or so she thought! The last part of her trip seemed like more than a lifetime, I am sure, as she was stuck on I-20 for 14 hours, not moving at all. What should have been the final 6 hours from Jackson, Mississippi to Dallas turned into 30 hours of misery! At long last, Tara, Emma and the dogs made it home safely on Saturday. This should be a reminder to all to expect the unexpected when driving across country.
Montgomery County Kennel Club will be held at a different venue this year. The Montgomery Community College has decided not to allow external events for 2021. The greatest terrier show on earth will be held at the Macungie Memorial Park on their regularly scheduled date of October 10, 2021. I look forward to seeing all the beautiful terriers at this year’s show. Montgomery County plans to return to their regular venue at the Community College in 2022.
The volunteers of the Mission Circuit, which is regularly scheduled for Memorial Weekend at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, have been left with no choice but to cancel their cluster for 2021 due to the fact that the venue is not available. The clubs are attempting to hold a four day-cluster in November at the City of Industry grounds. Rest assured, I will keep everyone updated as details unfold.
One of my favorite shows of the year, Woofstock, has rescheduled their groovy cluster from their regularly scheduled dates of June 10-13 to November 4-7 at their regular venue. There is a bit of a silver lining here my friends: If held on its regularly scheduled dates this year, Woofstock would have occurred on the same dates as Westminster. Fanciers can now enjoy both of these wonderful shows and not have to choose!
With Westminster being rescheduled from February to June, many National Specialties being delayed, and limited shows in 2020, some dogs that may have retired before now are still being shown. In these crazy times, each owner and handler must make the decision that is best for their particular dog. In my humble opinion, this is not the time to judge others for decisions they make concerning their dog’s career. The pandemic has thrown off everyone’s schedule. Let’s wish our competitors well and worry about what is best for our own dog(s)!
Several of you have asked for clarification regarding the Junior Coordinator role. The AKC Delegate Junior Showmanship Sub-Committee has defined the role as follows: The Junior Coordinator will be charged with raising awareness to Juniors and the development of Junior membership. The Junior Coordinator will serve as the advocate for Juniors within a club, encouraging involvement for Juniors within the club as well as working with the Public Education Coordinator reaching out to educate youth organizations and the public about AKC events and purebred dogs. Clubs interested in establishing this role should contact Nancy Fisk, Chair of the Junior Showmanship sub-committee or Mari-Beth O’Neill, Vice President of Sport Services.
Best wishes to Nancy Liebes who will undergo shoulder surgery today. You will be as good as new in no time, my friend. Take care of that shoulder and we will see you soon in the center of the ring!
Condolences to Patricia and Luis Sosa on the loss of Patricia’s mother. Our thoughts are with you at this most difficult time.
Happy Anniversary to Bryan and Nancy Martin. They celebrated their special day with a lovely home cooked meal by Betty Crocker (Nancy) herself! May the two of you have many more happy years together.
Celebrating birthdays this week are: Joey Alarcon, Tray Pittman, Jen Baggenstos, Rindi Gaudet, Hailey Griffith, Charlotte Patterson, Heather Buehner, Sarah Purdin-Golding, Cheryl Codrington, Luke Baggenstos, Leonardo Garcini, Nate Francesco and Dennis Brown. Do something nice for yourselves, my friends, and enjoy your special day!
Good luck out there, my friends! Be safe in your travels and be kind! I’ll catch you down the road! Until next time…
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