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cussion about the dog show moving away from its summer date , which no doubt would help . Hotel occupancy and rates may be more favorable at another time of the year , but an available date is not easy to find in the overcrowded AKC show calendar .
The truth may simply be that the average American dog show exhibitor is not that enamored with special events . For many , a dog show weekend is only as good as the wins they take home , and the sooner they can get out of there , the better , so any extra competitions just slow things down and prevent them from getting home earlier . The foreign visitors obviously do not feel the same way : This year they came from Great Britain , Ireland , Russia , Korea , Hong Kong , Japan , Thailand , China , Australia and Canada . Several came from South America , including one exhibitor from Peru who brought six Bull Terriers , all imported from Eastern Europe and shown by a handler from Mexico ! It doesn ’ t get much more international than that .
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Best in Breeder ’ s Showcase were the Airedale Terriers GCh . B Brisline ’ s Baron Basil Of Woodside and GCh . Brisline ’ s Zeta Jones , bred by Georgia McRae and Barbara Fakkema . Runners-up were the Borzoi Ch . Belisarius JP My Big Boy and GCh . Belisarius JP My Sassy Girl , bred by Kyoko Ozeki . |
which now barely attracts as many as 800 dogs even on a weekend . Nobody expects a return to the glory days of the 1980s , when the largest show in the US was held in Santa Barbara and on occasion had more than 4,000 dogs . Those were different times , and the location on the university campus was unbeatable — until development chased out the dog shows for good . |
Exhibitor Questionnaires
However , it ’ s still surprising , with all that ’ s being offered , that SBKC does not attract many more exhibitors . That ’ s why the club did what few shows have done before . They asked the exhibitors and handlers what they liked and didn ’ t like about the weekend . Questionnaires were put in every ring and handed out , with a number of both specific and general questions . Responses with suggestions could be dropped — anonymously ! — into a couple of boxes strategically placed on the grounds . About 100 filled-out questionnaires were returned ( some mailed in after the show ), not a huge number but containing more than 1,000 comments and suggestions , many of which contradicted each other . A few that said , “ Please , no judges from abroad !” were countered by others who wrote , “ I love the foreign judges — let ’ s have more of them !”
The one thing everyone seemed to agree on was that hotels in Santa Barbara are too expensive , and that ’ s not anything the club can do much about . Several suggested that the club should convince the hotels to offer discounts for the show weekend , but that , of course , ignores the fact that most hotels are booked up anyway and do not need to attract more guests , especially not those with dogs . There is much dis-
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Special Events
This brings us to the special events that were offered . Most of them took place a half-hour after Saturday ’ s regular Best in Show had been determined in the “ usual ” outside ring . After BIS , the doors to “ the Arena ” were flung open , and we entered a magical fairyland : What had previously been just a regular old horse show arena had been transformed . Green grass groundcover had been brought in for the occasion , SBKC ’ s ornate old silver trophies were prominently on display , the giant flower decorations looked fantastic , bunting had been put up around the arena , and white tables and chairs were placed around the two big rings in the center of the arena . Those responsible had done an amazing job of presenting what must be , as one spectator said , “ the fanciest show in America ” ( if not the world ?), and they deserve every credit for the glamour that these events have become known for .
One of the events offered during the evening was an unofficial competition simply called “ Bullyganza ,” open to any of the “ bully breeds ” ( Bullmastiffs , American Staffordshire Terriers , Bull Terriers , Boston Terriers , Staffordshire Bull Terriers , Bulldogs , French Bulldogs and Dogues des Bordeaux ) that had won BOB , BOW or BOS at this show . The judge did not know who had won what in the regular competition , which of course meant that a dog that had not won BOB could win the whole thing . The eight top placements received money prizes , ranging from $ 1000 for the winner to $ 500 for second , $ 250 for third , $ 125 for fourth and $ 100 each for four Awards of Merit . Nicolas Pineiro , manager and handler for Andrey Klishas ’ famous Gran Vencedor kennel in Russia but born in Argentina , acted as judge and placed the famous Boston Terrier GCh . Sabe ’ s Simply Invincible in first place .
The Bullyganza breeds attracted some spectacular entry
CONTINUED ON PAGE 86
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VICKI HOLLOWAY |