Westminster Trivia
Each year I receive an invitation to join a Westminster media conference call. This year, invitees were allowed to ask David Frei and Tom Bradley questions. Tom Bradley is the longtime show chairman of the Westminster Kennel Club and David Frei is an authority on all things canine and host of telecasts on the USA Network–for the 20th straight year!
I thought you might be interested in the following trivia.
ENOUGH AIR TIME FOR ALL BREEDS. A problem for television–a total of 179 breeds are currently recognized by the American Kennel Club and this number will increase to 185 next year. Both Bradley and Frei say with the increase in number it is increasingly difficult to make sure each of the breeds has time on camera. This year each of the group judges have judged Best in Show. The Westminster BIS judge is from Italy. In March he will follow the Westminster judging assignment with the task of judging BIS at Crufts.
THERAPY. Frei shares his life with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named “Angel”. Angel excels in therapy in a women’s health unit while “Grace”, a Brittany, follows in the pawprints of Frei’s previous Brittany’s (both passed this past year). Both dogs “dabble in the show world and are dedicated to their work as pet therapists”. Although Bradley has had an active past with sporting breeds–German Shorthaired Pointers and more particularly Labrador Retrievers– his canine companion in the office is a Border Terrier. Westminster Best in Show winners have an active history in pet therapy and Frei said the English Springer Spaniel, James, was and is a wonderful therapy dog–followed closely by Rufus, the Bull Terrier. Eight of the former Westminster winners are active and over ten years old!
THE SHOW IS FAST APPROACHING. Westminster is held on the 14th and 15th (this year, the Empire State Building will be red in honor of Valentine’s Day, not the customary purple and gold). Then Frei says, “the world is ready for us on Wednesday–even though the winner, his owner, handler and other connections have been partying all night!” This year the media events include a trip to Sardis for the traditional steak (last year they were hosted by Donald Trump) and the Stock Exchange on Thursday. The winning dog will also be on Martha Stewart this year for the first time. Frei says he knows how to operate every cell phone as New Yorkers line up for pictures. New York is a dog-friendly city even when Westminster is not on the agenda. The Westminster BIS usually is retired after this triumph since if s/he were to be defeated it would cast a negative note on a great win. After the Westminster whirl the BIS goes home for a rest and doesn’t return to New York until the Garden Show!
Uno had the most active schedule but is not the best therapy dog since for the Beagle–it is all about him!
PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTION. And, Bradley has a Pennsylvania connection. He hunted with German Shorthaired Pointers trained by the late Dick Johns of Benton. In the past he has showed dogs in Bloomsburg and even spent a New Year’s eve in Benton as the guests of the late Dick Johns and the Eyerly family. On the media conference call we spoke of the clusters of AKC-sanctioned shows held on the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds with its quality entry. (Odds favor an Irish Setter winning BIS–perhaps a duplicate of the breed’s triumph on the Fairgrounds and at the National!)
Having a retired champion therapy dog is truly a breeder’s dream–a picture of all that is really a great dog!
Feb 03, 2011 | | Uncategorized