Westbury, Suffolk, and Brookhaven Kennel Club photos
by Eugene Zaphiris and Matthew Stander
There is little denying the fact that the venue of the Planting Fields in Oyster Bay, New York, is one of the finest in America. It serves both the autumn and spring Long Island shows (with the exceptions of the Long Island Kennel Club and Riverhead) admirably. Five of these “planting field” shows (the old Coe Estate) have as long and interesting and historical backgrounds as the grounds themselves. Indeed, the Westbury Kennel Club, held this past Sunday, had been held in such high esteem as certainly to rival Westchester and perhaps even Westminster in the days of old! Indeed, the North Shore of Long Island had long been the spawning ground for those who worked at “51” and lived on the “Gold Coast.” Many of these people were responsible for the very development, growth, and maturation of the dog show world nationally. As a result, for many of us it’s disappointing to see Westbury turn into little more than a pedestrian-type show presentation. Particularly is this true because of the magnificent and unusual grounds upon which it is now held, to say nothing of its historical background.
Now, then, no one expects a production similar to the one Mrs. Van Court ran in the ‘50s or mid ‘60s. Times have obviously changed, as have priorities in putting on shows. Nonetheless, one would have hoped that the present officers of Westbury would be sufficiently cognizant of the “glories that were Rome.” Such that some attempts at restoring some sort of individuality for Westbury would have been made. Really now, Suffolk and Brookhaven are what they are: nice, well-run shows with no true air of distinction. Westbury, on the other hand, had an ambiance that stood out from the competing and non-competing clubs. Unfortunately, this is lost now, to the degree there is nothing that distinguishes Westbury from almost any other show of its ilk. True, the number of dogs entered has decreased due to both competing shows in Upstate New York and in Virginia as well as the stigma, real or imagined, attached to Long Island traffic! And the alleged sparsity of motel accommodations is always a good issue to gripe about but not necessarily an accurate one. But the fact remains that no effort to make Westbury stand out from the other shows of the weekend is even made. This is a major loss for our sport.
Positively, the clubs conducted good advertising campaigns prior to the show dates, and this combined with the spectacular good weather produced what looked to me to be a tremendous increase in spectator attendance. I was happy to see that, for the clubs’ sakes, and this should be followed up with in kind by the Long Island spring clubs, too.
Someone came up to me and said, “Well, I suppose you have the usual house filled with terrier people getting ready for Montgomery.” My candid and immediate reply was that with the terrier panels selected by the three clubs, there was no way terrier people would go out of their way to show at these shows, and no, no one was staying with us! I mean, the numbers never reached 1,000 dogs per day. Overall, these were low enough entries, but to have such an unimaginative terrier panel—not that the judges weren’t up to snuff, but they were not of the type to cause people from all over America to come there as a pre-Montgomery judging experience. But for the convenience factor—I live 10 minutes away—I, too, would have gone to Wine Country, Virginia, or even Michigan, given my druthers.
The winners the three nights were the lovely Weimaraner bitch, a newcomer from the LeFrak-Charles poodle team (oh, yes, Mrs. Charles happens to own the Weimaraner as well!) and the lovely new Peke of David Fitzpatrick owned by Mrs. Sascha Rockefeller. As usual, even in the smaller entry shows, the overall line-ups turn out to be nice ones, and these shows were no exception to this rule of thumb.
I thought AKC was absolutely off base in running an AKC Educational Match in competition with the Saturday Long Island show. “Match Show” notwithstanding, Long Island shows have enough to compete with not to have AKC run a match in nearby New Jersey. It was supported—rightly, too—by virtually every show-giving club in New Jersey. I mean,if AKC tells you it’s doing something educational and it will benefit your area, why not support it? It’s the principle of AKC competing with point shows by holding one of its own that I object to. Point or match show, it makes no difference as far as I am concerned. Amazingly, both the Bronx County Kennel Club, which now holds its show in New Jersey, and the ubiquitous Queensboro Kennel Club (now held in Springfield, Massachusetts) were listed as supporters of this match show, too! I mean, really, shouldn’t the Bronx and Queensboro be supporting neighboring Long Island rather than kissing you know what and supporting an AKC show held in New Jersey! And while I’m at it, which point schedule for majors apply for Northern New Jersey, held in New York, and which applies for Tuxedo Park, held in New Jersey? And what about Queensboro, New York, being held in Springfield, Massachusetts? What point schedule applies to them as well?
I heard close to 40 delegates attended the AKC Educational Match Show. Well, I suppose that’s an outstanding feat, but I can’t help thinking that if these delegates showed their dogs at Long Island, presuming the delegates still show dogs, that this Cluster certainly could have used the support. •
