I always thought James had a pretty good chance of going Best-once he won the breed and the group. I watched him win a very tough breed and a group, which could have been even tougher had certain breed results been different. I'm not going into specifics—that's not my thing. I'll say one thing, he is a great competitor, and in that big ring for Best looked every bit the part. Kellie works magic with that breed. This is her second Best at the Garden—both with Springers. The first was in 2000 with Ch. Salilyn 'N Erin's Shameless, and now with Ch. Felicity's Diamond Jim. James' co-owners and co-breeders are Teresa Patton and Ruth Dehmel, with co-owners Allen Patton and D. Hadsall. Bob Indeglia was the adjudicator, and he did a masterful job of not only going over the dogs but also in making his selection suspenseful without being overly theatrical. None of the group judges, I am happy to say, went through the “free stack” motions, nor did Bob—and if they did, they were certainly successful in keeping the process to a minimum. What a relief, I thought anyways. As it was, the crowd on Tuesday night was so into the Best and the groups, there was no need for any extra drama. Excitement-wise, Monday night was a bit of a blah, as were the groups. Tuesday night, though was how I think of the Garden groups and Best being carried off.
Starting with the beginning of the weekend, I attended the theatre benefit for the Dog Museum (which, I still believe, belongs out of St. Louis, for sure, and in New York City), which was a great event. Saturday I went to private parties. Fortunately, I missed the Bow Tie fiasco, which is still reverberating, and I wasn't invited to the Pedigree dinner honoring shelters and the American Humane Association. I wouldn't have gone anyways. I'm not too sure I understand where Pedigree is coming from on that one. See my Editorial and Carlotta Cooper's article for more on that topic. More to follow, but if Pedigree is so enthusiastic about promoting the adoption of dogs from shelters, I for one think parent breed rescue organizations deserve at least the same recognition as does the AHA. Perhaps it's the amount of food one is buying that motivates the support. Anyways, that dinner costs over $200,000, and not being one to tell people how to use their discretionary capital, I do think a donation of at least that much to the parent breed rescue clubs is in order. But that's just me! Went to a number of the specialties at The Hotel Pennsylvania (which, I understand, is to be turned into an office building by next year, making me think the Garden site may be developed as well). Sorry to have missed the New Jersey specialties, which I heard went really well. We're always too busy doing our booth on Friday and Saturday to go out to Jersey, but with the new Sporting group show onThursday, this is really developing into some bunch of shows. Too many? Well, let's not go that route right now.
Monday AM, arrived at the Garden at 6:45 AM and left at 11:30 PM—too long a day for me, that's for sure. Missed the Take the Lead party, which I heard was the best ever. Oh, yes, in between there was a dog show. Not too many upsets in the breeds—surprises, I thought, in Pugs, maybe Poms, maybe Norwich, and maybe Boxers, too. Nothing too major except Pugs—pretty much what was expected. Groups at night seemed very flat, to me anyways. Crowd looked and sounded down, and the groups took forever, perhaps due to the TV intermissions. First group was the Working group, with the Akita numero uno. I thought this group to be the quality group of the evening. Next came Terriers, with the Dandie Dinmont first in what I would not consider to have been the toughest group ever. Dick Meen, of course, was the replacement for Mrs. Clark. Her death was singled out with a white rose and a moment of silence prior to the group. A rather unusual step to have taken at Westminster, but her relationship to the show and to the sport was unusual, too. She was a prominent, powerful and knowledgeable individual who touched many of our lives. Next group was won by theToy Poodle, which only served to remind us all of how close she and Kaz, the handler of the dog, were. Finally, as per usual, without too much time remaining for theNon-Sporting dogs, the White Standard Poodle seemed to easily win its group. Forgot to mention I thought the Toy group was very strong—the Non-Sporting not so much.
Tuesday's day crowds were, or seemed, down. Some of the breed judging astounded. Rather than call them surprises or upsets, I would just say the judging in some breeds was downright poor. Sometimes one wonders in astonishment at what qualifications are used to select some judges. Anyways, Tuesday night was grand, splendid and exciting. Commercial intermissions again seemed long and the AHA presentation controversial, but Best was one of the most fun and appealing I have seen in a long, long time. Sporting group, of course, we know—top-notch, I thought. The ESS was a delight but raised the old question is it English Springer or American Springer? Who cares,it's a beautiful exhibit. Hound group was tough, as the only repeat from last year walked off with the honors. The PBGV, an unstoppable show dog, and then in Herding the Bouvier, probably the least known of all the winners. I watched the breed, and it was a tough one to win. And the Herding group was no slouch either. The upset of the OES during the day stunned many. The OES winner was WD, I am told, at the National this year.
On to Best, where I thought Bob Indeglia outshone the dogs. His manner was assured, non-dramatic, business-like and professional. Yet he made it interesting without beingoverly dramatic. I thought any of the seven could have won—I was perfectly happy with James and was delighted forKellie. It was a great end to a perfect evening. Oh, yes, one last thought, with this win, James joined the company of JR and Mick as winners of both Westminster and the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. No mean feat to join that select company, is it! •