The Gossip Column: August 25, 2023
The WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB has released the judging panel for its 148th show, to be held Monday and Tuesday, May 13 and 14, 2024. The panel is headed by a very deserving and knowledgeable ROZ KRAMER. ROZ will make her decision from the seven finalists sent to her by DAVID KITTREDGE, Sporting Group; CHRISTINE ERICKSON, Hound Group; RICK GSCHWENDER, Working Group; PATTY KEENAN, Terrier Group; GLEN LAJESKI, Toy Group; FRED BASSETT, Non-Sporting Group, and MICHAEL FAULKNER, Herding Group. ...
There is a bumper crop of freshman judges on the panel. These first-timers include GERARDO BERNARD judging Sporting breeds, RICHARD JACKSON judging Sporting and Toy breeds, PAM LAMBIE judging Sporting and Hound breeds, JUDY TAYLOR judging Sporting breeds, DANIEL DOWLING judging Hound breeds, NEIL MCDEVITT judging Hound breeds, EDWARD FOJTIK judging Working breeds and one Terrier breed, ABIGAIL PATRIZIO judging Working breeds, KAREN MCFARLANE judging Working breeds, DESMOND MURPHY judging Terrier breeds, LORI PELLETIER judging Terriers, JOSEPH VERNUCCIO judging Terrier breeds, LEE GROGAN judging Terriers, ADAM KING judging Toy breeds, JOAO MACHADO judging Toy breeds, BRANDON EDGE judging Non-Sporting breeds and MINNA LIISA KOLTES judging Herding breeds. The large list of first-time judges is surely an indication of the new leadership at WESTMINSTER. Quite a change from the tried and true. ...
There are other important components to the show: Juniors, agility and obedience. The 90th anniversary of the Junior Showmanship judging will take place with three outstanding professional handlers who have enjoyed great success in the show ring. The preliminary judging will be done by REBECCA CROSS and STACY THRELFALL. Those two ladies will send the eight finalists to judge DIEGO GARCIA, who will crown the Best Junior Showman. Rounding out the panel are the agility and obedience judges ZACK DAVIS and SUSAN LITNER, who will judge the Masters Agility Championship, and BARBARA SELTON, the Masters Obedience Championship. ...
Cyclists will bike the length of New York State to help raise money for SEEING EYE DOG in Morristown, New Jersey. ...
All of us at DOG NEWS were saddened to hear that CAROLYN ALEXANDER has passed away. Well-known Bull Terrier breeder and exhibitor with her husband DAVID, CAROLYN was the AKC breed columnist for more than 25 years, an anniversary she shared with the number of years she judged. We at DOG NEWS were fortunate to have CAROLYN write for these pages. We send our deepest sympathies to DAVID, her husband of 44 years, their family and her many friends from around the country.