Beginning the Year in Palm Springs

Starting the year at Palm Springs has become something of a tradition for those of us who live in California. (Entries came from not just California, by the way; they were from all over the country, a few even from the South and the Midwest, perhaps even from the East.) We've been coming to Palm Springs for the dog show in the New Year for probably at least 20 years, but the club is a lot older than that — it was founded in 1978 by a group of people that old-timers in this sport would recognize: Bea Godsol, Robert Waters, Margaret Young … (There was actually a Kennel Club of Palm Springs even before that, but its antecedents are lost in the history of time.)

With more than 3,000 dogs entered each day, the Kennel Club of Palm Springs is now easily the biggest dog show in California; in fact, one of the biggest in the country. Nobody would think of calling Indio, in the Coachella Valley east of Palm Springs, particularly attractive, but once you get to the show itself, it's probably the most beautiful in the country: a seemingly endless green lawn, waving palms, shelter from the burning winter sun provided by attractive blue-and-white-striped tents, and in the far distance the bluish mountains of San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and San Bernardino … This year the show was held in a different part of the Empire Polo Fields, which allowed easy view of the grounds; I don't think any of us had realized just how enormous they are. And how much water does it take to keep all that grass eternally green?

That you are in one of the more expensive parts of California, which is already too expensive for many, is shown by the cost of parking ($20 per day), the catalog ($20), even the lunch salads ($18 each, and they were small and didn't consist of much more than lettuce). One cup of coffee cost $7, and no refills! But I heard that the professional handlers loved the new parking area on grass. Quote: “Enjoying the grass RV parking! Always loved this show, but one of its very, very few downsides was the dirt parking for most of the prime reserved spaces. Absolutely worth it, but definitely loving the grass for the dogs this year!!”

The fact that the dog show is actually held in winter in a desert is at first difficult to believe, but proven by two things: It gets very dark and very cold once the sun goes down! We tried to stay for Best in Show, but after five groups had been judged, the headlights were already fighting a losing battle against the encroaching darkness, and it was so cold that we, together with most of the ringside spectators, had to leave.

The “weekend” apparently started with some specialty shows on Wednesday, continued with more specialty breed and group shows on Thursday and Friday, and culminated with the Kennel Club of Palm Springs shows on Saturday and Sunday.

The group judging at the two all-breed shows was remarkably consistent: the Sporting, Hound, Working and Toy group winners from Saturday repeated their wins, and in the Non-Sporting Group the first two just changed places. In the Herding Group the Pem Corgi, and in the Terrier Group the Kerry Blue, got a first and a second — but the Welsh Terrier that was BIS on the first day was “only” Group 3rd on the Sunday. He won a half-dozen BIS last year, however, so is not exactly unknown. The Dobe that was Reserve BIS to the Welsh Terrier won her first BIS last year so really is a new contender. The same cannot be said about the Afghan Hound that won BIS on Sunday: He will turn six years old in late January, proving that Afghans reach their maturity late and last a long time. This one has been in the Top Ten of all breeds for two years already and won all the last six Hound Groups at this show! The German Shorthair that was Reserve BIS to the Afghan won five BIS last year, making him #1 in his breed and one of the country's top Sporting dogs.

KENNEL CLUB OF PALM SPRINGS, Saturday, January 6, 2024

Entry 3,177. BIS judge Paul Lawless, Ireland

BIS, Welsh Terrier GCh. Studio Be Curios JP Justice Hero. Owners J. See, Y. Iguchi, G. & Y. Rangel. Breeder Y. Iguchi. Handler Gabriel Rangel. Terrier Group judge Joseph R. Vernuccio.

Reserve BIS, Doberman Pinscher Ch. Connquest Best Of Both Worlds. Owners/breeders T. Connors-Chan & G. Chan. Handler Andy Linton. Working Group judge Hal T. Biermann.

Sporting Group, German Shorthaired Pointer GCh. VJK-Myst Heir To The Throne. Owners/breeders Y. Deterding, V. Atkinson & S. Stutz. Handler: Valerie Nunes-Atkinson. Group judge Pluis Davern.
 

Hound Group, Afghan Hound GChP Sunlit's King of Queens. Owners A. Morrison Jones & J. Souza-Bartlett. Breeders T. Richardson, P. Winkelmeier & N. Feldman. Handler Alicia Morrison Jones. Group judge John Wade.

Toy Group, Havanese GChP Wynmarks Les Bijouxs RockN Rolz At Reverie. Owners F. Holt, M. Coombs, B. & C. Hewlett & B. White. Handler David Murray. Group judge Sei-ichiro Ishimaru, Japan.
 

Non-Sporting Group, Tibetan Terrier GChB Players Alitara Magic In The Air. Owners S. & D. Getman, J. Krynzel & G. Mattison. Breeder A. McCain. Handler David Murray. Group judge James A. Fehring.
 

Herding group, Pembroke Welsh Corgi Ch. Coventry Break Every Rule. Owners D. Salow, K. Foist, B. Shelton & B. Williams DVM. Breeders B. Shelton, B. Williams DVM, S. Leyerly & D. Salow. Group judge Carl Gene Liepmann.
 

KENNEL CLUB OF PALM SPRINGS, Sunday, January 7, 2024

Entry 3,020. BIS judge Dr. Thomas M. Davies.
 

BIS, Afghan Hound GCHP Sunlits King of Queens. Owners A. Morrison Jones & J. Souza-Bartlett. Breeders T. Richardson, P. Winkelmeier & N. Feldman. Handler Alicia Morrison Jones. Group judge Paul Lawless, Ireland.

Reserve BIS, German Shorthaired Pointer GCh. VJK-Myst Heir To The Throne. Owners/breeders Y. Deterding, V. Atkinson & S. Stutz. Handler: Valerie Nunes-Atkinson. Group judge Nancy E. Talbot.

Working Group, Doberman Pinscher Ch. Connquest Best Of Both Worlds. Owners/breeders T. Connors-Chan & G. Chan. Handler Andy Linton. Group judge Joe C. Walton.
 

Terrier Group, Kerry Blue Terrier GChB Kilgawny Take My Man. Owners J. & K. Garahan. Breeders J. Garahan & H. Quigg. Handler Dana Bryson Benn. Group judge Dr. Jerry Klein.

Toy Group, Havanese GCHP Wynmarks Les Bijouxs RockN Rolz At Reverie. Owners F. Holt, M. Coombs, B. & C. Hewlett & B. White. Handler David Murray. Group judge David R. Miller.
 

Non-Sporting Group, Miniature Poodle Ch. Danfour Reignon Belle. Owners/breeders J. Lange & D. Chavez. Handler Daniel Chavez. Group judge Gary L. Andersen.
 

Herding Group, Bearded Collie GCh. Scotts Georgia On My Mind. Owners/breeders C. & T. Wathen & J. & S. Olivera. Handler Susie Olivera. Group judge Jan N. Paulk.