I agree with quite a bit of what you say Sarah, I do see problems with only
owner handlers, age being one, some physical disabilities. I don't understand
why it has to be such a money sport with so much politics, some of it is the
cost of handlers for a glorified puppy match and some (as I see it) is the
judges allowing themselves to be influenced by friends, handlers and money
instead of quality ONLY. Most little people such as myself go to futurities
because I love seeing the dogs and reconnecting with friends and if I win Wood
it's a great day. And most of us going don't even expect to win because we
don't have a top handler on our dogs. It is what it is, I have accepted it for
just that which is why no longer show as much. I try to do my homework and pick
judges who only look at dogs. 😀
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 2, 2017, at 10:55 AM, edwinx@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
All owner handlers would be a problem for many reasons, age perhaps being the
biggest... but your other points are certainly something to think about.
Taking it away from the National entry is certainly something to think about
especially since the National is in St Louis ( a God Awful site) every year.
Really surprised the members basically allowed this to happen, but than again
I guess I'm not surprised. The overall main problem with this sport is the
failure to bring in new/young exhibitors..... nothing lasts forever, when I
was a kid the sport of boxing was extremely popular... but that form of the
sport is almost non-existent and certainly pretty irrelevant today? Are we
near the end days of this sport ? Will it morph into something totally
different? Nervous here this second day of the year cuz my pork butt is
running behind! Keep posting Sarah. Ed
Sent from Xfinity Connect Mobile App
------ Original Message ------
From: Sarah Minsk-Eduardo
To: leebrown622@xxxxxxx
Cc: freelist, midwall@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: January 2, 2017 at 7:10 AM
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: 2017 Futurity/Maturity QUESTION??
I am a newbie so please take my perspective for what its worth. How about
eliminating the free ticket to Nationals with the Futurity and just have it
be what it was originally attending for…to showcase bloodlines and connect
with GSD lovers. I would also like to see the Futurities all Owner Handled. I
think more people would participate in the GSD show world, in general, if the
whole professional handler thing was lessened. I can’t think of one other
breed that so depends exclusively on professional handlers as does our breed.
I would venture that our breed has the least owner handled dogs of any breed
out there. I know people want to poo-poo this but it actually matters to a
lot of people and effects their decision to participate. I have brought it up
before and the old guard says “if you don’t like it than leave”. I just feel
like the GSD show crowd should, at least, TRY to make an effort to attract
new people and that is not the way.
If the Futurities were all Owner Handled it would return to the idea of
breeders showcasing their own bloodlines. We could change the gait around the
ring rule to just a gait out and back and 1 time across so that most people
could do it. I think a correct moving GSD is easy to spot and they don’t need
to do laps to showcase their good movement. Plus, it would be great to see
the dogs with their owners, less stressed, and just having fun. They don’t
have to be on a long, tight leash to showcase correct movement. Maybe offer a
TC test at the same time so people could, at least, get that out of the way.
I believe that "fun and comrade” do not seem to exist for most people in this
breed in terms of showing conformation. Maybe the Futurities could be a start
to bring back the fun in showing! I picture people bringing items for a pot
luck or cookout; sitting together eating and talking about dogs; and laughing
hysterically as they try to show their own dogs. But, at the end of the
day…people would feel good that they enjoyed their dogs; had excellent
company with new and old friends; and felt like they were part of a greater
community. I don’t know..just a thought.
Sarah
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