Why do people feel the need to rain on someone's parade? I think the whole Amateur thing sounds like a great idea - obviously, it needs a bit of fine tuning, but I think it seems to have a future. As we have discussed, this is a handler breed - always has been/always will be.. Why not do something to promote breeder/owners and newbies to show their own dogs. Yup, there are some breeder/owners that are just as good at handling as the pros, but for whatever reason, they don't do it themselves. There are some newbies out there that have a great deal of potential - why not do something to encourage them... Amateur are just that amateurs. I wish I had been there to cheer Rickey and some of the other newbies on - that's how this sport is going to survive! NEWBIES.... If you all want handlers in 10 years, you better start grooming them NOW because as you know, Kent, Jimmie, The Guz, etc aren't going to be able to show dogs forever. Can't we just have fun with something and make this a user-friendly breed? Jess Mac Paisley Dals (www.paisleydals.com) & The Shepherd Girls _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live Hotmail and Microsoft Office Outlook ? together at last. Get it now. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA102225181033.aspx?pid=CL100626971033 ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================