Fellow listers - Two days ago I started thinking about how to wade into the discussion of inclusionary thinking, amateurs versus professionals, futurities etc. My first commentary draft was from the angle of "if you want people to join your game, you have to make them feel welcome and comfortable". It dealt with the powers that are at the controls of the GSDCA ignoring the owner/handler at both the regional and national levels - full size rings for the puppy through bred-by classes at the national, the absence of the Amateur Owner Handler classes, etc). Before sending it, I wanted to give it a day to sit - so I could make revisions before blasting it out to the public; to further collect and organize my thoughts....... Then yesterday - I was reading the "dumb it up" posts and reminded of a conversation a million years ago involving several scions in Saddle-bred and gaited horse world held in the aisles of the National Western Stock Show..... at the time - I was very proud of showing my Quarter Horse filly in my first Halter/Conformation class at the really big show, and was complaining at the tricks some of my competitors were using and the whole - "its not fair to have to compete against professional handlers" litany ...... At this point, one of the long time trainers who had seen it all said - "Go home little girl ...... this is business and there isn't room for whining." So here is commentary draft #2 - everyone has to realize that dog showing whether at the futurity, regional specialty or national specialty level is a business. It is the dollars that drive the machine. It is not an altruistic endeavor. If it were - we would be content with participatory ribbons and written critiques of our darlings. I think this issue will also come down to supply and demand economics...... The few with the dollars will continue to play the serious games while those without, will watch. With fewer players, the cost of playing will continue to increase to a time when there isn't enough players to support the activities. Then the activities will cease in numbers. Eventually - there will be a resurgence from the bottom - they will restart the activities at a base level and the cycle will start again. We can either support the base now, or wait for the cycle to run it's course. All it takes is time.......... As someone who enjoys showing her own dogs - I guess I will have to stop whining and either work on my "athleticism and Game" to run with the Big Dogs or be content to watch from the porch. ~ Val Manning Rancho Terra Norte' Wellington, CO ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2010. 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. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. 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@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================