Hanging With The Westminster Crowd Up Close And Personal In The Benching Area
It's the Westminster Kennel Club version of the Olympic Village, right in the heart of New York City.
It has happened every year since 1877, when the world's greatest dogs gather at Madison Square Garden, and it will happen again in 2007 when the 131st Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place on February 12-13 (televised live on USA Network).
Backstage...the grooming area ...the benching area. Madison Square Garden calls it the Rotunda...or the Expo Center. It's where the dogs are when they aren't being shown.
Truth be told, there are probably a lot of spectators who buy tickets and never even get into the main arena to watch the competition. They spend their time wandering around "in the back," getting up close and personal with the dogs.
It's a unique experience in the world of sports. Try to think of another event where the fans can have that kind of access to the stars. Can you imagine hanging out backstage with Bruce Springsteen at his concert or being in the dugout with Derek Jeter during a baseball game?
Clubs (staging conformation dog shows) all had two main goals: to reward dogs of excellent breeding and substance, and to educate and entertain the public by putting those dogs on display. Westminster, with its champions-only policy which admits only the best dogs into its rings for competition, and its benching areas where these dogs can be seen and admired throughout the day, meets these goals with the same style and prestige today as it did over a century ago.
-American Kennel Club Web site
That access is probably as much responsible for Westminster's sellout appeal at the Garden as is the competition in the ring. And this is especially true for children (and their parents).
This happens because Westminster is a benched dog show, one of the last true benched dog shows left in this country. On the day they are to be judged (Working, Terrier, Toy and Non-Sporting breeds on Monday; Sporting, Hound and Herding breeds on Tuesday), entered dogs are required to be in assigned areas on benches at all times when not in competition. This allows for interaction of 165 breeds and varieties of dogs and their owners with spectators and other owners and breeders.
The benching area becomes a dog show community for the exhibitors and breeders and owners for the two days of Westminster. The show is competitive, of course, but when the competition is over, there is the opportunity to visit with peers in the breed from around the country, an opportunity that rarely presents itself during the course of the regular show year.
The benching concept also gives breeders and owners the chance to visit with spectators, adults and children, and educate the general public about responsible dog ownership in general and their own breeds in particular.
That's been the heart and soul of Westminster for 131 years.
Author: Stacey Moore
Author Bio:
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