LINES FROM LINDA: OVERCOMING THE ODDS
Carolina Foothills Cluster Chair, Kris Harner.
of the Greenville (my own Kennel Club) and Piedmont Kennel Clubs exhibited what great teamwork is all about. For other clubs, I share this message: Many plans may not turn out to be perfect or exactly everything we wish for them to be. But it is important to get started, to see how everyone reacts, and continue to move forward. Take action, making adjustments, modifications and improvements as we con- tinue to learn what we can achieve. Work- ing together we can accomplish our dreams of continuing all of the wonderful sporting activities our American Kennel Club has to offer. The dog world owes special thanks to South Carolina State Representative Jason Elliott and Greenville City Councilman John DeWorken for their roles in helping this show cluster overcome the odds! The history of the COVID-19 has yet to be written. But when the story is finally told, the most crucial descriptions for the American Kennel Club will be persever- ance, tenacity and love for the sport of purebred dogs.
and had to be held in their hands, not by the head and shoulder. This went very well and was very much appreciated. We had the rings sanitized through- out the day, including all tables and pho- tographer stands. Our show was too large for doing photography like they did at the shows in Oklahoma, so we did them as usu- al, but we only allowed one exhibit in the ring at a time. We also had hand sanitizer around the building and were spraying and wiping down surfaces. The convention center staff helped with wiping doors and keeping our bathrooms clean. All doors were labeled for in and out.” Setbacks from the global Coronavirus have caused our daily lives to be interrupt- ed. We have missed our friends and many social activities. Whenever we are so fortunate to host events like these first Carolina Foothills Cluster dog shows held in the South, we are humbled at being blessed to be a part of such milestones for our sport. Members
found it worked well. Once the flow was established, the Groups didn’t really run any longer. (At first it did take a little longer for each Group.) What I found was that in the Breed classes, the judge didn’t make any cuts and was having dogs push up against the ring gate to gait half the dogs. The idea of any ring, Breed level or Group, having dogs do this didn’t look socially safe, so I would not allow that to happen. Areas we found we had to modify from the original building setup: Making clear marks on the floor to remind to stay 6' away from ring fencing; putting marks on the floor for where ringside crating or seat- ing is allowed. Both of these items helped to reduce the crowded areas at the rings for Breed and Group judging. It was easier to explain where they could go. Without these clear marks, we had people crowding the ring fence with chairs or trolleys. Once people knew where they could go, it really alleviated the congestion; space for every ring for ringside crating. Because we had so much space for grooming, and people really were spread out, we did allow hand-held dryers on low
92 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, AUGUST 2020
Powered by FlippingBook