STAND ALONE OR CLUSTER?
show’s location, families would leave early Saturday morning, exhibit their charges, and move to the Sunday showgrounds fol- lowing Groups and Best in Show. Between shows, most families would stay at a hotel and spend the evening with friends, have dinner together, and discuss their breeds and the like while the children played together, swam, or practiced with their dogs for the following day’s show. In those days, there were still plenty of professional handlers. But I think it is safe to say that the majority of exhibitors were breeders or owners. With most breeds, competition was fierce, but also friendly. Most people only exhibited at the shows in their general geo- graphic area. So, often, the competition was regularly amongst the same people and dogs. During these days, exhibitors and judges alike would get together to talk and share their thoughts and ideas. Judges and exhibitors having dinner together were not seen as a conflict of interest, but rather an opportunity to share information and learn from one another. As it is today, winning was important. However, since you were often compet- ing with the same people regularly, it was always important to get along and respect and support one another. Back in those days, the goals were to go Winners Dog, Winners Bitch, or Best of Breed, and if you were lucky enough to place in the Group, that was just icing on the cake. Over the next few decades, as our coun- try grew, so did the number of local clubs and the offering of an increased number of opportunities to compete in a geographic area. For example, I lived in Ohio, and there were numerous clubs within a two- hour drive of most major cities. It was rather easy and affordable to attend shows and compete regularly without breaking the family budget. During the 1970s, inflation began to get out of control. Gas prices were rising, and even gasoline shortages were becom- ing a common occurrence. The result was that the cost of showing was also rising, as were the growing costs to the clubs to put on a show. At some point, the AKC decided they would allow clubs to “cluster” together at a common site. The thinking made sense, as the clubs could share the expenses of judges, show sites, and other items like the cost of tenting and other things needed to put on a show. Also, by allowing clubs to stay on the same site, the exhibitors would not have the burden of packing up and driving to a new location after the Saturday show.
“I HONESTLY BELIEVE THERE IS A BETTER WAY FOR OUR SPORT AND OUR LOCAL CLUBS TO NOT ONLY SURVIVE, BUT THRIVE IN THE FUTURE.”
seven Groups, so that they can cover the entire cluster. Many of the same judges are then frequently used over and over again while other highly qualified judges are not considered because they may only be able to cover two or three days of the cluster. Since the expansion of clusters into four and five-day weekends, the average exhibitor numbers are declining and the ranks of the professional handler have exploded. For those working-class people with disposable income, they now hire handlers to show their dogs. Almost all of today’s handlers now have huge, expensive RVs, and the clubs must have a facility that can park these large rigs. It is not uncom- mon to have anywhere from 50 to 150 of these big rigs at today’s shows, and when you add in the vans, SUVs, and regular auto parking, this alone can be the main concern with finding suitable sites. We have always had (and we will still have) a growing number of disgruntled exhibitors. However, the cry that is the loudest today is the one: “The profession- als always win.” While there will always be the case where the charge might be war- ranted, the reality is that the profession- als are showing a large percentage of the dogs at any show, and in many cases, their grooming, conditioning, ability to hire assistants, and handling skills can often be better than that of the average exhibitor. So, by now, you might be wondering where I am going with all of this. I honestly believe there is a better way for our sport and our local clubs to not only survive, but thrive in the future. We live in a huge country divided into 50 states as well as Washington D.C. I decided to look a little deeper into various opportunities for our show-giving clubs. According to the AKC website, there are about 720 All-Breed Clubs in the Unit- ed States. The three states with the fewest number of clubs are Delaware, along with North and South Dakota, with two clubs each. The state with the most clubs is Cal-
The two days at one site shows were successful. The AKC then decided that when there was an “EXCEPTIONAL” site available, they would consider allowing up to four shows to be held over four consecu- tive days at that one site, as long as the par- ticipating clubs remained within 125 miles of their geographically designated area. Depending upon your viewpoint, it was the expansion of clusters that (in my hum- ble opinion) created a decline in our sport. Since the initial introduction of the four- day cluster, the term “Exceptional Site” has fallen away, and now it is rare to see the two-day show weekend in most cases. The cost factors of combining clubs into clusters is a major factor in the reason- ing. However, what is the overall cost factor to the sport and to the average exhibitor? When clubs combine for clusters, it is usually with the anticipation of higher entries, a lowered cost of judges because of sharing for 4-5 days, a lower overall site rental, and other economic factors. In some cases, things work out, and the above hold true. In other cases, club leadership can change and animosity can grow between the clubs, and sometimes this leads to a cluster break up. Also, if we are being honest, the majority of sites now being used do not fit in the category of “Exceptional.” These clusters often come at the expense of the average American family. In the past, they could work and go to school during the week while looking forward to the upcoming weekend of shows, possibly within a short drive from home. With the growth of lengthy clusters, many families no longer attend because the shows are a greater distance from home or they can’t get off from work. Extra hotel nights, meals, and other expenses no longer fit the average family’s budget. In some cases, the cost of a cluster is felt even deeper by the exhibitor because most clubs try to fill their panels with judges that are approved for between four and
122 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2021
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