HAS THE PURSUIT OF BEING ELITE LED TO ELITISM IN THE SPORT OF DOGS? BY LEE WHITTIER I recently had an experience that left me unsettled, that left me with linger- ing thoughts and reflections about the endemic elitism in the sport of dogs. Here’s what happened… I was at some shows where I was stand- ing with a group of exhibitors, i.e., a mix of owner handlers, profes- sional handlers, an off-duty judge, and a club member. A random person, who had obviously just watched a breed in the ring, approached the handler and asked a question about the breeding on the dog she was showing. The handler responded appropriately and kindly, and then the random person congratulated the handler—who happened to be a professional—and again the handler responded kindly, thanking her. Off she went. All very nice and civilized, right?
As soon as that person walked away, one of the members of the group laughed derisively and said, “Ha ha, she thought you were an owner han- dler.” Before I could get a word out, he turned on his heel and walked away, still laughing. There was no doubt that this was meant as an obvious elitist reaction. I stood there wondering—and I’m still wondering—why is being an owner handler a laughing matter? This kind of derisive elitism has no place in society in the 21st century, let alone in the Sport of Dogs. Has the pursuit of being elite lead to elitism in the sport? THE PURSUIT OF ELITE PERFORMANCE IN SPORTS Think about football, or tennis, or really any sport at all—think about the top players. They are the ones to beat. They are the ones who dominate with the highest win ratios. And with those high win ratios, they have the power; it’s not just good luck. They have worked hard to be the elite of their sport. According to the NFL Players’ Association, the average pro- fessional football player in the National Football League lasts 3.3 years. Of course, there are exceptions, but that is a mere three-and- a-half seasons. Interestingly, according to Sportscasting, “The aver- age career length skyrockets to 11.7 years for a player who is chosen for or plays in a Pro Bowl at least once in his career.” In the dog show world, the people who “bring it” most consis- tently enjoy a lot of longevity. In the sport of dogs, a competitor can rise to the elite level and maintain a dominant spot from their thirties well into their sixties. After thirty or forty years of showing dogs, some exhibitors continue their show careers through judging. We see this in both owner and professional handlers.
132 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2022
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