Becoming: Adventures of AMontgomery Week
BY JACQUELYN FOGEL continued
the lack of rain that day, which was particularly great since we were parked in a low spot this year. Devon is one of those sites for which you must always have an escape plan. Rain will take out at least half of the usable parking spaces because low areas quickly turn to mud. In the years I have been coming to these shows Devon has been cancelled twice for rain. Those were two of my favorite years. We got all of the dogs ringside, and even had time to chat with exhibitors in other breeds as we waited. I was very excited to win the Bred-by-class with the young bitch I had been holding back for this weekend. Then she was awarded Winners! But the real shock came as she was awarded Best of Breed. What an honor! She finally decided she could do this showing stuff and not slink around the ring like a reptile. I must admit I am terrible at training dogs who begin to win at a young age. Unlike bassets that require a lot of hands-on train- ing before they show, bedlingtons pick up showing fair- ly quickly. But dogs that win quickly end up with not a lot of ring time to bond with me as a handler, so they are often naughty and unpolished in the ring. Fortunately Saturday was Sparkles’ day to, well... sparkle. Sunday is the show for which the entire weekend is named – Montgomery County, the largest terrier show in the world. I really don’t mind moving to the site designed specifically for this show, though the weather has become much warmer and predictable in the past 10 years. I love seeing the kilts and plaids people break out for this show. Since most terriers originated in the British Isles, the traditional garb comes mostly from the countries of Great Britain and Ireland. The rest of us just shop for something classically beautiful that can be worn with stylish coats and boots. This year was windy, but fairly warm, so many abandoned the traditional boots and heavy coats. Show organizers always work to make this show feel extra special for the exhibitors and visitors from around the world. The grounds are beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and many red and white circus-sized tents. There is one building that has a cafeteria and indoor plumbing – a huge plus for an outdoor show. The ven- dors are well-stocked with all things terrier. And the ter- riers! It’s terrier heaven with deep quality in every breed. Several of the visitors are judges who have come to learn about new breeds they plan to apply to judge. I usually enjoy this part of these shows, but was quite dis- mayed this year by one person who approached me ringside to sign his mentoring form after talking with two other people and spending 5 minutes with me ring- side before the Devon show. I told him I would not sign his form without actually spending time mentoring him on my breed. I watched as he walked away and did not stay to observe the judging or continue a conversation with me. This was a first for me. Every other year I’ve
bor’s space, and they were very difficult to navigate into and out of with large vans, especially when exits were blocked with cones or hazard tape, and turns were narrow right angles. The good news is you have an alternative! Please consid- er moving permanently to the Macungie Fairground site, and please continue or start any negotiations you can with Devon KC to bring them in with you, because as much as we love you, that’s how much we don’t want to go to the Devon site on Saturday. We understand that Montgomery County KC will probably want to have their own site, but your exhibitors and vendors would be eternally grateful if the other 3 all-breed days of the weekend could be at the same site – the one you guys manage. We still love you. And we truly love and appreciate your grounds crew who remain polite and reasonable when tasked with logistical nightmares. Sincerely, Your Faithful Terrier Friends from around the Country The second day of Hatboro turned out to be another hot day, and I was very glad I’d made the last-minute wardrobe change. Unfortunately our set-up had to be totally rearranged when we realized our generator was going to be exhausting right into our newly-moved-in neighbor’s x-pens. So even though we had left our tents and tables on the grounds, we still moved everything before we started to groom. Our neighbor thanked us profusely for noticing the issue, and offered to help us, but our 6 people were able to get the job done pretty quickly. It just seems there is never enough time to get nine bedlingtons groomed and ringside – and do some mentoring with the newbies. At least our win results were a little better on Friday, with Best of Breed, Best of Opposite and Award of Merit going to dogs in our group. One of the best parts of the Montgomery County weekend is the restaurants we visit. This area north of Philadelphia has more fine restaurants per square mile than almost any city outside New York. Every year we find new ones, and revisit old favorites. Friday night we went to old favorite, Baci’s on our way back to the motel, and we were not disappointed. Good food and great company make this a really pleasant weekend in spite of all the moving. Lucky for us, we did not have early morning show times on Saturday. Even the basset was at a civilized hour. Devon shows are about 25 miles west on the turn- pike from our motel. It is usually a very fast drive on a Saturday morning – except for this year when we were backed up for about 4 miles with construction. Unfortunately Sheila, who was caravanning with us, got rear-ended by a young man busy on his phone. Apparently this was going to be the year of the damaged vehicles. Thankfully no one was hurt, and damage was minor. We found a great spot to set-up, and marveled at
186 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , N OVEMBER 2017
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