OWNER HANDLER Q&A
10. Are you intimidated by the professional handlers? By the judges? Of course, but I would be intimidated by any professional because that is what they do, day in and day out. Like a race car driver—even a window washer, if they are a professional and doing it every day—who should be great just based on how often they do it. If owner handlers would prac- tice as much as they complain about the professionals winning or beating them, they just might win a bit more. Some judges are more intimidating than others, just by their reputa- tion in dogs. But, for the most part, I have found them to be fair. 11. Who has been your mentor(s) as an owner-handler? Valerie Nunes-Atkinson has been my mentor ever since she won the Westminster Kennel Club dog show with the German Shorthair—at the end of the six foot lead on a perfect free-stack. I still remember seeing the article titled, “The Stack Heard Around the World.” I have also had the good fortune to have had Ron and Linda Matson, Adrian Ghione, Nancy Amante, Julie Kay, and a few others be willing to share handling tips with me. One of my best dog friends and co-owners, Janet Oatney, is my toughest teacher. 12. How important is the owner-handler to the future of the dog sport? If you want to keep the average dog owner, the family pet owner, buy- ing the pups that the professionals strive to perfect, then we are important to the sport. Very rarely will we have the opportunity to purchase or breed that top notch special, but we can compete and fill the classes with the numbers of dogs that we purchase that will go home and be loved as a family member. We can also adopt those retired show and breeding dogs for ourselves and for our junior handlers. 13. What are your goals as an owner-handler? We have been fortunate to own a BOB winner at Westminster, with a few Group wins here and there. Now, we want to win an Owner-Handled RBIS/BIS. 14. Is there a victory that has eluded you? We have taken BOB and Group wins, but we have never earned a RBIS or a BIS. I’m sure it will be hard with my chosen breeds, but I can still dream. 15. Is there a funny story that you can share about your experiences as an owner-handler? Yes, a couple of them. A few years back, at one of my earlier wins, I was doing the down and back at Eukanuba. (I have glaucoma, so my vision is like looking through a donut hole. I don’t see down or peripherally very well unless I’m actually looking down or sideways.) In the show ring, we need to look where the judge is or at the corner we are going toward so that we can line up to return to the judge—so they can best see the way the dog travels. I’m usually pretty confident that there is nothing in the way, but as I was looking to the corner, I missed the loose tape on the rug and did a fabulous face-plant sprawl, dress and all! (At least my dog stuck close, licking my face.) I got up and turned around, and came back as best I could, all flustered. As I returned to the judge, Pat Hastings, she smiled and asked, “Would you like to try that again minus the falling part?” We laughed (when I wanted to cry) and I got a second chance. I realized then that judges are really trying to get the best look at the dog that they can. I won the class that day, and the judge told me that it was a good thing she was judging the dog, and not me. She winked as she handed me my rib- bon. I have always figured that it can’t get worse than that day! Then there was the day we were in Obedience in Palm Springs. It was windy, and my dog was supposed to be on a recall when he saw a bag blow by. Of course, he went OUT of the ring to check it out. (I guess the fact that we do Lure Coursing didn’t help.) When it stopped blowing around and he saw that it was just a bag, he came back—with the bag in his mouth—to a perfect sit in front of me like he had never left. Everyone laughed, and I had to too.
ARE YOU INTIMIDATED BY THE PROFESSIONAL HANDLERS? OF COURSE, BUT I WOULD BE INTIMIDATED BY ANY PROFESSIONAL BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THEY DO, DAY IN AND DAY OUT. LIKE A RACE CAR DRIVER—EVEN A WINDOW WASHER, IF THEY ARE A PROFESSIONAL AND DOING IT EVERY DAY—WHO SHOULD BE GREAT JUST BASED ON HOW OFTEN THEY DO IT.
198 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2021
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