At East of England Championship Show,
Best in Show was Mrs. B. Decker and
Mr. P. Davies’s Wire Fox Terrier
Am. Ch. El-Rays Snowtaire Iceni Pauback (Imp.).
Photo by John D. Jackson.
Richmond Kennel Club photos by Leslie Simis
Well, the success of three dogs bred in America in the U.K. is certainly substantiated in the year 2004. One of the leading if not top dog all breeds in terms of Bests in Show, of course, is the Bichon Frise shown in the Toy Group there, Ch. Parays I Told You So. Then there is the Old English, which continues his successes, marred, of course,
by the taking away from him of his Crufts win of the Pastoral Group due to an incorrect class entry. Now comes a Wire Fox Terrier bred in the States to be awarded a Best at Peterborough's East of England show. True, the group judge who was also the BIS adjudicator was from Australia.
Nonetheless, this is quite an accomplishment for a WFT from the U.S. in of all sacred places the U.K.! Used to be the total reverse in that breed for sure as the Wires were brought over in droves from the U.K. and did more than their share of winning here. I will say that the 
acceptance of the Bichon Frise by some of the top judges in England has somewhat surprised me. Not because the dog lacks merit but because of the differential in the group he was shown in. Not only does this reflect on the overall quality of the dog, but also it is a great credit to his handler, Micheal Coad, who is, of course, a master handler and breeder of Bichons to say nothing of any dog with which he is associated. There was a time Micheal and his partner, Geoff Corish, entertained the idea of moving to the States to become professional handlers, but that went by the boards as 
they say. They certainly are two spectacularly respected handlers—let us not forget their association with Mick Kerry Blue, either, to say nothing of their both being recognized as judges supreme. Yes, judges, I say, and I mean it. In the U.K. you can be both a professional handler and a judge with no conflict of interest being cited. How's that for differences in attitudes between our two countries.
And on the subject of the WFT, who emanates out of Washington State, her father is one of the most sought after stud dogs in the U.S. Properly bred, he does produce lovely bitches. Just look at the picture contained herein. And that’s without any input from the so-called “Master” minds of WFT’s in the U.S. Her handler is a young man familiar to most terrier people in the States, 
Andrew Goodsell. Years ago, we all recognized him as an upcoming talent and not only has he stuck to the good cause, he is now a proven and respected commodity and a credit to the professional handlers of the world.
Furthermore, how can one overlook the success of the foreign-bred dog in the States for the last several years? The Yakee pekes from Scotland, the toy poodle from Japan, the Norfolk from England, all dominating our shows for the last two or three years. Funny how those things happen, isn't it!
I find it hard to believe that the Show Super Organization would poll the Delegates individually about an issue without asking them to go to the club's first to get their input. I mean really, why just poll the Delegate Body for its opinion—they are representative of their clubs and should be expressing their clubs opinions not their personal ones. Even if it is
about an issue so near and dear to the show supers pockets. And on the subject of polling, has anyone polled the show-giving clubs to get their reaction to certain show supers withdrawing liability insurance from their services to these clubs? You know, agency relationships work two ways—there is the grantor and the grantee, and if you upset the grantor too much, the grantee could end up on the shorter end of the stick. I mean, between the unrealistic, low fees charged the grantee and the possibility of private pacts by the grantors among the parties involved in this association, an element of realism should enter this picture, I would think.
Personally I am a firm believer of AKC instituting its Online Breeders Classified. I will grant you, some valid points have been raised by some of the delegates whose hearts are, in my opinion, in the right direction. Particularly is this true of Judy Hart and the delegate who suggested dividing the listings between parent club members and others. But some of the nasty and virtriputive statements posted on that e-line to say nothing of the Internet itself are beyond belief. Indeed, I saw a letter from a Breed Club President that defied reason. Her accusations were so unfounded and she insisted she was speaking for her club! Well, personally, I doubt this is the case as I called up some of the club members and read them this letter. They were as shocked and surprised by the tone of it as was I! Indeed, they had not even been consulted about the topic at all! •
