Poodle Power
All photos by Teddy Lei
Poodle Club of America was so lucky to be able to hold its show this year from April 22 to 25 at the Purina Event Center, which reopened just one day before the show started after sustaining tornado damage.
Some parent clubs had to cancel their shows when the Event Center became unavailable. I imagine the powers-that-be at Purina worked overtime to get the building approved to use.
PCA has always been one of the great highlights of the year for me. As a very young teen I remember attending when it was held at the famous Garden City Hotel on Long Island. Driving over to the show on Wednesday morning, I remembered Tedwin’s Top Billing winning the show under Ernie Ferguson. As I entered the venue, I noticed the banner listing all the previous Best of Breed winners: There was Top Billing winning the show in 1963. It made me realize I am one of the few who has been to at least 50 PCAs.
After the Garden City Hotel, for many years PCA was held at Ludwigs Corner before the Bryn Mawr weekend. Being the middle of June and outside, it was brutally hot for several years. I remember one year some handlers passing out. I remember sitting in the shade and suffering greatly from the heat and humidity. It was decided the show really needed to move indoors with air conditioning.
For several years, an equestrian center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was used. I believe it was only held there two or three years. Then the Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland, became the home for PCA for many years. There was so much positive about the venue, including several very good host hotels, lots of great restaurants and several major airports within several hours’ drive.
After being in Salisbury for many years, the board of directors explored moving the show to the Midwest. After a lot of investigating, it was decided to move it to the Purina Event Center in Gray Summit, Missouri. It works very well and has so many pluses. One drawback, however, is that the closest airport to fly into with dogs is Chicago, which is a five-hour drive. The Wildwood is a wonderful host hotel, and about 20 minutes from the venue. There are some closer hotels, and some people even rent motorhomes or trailers.
As with most shows, I think the entry was down this year. There were 506 dogs entered. I’m not sure what the entry was last year, but 2023 had about 100 more dogs. Like most shows, there were several reasons for the smaller entry. There were a lot of handlers who did not come this year. Also, some handlers did not have as many dogs as they usually have. Paul and Crystal Claus had many fewer dogs this year. Chris and Rachael Manelopoulos could not show any Standards: Their client Missy Galloway co-owns dogs with Michael Gatsby, who judged that variety. It was so strange to see Chris and Rachael without any Standards. They did go Reserve Winners Dog and Winners Bitch in Toys, as well as Winners Bitch in Minis.
I was surprised that so many Toy exhibitors came this year with oversized Toys. I thought everyone would know that the judge, Gina Wieser, would measure. Some of the foreign exhibitors were warned not to show their dogs. Some of the dogs that measured out were way over 10 inches. Some were only slightly over. I believe we are the only country in the world that has the 10-inch limit. The problem is, if we raised it to 11 inches, like the rest of the world, we would see many being well over 11½ inches. Several other breeds have discussed raising the heights in their standards to match the rest of the world, but are scared they would still go over any new limits. We see that so many breeds continue to get bigger and bigger. Even some Toy breeds like Chinese Cresteds.
Years ago, in addition to the national, PCA held a yearly floating regional specialty, which was hosted by a regional club. It used to get quite large entries because people came from all over the country. Then these floating regionals started getting smaller year after year. Because of those declining entries, PCA stopped having them.
Even most nationals in other breeds are getting smaller and smaller. Montgomery Country, the greatest Terrier show in the world, is made up of 25 nationals, and all its breed entries have gotten smaller, too. For example, years ago Smooth Fox Terriers would have 175 to 200 dogs; now they get 50 to 60.
PCA does an outstanding job with judges’ education, which is chaired by Nancy Hafner. They always get a large number of aspiring judges. During the judging of Toys and Minis, a separate table is set at the edge of the ring so the students can see the dogs up close. This enables Nancy to discuss the qualities of the dogs just an arm’s length away. Hopefully, a lot of the students come away with a good understanding of the breed. Sorry to say that a large percentage of judges do not continue their education after they get approved for a breed. It is rare to see any approved judges for Poodles attending in later years. To be a really top judge of any breed, one has to have a passion for the breed and be a continuing student of the breed. I have judged Poodles for 35 years and have had a great interest in the breed for 60 years. Each year at PCA, I still learn more and more.
We are getting more and more breeds approved for full status. As these new breeds get recognized, generally we have seen very few in Miscellaneous. When new breeds come into a group, group judges pay $35 and take the written test. I have gotten new breeds that I have not even seen one of before. The exhibitors think we know these breeds just because we are judges. Many of the exhibitors are brand new to dogs and have no dog knowledge themselves. As a student I must be a slow learner. It usually takes years — many years — and judging a lot of a breed before I become confident. I admire people older than myself who are still applying for new breeds. Being 76 years old, I know at my age I could never become an expert on breeds that I have no background in.
PCA always gets a large number of foreign dogs competing, especially many, many Toys from Asia. The Winners Dog in Toys this year was a dog from Japan. Being just over the border, we always have a large entry from Canada. We also see a fair number from Europe.
We have seen quite a few Standards from the U.K. and Sweden win big at PCA. I wish that PCA would offer an international competition for all the visiting dogs. Now that the entry is not as large as it used to be, it allows time for other competitions. Sometimes change needs to be made in order to keep traditions going. I am involved with three all-breed clubs, and this year they are being forced to make major changes. I imagine like all clubs, PCA will be making adjustments and some changes to keep the show as one of the great shows of the world.
Gina Wieser judged Toys this year. Gina grew up in the world of Poodles. Her mother, Frances Rubinich, was a famous Toy breeder. Gina was a handler for many years and helped many clients with their breeding programs. The depth of quality was very good. When it was very close between some exhibits, besides comparing their movement, Gina also put them back on the table to recheck some fine details. The Winners Dog was visiting from Japan. Reserve WD was bred in China, as was the Winners Bitch. The Toy variety winner, Ch. Rodells Steady As They Go, was bred and owned in the States. BOS was from the Smash kennel. She has done very well at other shows when visiting from Japan. Select Dog was the Smash dog that previously won the whole show from the classes.
Helen Tomb-Taylor judged the Miniatures. Helen bred white Minis and has judged PCA often before. Winners Dog was a six-year-old white male that also won the variety. The reason he was not finished earlier is his owner Cathy Gauche was campaigning “Sage,” who went BIS at Westminster in 2024. Chris Manelopoulos, who showed Winners Bitch, had won the variety under Helen years ago with the grandmother of this bitch.
PCA is one of the very few shows where we see a big entry of Minis with strong depth of quality. When I was a teenager, Minis were the strongest breed in the States. We had many very large kennels. The kennels were all wiped out because of PRA; now we have a genetic marker for it.
Michael Gadsby judged Standards. Besides having bred some great Poodles, he has bred so many great dogs in many, many breeds. He bred several dogs that have gone BIS at Crufts, dogs that have done great at PCA, Westminster, the AKC National Championship and also the World Challenge. He certainly has been one of the top breeders worldwide in modern times. When I learned Michael would be doing Standards, I immediately knew there was no way I would not be at the 2025 PCA. I was sorry I was not able to watch him do Standards last year at the World Dog Show in Croatia.
Strangely, the first class of 6-9 puppy dogs only had five entries. When only one showed up, the judging was delayed for a short time, since the stewards thought the exhibitors did not realize judging was starting. It was strange to have four of the five absent.
The next class, 9 to 12 month dogs, had 12 with only one absent. There were some very impressive young Standards.
It is always a breathtaking sight on Friday when all the Standard specials march into the ring. On the first go-around, we saw so many that would be in the running until the end. It is always interesting to see dogs we have seen several times in lesser competition to see how they compare in the best company. Some wonderful dogs have a few shortcomings that will eliminate their chances of winning the top award. All the top awards and the Awards of Merit have to be of superior quality to the judge. When we judge a show that is being livestreamed worldwide, our decisions are argued, good or bad, by thousands of viewers. I have been in far corners of the globe, and after my judging have gotten messages asking why I did what I did.
When the critiques are printed, it will explain why Gina, Helen and Michael did what they did. Probably these critiques will only be read by Poodle people. Many, many years ago at PCA, Anne Clark did an in-ring critique of her placements. Norm Austin did it also with the English Cocker national. AKC was promoting it, but judges did not want to do it. Personally I think it would be a great learning experience for all ringside.
Some shows are extra memorable. This year the variety winner of Standards is a perfect example. GCh. Theory Orion, shown by his owner-handler, Giovanna Giuffrida, became the winner. Very rarely does an owner-handler win Standards at PCA. It was an extremely popular win. This five-year-old has never been a huge winner. Several times I have witnessed this dog not even considered for Select Dog at an average show. Quite often many judges only look at the dogs with the known handlers. If this dog had been campaigned by a top handler, he would have a huge record. It was so touching to see all the handlers so excited for the winner and her dog.
While waiting for the pictures, I asked Giovanna if she might now retire him, being this was the win of a lifetime. She said she is going to try and get a Best in Show on him. It is sad to realize he has never won a Best in Show. Hopefully, Giovanna will get him to some shows where our better judges are on the panel. If she puts him out with a top handler, her goal will come quickly.
Best of Breed was judged by Jack MacGillivray. Jack was president of PCA in 2009 and 2010. Besides being a top breeder, he has judged many times at PCA. The Toy became the BOB and BOS was also the Toy.
PCA is always such an exciting show, but this year for many reasons it was extremely memorable. The huge committee thought of every detail. Luckily the Event Center was able to get the venue open in time for the show, literally within a day of show time. Hopefully I and many friends will be able to attend PCA shows long into the future.