Why are GSD shows dying on their feet? - Page 6

videx  david

what you have printed above is correct in a sense but you of all people must realise that some clubs get a low entry because of their location and to take away their cc status would mean we would probably loose more people from our show rings as not every one can afford to travel the length and bredth of the country

jim h

Jim, we currently have 33 sets of CC's per year. 10 or 12 of these need to be with our TOP GSD Clubs, so they can hold a TOP Championship Show EVERY YEAR, and they can agree to spread these out over the full year, ideally ONE each month.
The remaining CC's can be allocated in various ways, taking into account the following: ROTATION, LOCATION, ENTRIES, etc etc. The worst we can do is have our CC's with a club which consistently attracts very small entries .

Those clubs WITHOUT annual CC's can put on SPECTACULAR OPEN SHOWS. Look at the fantastic success of Cambridge and Northumberland & Durham. They can put on BACK TO BACK Open shows with top SV Judges, sharing their costs, venue etc. Championship Shows are the pinnacle of our Show Scene, they need to be simply the BEST, however they also need the support of the majority of exhibitors, and also need the support of an "infrastructure" of Open Shows, Training Clubs, Junior events, Seminars, Educational events etc etc. This is what builds the very fabric of a "COMPLETE GSD SHOW SCENE".

If our Show scene was a business, it would be "BANKRUPT". We need to approach the "revitalisation" of our Show Scene in a business like fashion. Identifying CORE issues, and having the courage to fully address them. Examining ALL peripheral issues and make improvements wherever possible. Constantly monitoring each and every show, looking for ideas, opportunities, and YES failures and disappointments and LESSONS. Our "management team" could be elected/selected by the GSD Breed Council, reporting to the Council.

Can a successful business be managed by everybody it employs? NO!
Can a majority rally around a "management team"? YES!
Can Exhibitors and Breed Clubs Elect/Select a "management team? MAYBE!
Can those that do not exhibit, and have no intention of exhibiting, and do nothing towards helping our GSD Show Scene, STOP MEDDLING or CRITICALLY COMMENTING in/on our Show Scene? NEVER!
Can the majority of keen exhibitors STOP being APATHETIC regarding essential changes? - NOW THAT REALLY IS - "THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION!"

Well Said, David!! For any changes to work ,the key area's of development for the future need to be taken away from each club and controled by the body that will administer the day to day running of the breed. Lets call it, A BREED COMMITTEE OR COUNCIL!!!!! If we started with 12 clubs having C.C. status every year, you could not rely on each club spreading the shows over the year as Dave recomends, they would end up squabbling over who has what. You would end up with 4-6 months between shows, and this kind of problem would arise over all sorts of disagreements between clubs. So certain key area's of control must be taken away from each club. 1. Selection of judges! we have judging lists, clean them out and use them, Never again must certain individuals have access to selecting judges for their own show, this leads to possible missuse of the system. THE BREED COMMITTEE can do this on the basis of the cleansed judging list, for Champ and Open show lists can be selected by a lottery system so no individual has any influence on selection. Gone at a stroke will be the old pals act and you do mine etc. You can  work through the judging list till everyone has judged. If you need international judges for certain shows they must be selected in the same way. 2. Entries, I'm sure whoever is judging would want a good turnout, You must give the exibiter another reason to want to come to the show, Pay for 1, GET 1, Free.  Clubs must be realistic about thier costs for an entry, Remember half a loaf is better than none. 3.  Handling of dogs, It is human nature if you have a good dog you want a good handler on the end of it. Some handlers are very good, some arn't so good, They need to moderate thier demands for taking a dog into a ring. Paul stated, THE ONLY THING THEY CAN TRUST IS THEIR DISHONESTY!!! Thats a sad statement but so often true. So many people take the easy option, you cannot allow any situation to find its own level, people will exploit it. So take all possible temptation away by puting in controls that makes it a non starter for anyone to even try to cheat, corrupt, or take advantage of any situation. It was sad to see Sammy Hunter, after she had received a fab bunch of flowers for her service and dedication to Allertonshire club, Plead for someone to take up the secetary job at her club. Gone are the days when there used to be a waiting list to get onto a committee. Bill Owen.

David, you know we've been down the Major clubs for annual CC route before all to no avail for as you are aware it  didnt even get a hearing. I agree we need to put a stop to the apathy and stimulate enthusiasm and yes I did believe creating at least 8 to 10 Major annual shows a year could have been the answer. It possibly still could but without th support of all the clubs (which appears will never happen) the idea is Dead in the Water.

So though I personally still believe the idea to have been the best way forward, I have had to accept it failed and move on, as past experiences taught me that the only place you get to when continually beating the same drum is up peoples noses and on their nerves. Better to put it down and play a tune from another fiddle instead, meanwhile the cynical side of me cant help but notice the idea gradually unfolding before us anyway.

Having read your reply above to Jim h. you have surely not thought this through, more especially your request that  - Those who dont exhibit or have no intentions of exhibiting should STOP MEDDLING or CRITICALLY COMMENTING in/on our Show Scene. Lest you or others forget that there are MANY who DO NOT EXHIBIT without whom OUR SHOW SCENE would be almost in total collapse!! I can think of five such people on our committee, another two are the backbone of Bolton GSD Club, some who are excellent GSDL Council members and many, many more all too numerous to mention. Therefore on reflection do you perhaps agree you should rethink that suggestion , for whilst I agree that without exhibitors there are no shows, equally I agree that without those willing to be constructionally involved (exhibitor or not) there would be no shows for the exhibitors to attend.

The only way to stop this decline is for the people to be in it for no other reason but the Breed and as suggested earlier by Linda and Paul, for people to start applauding insted of sniping, patting on the back instead of stabbing and last but not least looking further than just their own dogs in the ring and learning that if we are truly in it for the breed, quality is a reason for us all to celebrate regardless of who bred it, owns it or handles it. Then and only then may we start again to move forward. Finally I find myself unable to end without saying Costs are a major factor and in Germany handling is done as a pleasurable part of the hobby, or out of honour, respect, to help others  or simply out of friendship but NEVER for money.

Regards

Sue B

Sue B: point taken re committee's & corrected. The "best" way forward is, in my opinion, our only real hope. Fiddling and tinkering with peripheral issues may slow the decline down slightly, but nothing less than bold and radical decisions are required to revitalise out Show Scene, indisputably.

Picking up on the  comment from Linda B: "these people have a wealth of knowledge and experience and if more people took the time to talk to them they could learn something"

Surely it is better to have their knowledge and experience benefit as many people as possible, rather than the few who may have the opportunity to speak to them.

I would suggest that an item is included in our Breed Council Magazine EVERY MONTH, the subject to be "AN INTERVIEW WITH", (a well known and respected stalwart of our breed). This "INTERVIEW" could be based on a number of fixed questions, designed to draw out their knowledge and experience for current and prospective GSD Breeders and Exhibitors. It could also include a "General Comment" section, where they could write about any matters they felt could be useful for them to impart.  There would be a different person each month, some may wish to write their own, others may be more comfortable being interviewed and having it recorded, then typed up, edited and approved by them, and then published. This latter system may encourage more to participate.

These "INTERVIEWS" would be a valuable source of information for many people in our breed. It may also be considered appropriate to place each interview on the Breed Council website, with a DOWNLOAD & PRINT facility.

I hope this can become a reality, even if we gave it a "trial period" of say 12 months, that would be 12 interviews on record, for posterity, from 12 'stalwarts' of our GSD breed.

Bill, you said "Gone are the days when there used to be a waiting list to get onto a committee." and how right you are but if what you are now proposing (i.e. take all important decision making away from club committees to give it to this so called Breed Committee / Council) is tantermount in creating a club committee of 'slaves' expected to do the bidding of the higher beings on a Breed Committee / Council. Would you be prepared to work endlessy for a club that treats you as a mindless entity? How many people do you actually think would be left serving on Club Committees run under your suggestions? Oh yeh, all those who like arriving early & leaving late to put rings, judges tents, etc up and down again, not forgetting clearing all the crap and rubbish some ever thoughtless exhibitors consistantly insist of leaving behind or the many other endless, tedious tasks a committee member has to fulfil, how many of these walk over me cos I'm mug individuals do you know?  (present company accepted of course. lol).

Regards

Sue B

On another of your points Sue B: Very few people are fooled or impressed by sycophantic public compliments, indeed many observers find it rather off putting. Private and sincere compliments are appreciated far more.

David, I think your last suggestion was an EXCELLENT iDEA and well worth starting as soon as possible. Of course in order to get THE FULL BENEFIT of their experience the right questions need to be asked which in itself will need much thought and consideration. Are you up for the job though David? I suggest you stop suggesting and start doing!! As we keep saying it has to start somewhere.

Regards

Sue B

Sue: I would not wish to seriously damage its prospects of success by doing more than make the suggestion. Many believe my suggestions are very well thought out, well written and well promoted. Others would do well to even make ONE suggestion, never mind DOING anything else. I see people at the German Sieger Show over many years, with PRESS PASSES, who never write anything or report anything about the Show. This falls in the "personal benefit" catagory, I suppose.

There are those who think that I have some personal agenda and ambitions within our breed here in the UK. They are totally wrong, but they derive some pleasure in thinking they may be blocking me somehow. In their efforts they stifle significant progress and frequently inflict risk and damage to what exists. They fail to see or even know of my many 'activities' connected  with our breed, and I will certainly not enlighten them. Suffice to say I am very content.
I would also add that I intend to reduce my negative comments significantly, and be more consistently constructive.

Sue, i dont have too much experience of paying handlers, but i agree with you in principal, they can be quite cheeky when asking for money ( and they keep a straight when they ask )  a couple of years ago  i asked one well known handler to take a puppy in for me, {Steven was handling one of his own breeding ) He did'nt try the way i hoped he might, but never mind, another time maybe a different result.  It amused me  when i asked what i owed him for the class, the look on his face, when i gave him half of what he wanted. May be he was registered for VAT. I can put my hand on my heart when i say i have never paid any handler for CCs or RCCs . Nor, and this is particularly relevent was i ever asked,  never.

Now i know that i may have been fortunate in that we were all friends, and i do realise that some payment is welcome, but not the figures i have heard bandied around re. some of our current handlers.