Page 148 - SHOWSIGHT - JULY 2020

THE
LEARNING CLUSTER:
Handlers: How ‘OK’ Was Oklahoma?
1. When did you decide to enter the shows in Oklahoma?
2. How many days were you showing?
3. How far did you travel to get there?
4. How well organized was the show in regards to COVID-19?
5. Were rules noticeably enforced?
6. Did exhibitors practice social distancing?
7. What was it like to show without spectators?
8. How “clean” did you find the facility overall?
9. Was everyone wearing a mask? Did your dog(s) react to them?
10. Were you pleased with the ring set-up (separate entrances and exits)?
11. What about armband pick-up? Ribbon pick-up?
12. Do you have any thoughts about the procedure for taking win photos?
13. How would you rate your experience overall?
14. Would you say that the shows set a good example for other clubs to follow?
15. Is there anything that could have been done differently?
16. Are you planning to attend other shows that are held this year?
17. Do you have a message that you’d like to share with the dog show community?
MICHAEL & LINDA BRANTLEY
When did we decide to enter the shows in Oklahoma? As soon as we heard about it.
How many days were we showing? All four days.
How far did we travel to get there? We traveled about 350 miles.
How well organized was the show in regards to COVID-19? Amazingly well organized and executed. Many different things were tried to see what would work best for everyone.
Were rules noticeably enforced? Completely!
Did exhibitors practice social distancing? Yes. In spite of old
friends who had not seen each other for months wanting to give each other a hug, we all refrained, and kept proper distance from each other as well as wearing masks the whole time.
What was it like to show without spectators? I didn’t really notice as I was focusing on my dogs.
How “clean” did we find the facility overall? Very! The area was continually being disinfected and cleaned by the Onofrio guys and volunteers from Southern Handlers.
Was everyone wearing a mask and did our dog react to them? Yes, and boy, are my ears sore from having one on all week! I may need to get ones that don’t hook on the ears. I noticed very few dogs reacting to the masks, so I don’t think they will be an issue—rather I can see them becoming a fashion accessory.
Were we pleased with the ring set-up (separate entrances and exits)? Yes. I believe it was more efficient and saved the judges time in the end.
Were we pleased with the armband and ribbon pick-up? I loved picking up the ribbons as we left the ring; and as we tried several different things on picking up armbands, I felt that picking them up the evening before or the morning of the show as has been done in Canada worked the best.
Do we have any thoughts about the procedure for taking win photos? It was much more conducive to taking pictures and easier on both the judges and exhibitors to having the photographer put the judge into the photos later.
How would we rate our experience overall? It was a good one, and one that could have the result of better dogs being shown since, with fewer shows, the top dogs were all at the same show.
Would we say that the shows set a good example for other clubs to follow? Yes. Very much so.
Is there anything that we believe could have been done dif- ferently? I can not be critical of anything that this group did to make these shows happen. The amount of work that went into this was phenomenal!
Are we planning to attend other shows that are held this year? Yes, when possible.
Do we have a message that we’d like to share with the dog show community? Don’t give up! We can do this sport safely and have fun.
HOLLY LEFTWICH
When did I decide to enter the shows in Oklahoma? As soon as I heard about it.
How many days was I show- ing? All four days.
How far did I travel to get there? I traveled 6.5 hours.
How well organized was the show in regards to COVID-19? Very well considering this was a brand new situation.
Were rules noticeably enforced? For the most part. You can’t police everything and every-
one at all times.
Did exhibitors practice social distancing? They were great the
first couple of days, but by the end of the weekend some began to revert. In particular, during Groups some started grouping up.
What was it like to show without spectators? I loved it!
How “clean” did I find the facility overall? Very. They did a great job trying to keep everything sanitized.
Was everyone wearing a mask and did my dogs react to them? Yes. None of my dogs reacted to them.
Was I pleased with the ring set-up (separate entrances and exits)? I did like the separate entrances. However, I did feel they were a little too far apart to be efficient. Judge and stewards were too far apart to actually hear one another; and same for exhibitors.
What about armband and ribbon pick-up? I loved having arm- bands displayed on the table to pick up. I also liked having all of my armbands in one envelope to pick up at the superintendent. I did not mind the ribbon pick-up, it just took some getting used to. I did not like having to pick up armbands from three different lines on the day they were separated by Groups.
Do I have any thoughts about the procedure for taking win photos? I honestly thought it was great. I took more photos than >
146 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JULY 2020