The After-Match

It was a long weekend for Trooper

The Match is in the books. Whoopie. If you remember, my German Shepherd Dog Club agreed to hold an AKC Sanctioned GSD Specialty B Match in conjunction with a breeder's annual BBQ.

We had ten regular entries and three in junior showmanship. We also offered a 4-6 month puppy (non-regular) class. Only one person entered that competition, making the class a waste of time and money. The trophy, rosette and ribbons cost more than the single entry fee we took in. I wouldn’t recommend offering it next time. (Live and learn, right?)

Participants and spectators seemed to have had a good time. I have mixed feelings about how things went. I'd like to share what worked, what didn't and what could be done differently -- just in case any of you ever think of doing this!

Know your audience -- I assumed that the match participants would be people new to the sport and/or with new dogs. I overestimated the group! Most of the match participants were absolutely clueless about dog shows. They didn't know what class to enter their dogs in -- they didn't even know what classes were! We were sharing leads and collars, reminding people to keep dogs on the left and explaining what a stack was from the ringside. A couple people showed up in flip-flops and ended up running around the ring barefoot.

Our entry form asked for email addresses. After the show I sent an email to all entrants. It included links to a few AKC resources to help make their next dog show experience even more enjoyable. I referred them to Info Dog to find shows, saying that nearby Ocala has several every month. I also emailed some information about the German Shepherd Dog Club of North Florida with links to our website and FB page.

Ribbons, trophies and baskets, oh my!

Know your location -- I wasn't able to visit the property beforehand. As such, decisions made based on photos were changed during set up. The area used for the ring was in a corner of a field surrounded by large trees to keep it shaded during the morning. We used the existing fence for most of the ring. The BBQ festivities were being held at the other end of the property so we decided not to put up our large, labor-intensive canopies. In hindsight, it would have been better to just grab a few necessary items and transport those instead of towing the entire club trailer. The trailer hadn't been reorganized since the Specialty shows. Overloaded and off balance, it would sway every time we went over 55 MPH. This added an extra hour to our drive and put too much stress on my husband our truck.

Know your budget -- We only took entries the day of the match. This made paperwork and money handling easier. It probably brought in a few last minute entries too. However, it made things hard to shop for. We ordered 1st through 4th place ribbons for every class offered. It's customary to give toys to each match entrant. Having no idea how many people would be coming, I bought 30 just in case. Even being frugal, they add up. Sure, we can use the leftover toys another time, but the cost is still added to this event's bottom line. I'm hoping that we broke even, as our club doesn't have much in the way of disposable income.

Know your expectations -- I expected the match to be a practice show with new but semi-knowledgeable people handling their own dogs ... like every other match I've ever attended. Apparently, the breeder and her people did not. 90% of them used the same two teenagers to run their dogs around the ring and they had no clue as to what was taking place. 

Our club was told that hosting the match would be a great way for the northeastern Florida GSD community to meet the central Florida GSD community, "a source of potential new members." Unfortunately, hosting the match as a way to promote the German Shepherd Dog Club of North Florida was a bust. Only one person at the BBQ expressed any interest in the club. It's been a week since my email went out and nobody has responded.

Best in Match was Trooper's brother! See the resemblance?

Know your limitations -- This endeavor was too much for me and Hubby to shoulder alone. Several of the people we thought were going to help pulled out at the last minute for various reasons. Others showed up late or left early because they had double-booked for the weekend. And honestly, the distance from Jacksonville to Dunnellon was longer than most club members wanted to drive.

Finally, I’m a little miffed that nobody from the German Shepherd Dog Club of Orlando or the Tampa Bay German Shepherd Dog Club showed up – especially since we had to jump through hoops to get permission from both of them to even hold the match. Will I do this again? No. If asked, I would suggest one of the following options:

• Find another host. The breeder should reach out to the German Shepherd Dog Club of Orlando or the Tampa Bay German Shepherd Dog Club. They are closer and would have an easier time getting club members to help out. They are also more likely to local members. Being that the AKC claims Dunnellon is in those territories, they wouldn't have to petition for the permissions that we did to hold the match.


• DIY Fun Match. Since the breeder isn't an AKC sanctioned club, she isn't bound by the rules that we are. My GSD club couldn't hold a fun match because we were opening up to non-members. Because we held a B Match, we had to use AKC's rules of judging. This upset a bunch of people with neutered dogs who wanted to enter. (These people obviously don't understand the intent of conformation dog shows in the first place -- but that's a post for another day.) The breeder, however, can just set up a ring and do whatever she wants. Judging by the skill and interest levels of breeder's clientele, I doubt the would mind -- or notice -- that it wasn't a "real" match.

So there you go -- the good, the bad and the ugly of my first time as Match Chair. If you ever take on that role, please learn from my mistakes. Be better than me. And send me an invitation to the match! See you around the ring, -- K