James won again!! What a dog!! And Kelly Fitzgerald won again. She piloted Samantha another English Springer Spaniel a few years back to the same exciting win! I had to drop off a friend's attire across the street and the parties have already started.

I wish you all could have been here! I thank Westminster Kennel Club for the opportunity to be your eyes on the floor! I had a blast!

Sincerely,
Anna Stromberg

The bouvier from California was the lucky one!

The temperature in the building rose with each lap they took. The weather did not scare any spectators, the house is full to the ceiling!

We are waiting on the hound group and it has started to snow.. Ikes..

Love these BlackBerrys. I can blog in the seats!!

Just left hotel Pennsylvania and this is really grand Central for this show. In the lobby you run into everyone and everybody!

I hear its being closed for renovations next year? True?

Dogs are currently on line with attached owners and not very many are left on the benches. If I was to leave I would wait until 6.30 and then take my stuff towards the exit.

My recommendation to each and everyone that will do the show for the first time next year is to watch at least the first group and then leave for an easy and smooth exit.

Another first is also going on! We are sitting in the stands watching the transformation from day rings to the evening's group ring. What an antfarm of people needed for this change. Looks like a well oiled machine to say the least.

Due to some technical difficulties I think this will be a little behind. My apologies to everyone. Here are my experiences from today!

We made it back to the city in time for the whippet judging this morning! It was a bit rough to get up at 4 again but we did it and got on the road with time to spare! That is unheard of in our household.

No results to brag about personally but two favorite whippet bitches of mine (aside from my own girl naturally!) did really good and you will see one of them in the group later. Her handler is such a doll and right now very pegnant. I asked her how she is doing and she said just fine. She looks great. Way to go girls!

The groupwinners of last night are now resting on their own bench downstairs and spectators that watched the competition on TV are oohing and aahing when recognizing the dogs. They get back to action later this evening in Best in show joined by the winners from hound, sporting and the herding groups that are judged today.

The activity level is as high today in the grooming area and I do notice that the aisles are just as crowded today as yesterday.

Heading to Afghans!

The weather is cooperating but they are promising some snow - I know I jinxed everyone....

I have to say a few words about the greatness of benching. Very few shows are benched nowadays, among them are Westminster and Philadelphia. I love both shows. I like the fact that its easy to find people, to see and talk to the spectators and the fact that you have an assigned spot for your dog.

There are right now small parties going on in the benching area were people and dogs are hanging out chatting with each other. Again I am heading down to cheer on the next generation of handlers in Junior showmanship.

I cannot feel my thighs! A weekend of running around followed by standing and walking here at the Garden has really done me in! The fun thing is that we have to do this all over tomorrow!

I am going to watch the fantastic young handlers that are competing for Best Junior Showmanship in Show. I used to compete in Juniors myself but was never really successful. Needless to say I am in awe of these youngsters! Also one of my favorite persons is going to judge the final in Juniors tomorrow, Nick Urbanek who him self is a winner of this competition just a few years back. There is so much talent in this group of boys and girls, not only in the showring but in school aswell.

The show is still going on and I think there have been some "upsets" as in favorites or top winners loosing the top honors. I all honesty I think that in this kind of depth of quality among the dogs there is no bad decision.
I just had a hot dog to celebrate that I can officially relax downed with a really good soda! There is nothing like that during any event at Madison Square Garden! Dog show, Knicks game, Rangers... It does not matter!

My Giant girl assisted by my husband is currently laying halfway in the weelchair of a young girl. They have had a serious conversation for about half hour now. I am not sure what they are chatting about! Angel on Leash has a huge booth here I noticed and Sofia is "angeling" all on her own right now. I am impressed with all the vendors that have joined this show over the past few years. The quality and quantity of great dog related items present here is in every inch of the benching area. It is crowded but competely manageble! I am heading down to the ring area and will check back in later!

It is quite obvious that it is a giant crowd here, if it is because of the holiday week or not I am not sure. Monday always draw a huge crowd each year and to be honest - it's not bad getting around!

So keep your fingers crossed - 2 pm!

I did not mess up my outfit - that's a blessing!

The breed judging started at 8.30AM with the National anthem and standing straight in the back listening my thought went to a friend of mine and a friend to the whole dog world that just passed away, Mrs. Clark. For many of you that is a known name but if you are new to the sport of dogs she was one of the greatest. She was supposed to have judged here but illness cut her life short a few weeks back. Dear Annie, we are all thinking of you.....

Excitement, and screams of joy are heard from each and every corner of the green carpet below constantly! I see familiar faces from all over the country, and students of mine from Owner Handlers Association on Long Island and when they come running with a ribbon, bearhugging - you just feel great!

I have to go groom now and get soaked washing my girl so I will check back later. Don't forget to check the schedule here on the website to see when your favorite breed is judged. You can catch the judging about 2 hours (could be sooner!) after it's finished here on the website.

Until later!

I packed the car twice last night - just to make sure that we have everything. My husband picked his tie for about an hour... I had to hem two pair of pants since I completely lopsided the first pair. I started getting nervous that I would have to end up making them into shorts.

I must say it is very interesting to read your comments from all over the country. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

We had a great day at our club's specialty show yesterday! Smiling faces, wonderful dogs and again - no snow or rain! After last year's trip Sunday morning to the same event I will call any snowfall under six inches a dusting. We remember feeling like commandos in our rented four wheel drive vehicle guessing our way to New Jersey. The turnpike was a sheet of snow with snowdrifts that felt like ocean waves when you hit them. Nostalgia!

I hope for a smooth landing curbside at the Garden and I have the whole unloading process all planned in my head just so that it can fall apart completely! Oh positive thoughts!

Check back later!

Anna

I must say I am getting very excited about Westminster after a day of specialties in New Jersey. Running into old and new friends that are here from all over the United States and from all over the world not the least, to watch or participate in the two days of showing is just about as good as it gets! We did miss the festivities at the Hotel Pennsylvania last night. I was too busy getting ready for the show today and we also had a whole lot of friends over to the house after the Saturday's show. Our own party certainly made for a really nice evening.

This sport of purebred dogs is attracting to young and old. I get confirmation of that every time I go to an AKC sanctioned dog event. I see juniors handlers with their grandparents that have been showing and possibly breeding dogs for years. Then you run into a new family with their lovely young dog just learning the ropes.

I teach classes for OHA which I mentioned before and we have a mixed bag of faces each week learning how to present their dogs at a dog show comfortably. This sport has its own group of professionals that for them this is their livelihood. I always say to my students to watch and learn from most professional handlers, mannerism, technique and report with their dogs. You will never get the same amount of ring time when you show your own dog as a pro handler gets from showing his or her "string" of dogs but showing your own dog you have the advantage that you really can practice with the animal and perfect your performance. The dog's quality will never change but you can learn to present the dog to the judges flawlessly and with an "invisible" handler the judge can really get to see this dog's virtues. Any owner handler with a bit of patience, willingness to learn, talent and feeling and not the least, a good dog can be just as successful as any professional handler! I am sure we will see a whole bunch of talented owner handlers right up there in the mix of things Monday and Tuesday. Some will probably be breeder- owner - handlers. Now that is a real accomplishment too! Remember one thing - no matter what dog wins on any given day, we always say congratulations to the lucky winner's handler!

Anna