The Westminster Dog Show is one of the oldest dog shows in the world alongside Crufts. Organized and hosted by the Westminster Kennel Club, this large and famous dog show is held for the 138th time this year.
The show takes place in New York at two nearby locations on February 10 and 11, 2014. One location is the Exhibition Center located at Piers 92/94, where breed judging takes place during the day on both days, from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
On Monday, February 10, 2014, dogs belonging to the following groups will be judged:
- Hound Group
- Toy Group
- Non-Sporting Group
- Herding Group
The breeds to be judged on Monday can be viewed>>
On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, dogs from the following groups will be judged:
- Sporting Group
- Working Group
- Terrier Group
The breeds to be judged on Tuesday can be viewed>>
The location is the Exhibition Center at Piers 92/94, between 55th Street and the West Side Highway.
The other location is Madison Square Garden, between West 31st and 33rd Streets.
Evening program at Madison Square Garden includes the competition of the best junior handlers (young handlers), the group finals, and the Best In Show.
On February 10 and 11, 2014, Monday and Tuesday from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM, doors open at 6:00 PM.
On Monday evening, February 10, 2014, the winners of the following groups will compete against each other:
- Hound Group
- Toy Group
- Non-Sporting Group
- Herding Group
On Tuesday evening, February 11, 2014, the best will be selected from the winners of the remaining groups:
- Sporting Group
- Working Group
- Terrier Group
The judge list can be viewed on the Westminster Kennel Club website>>
The show itself lasts 2 days, but preparation for the event takes a year. The first step in planning the shows is the selection of judges. Currently, more than 40 judges qualify the dogs, who are divided into seven groups according to type. The groups are as follows:
- Sporting Group: this group consists of dogs that assist hunters; they must have great energy and stable temperament. Included are pointers, setters, water spaniels, and retrievers for land and water hunting.
- Hound Group: the Hound group has existed since 1930, also a group of hunting dogs but with different characteristics than those in the Sporting group. Dogs in this group perform different tasks alongside hunters, such as finding the shot game and guarding it until the hunter arrives. This group includes greyhounds and pack dogs, which use their excellent sense of smell to track, find, and guard the game.
- Working Group: These dogs are generally strong-bodied, intelligent, and perform various tasks, including guarding houses and livestock, and can handle multiple roles, for example, they are used by police and military as service dogs.
- Terrier Group: "Terrier" derives from the Latin word terra (earth), as these small dogs must be determined, brave, and agile to go after rats, foxes, and other pests. This group includes all terriers, the miniature schnauzer, and the Australian terrier.
- Toy Group: Toy dogs were bred to be companions for people. They are full of life and often resemble their larger cousins in spirit. This group includes the Pomeranian, as a Scandinavian breed, the Papillon, the small spaniel, and the smallest Toy poodle breed.
- Non-Sporting Group: The AKC (American Kennel Club) placed breeds in this group that do not fit into the other six groups based on their characteristics. These dogs have diverse traits.
- Herding Group: This group separated from the Working group in 1983. These breeds have a natural herding instinct and their goal is to serve farmers and ranchers with their work, herding animals from one place to another.
You can view the list of dog breeds belonging to the 7 different groups along with a brief breed description (if you click on their name) on the Westminster Kennel Club website>>
Since 1992 the number of dogs entered has been limited (2500) and only champions of the American Kennel Club can participate, those dogs that earned a certain number of points in smaller shows held the previous year based on their victories.
Based on the previous year, the Kennel Club sends special invitations to the top 780 dogs. The remaining 1720 dogs (making a total of 2500) are also quality dogs and rank high in the points competition, but do not receive a specific invitation. This ensures that only the best dogs have a chance to earn the prestigious Westminster BIS title.
The Westminster dog show also enjoys significant media attention. Since the 1980s, media interest has only grown. Today, more than 600 media outlets and journalists from over 20 different countries cover the dog show. The show attracts about 35,000 attendees and 4.6 million television viewers.
The live broadcast of the show during the day will be available on the official Westminster Kennel Club website via the 2014 official Westminster show app. For more information, visit the Kennel Club website>>
The evening program can be followed live on Monday evening on CNBC from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
The venue of the show is Piers 92/94 in New York.
Covering 208,000 square meters of exhibition space, Piers 92/94 is the second largest facility in New York City (the first is Madison Square Garden). Piers 92/94 features spacious indoor event halls covering 133,000 square meters, as well as open event spaces spanning 75,000 square meters with high ceilings, continuous spaces, and column-free corridors.
The Piers 92/94 is only a few steps from Manhattan’s world-famous theater district, the Theater District>>. Also easily accessible from here is Times Square>>, with its bustling nightlife—an unmissable sight New York offers. Central Park>> is just a few blocks away from the Piers 92/94 exhibition center. Central Park is one of the country’s most visited parks.
Thanks to its excellent location, Piers 92/94 is a fitting venue for the most prestigious events. Piers 92/94 hosts events such as the Armory Show>>, the international fine art exhibition, the Architectural Digest>>, the interior design exhibition, as well as the The Pier Antiques Show>>, New York’s largest antique art exhibition, and the New York Fashion Week>>, the international fashion week showcase.
The other venue, Madison Square Garden, traditionally hosts the evening programs in this prestigious and large sports arena.
More information about Madison Square Garden>>
We can watch interesting videos, video reports, as well as videos prepared about the junior handlers final and the selection of Best In Show on the Westminster Kennel Club official website>>
You can also read interesting newspaper articles about the exhibition from recent years on the Westminster Kennel Club website>>
Additionally, you can view many interesting pieces of information beyond those already mentioned, such as the list of BIS and Group winning dogs from the beginning to the present day, read interesting newspaper articles, and view galleries of the dogs presented at the show, also on the Kennel Club official website>>
We also recommend the Facebook page of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show television program>>
If you are a dog exhibitor or if you are interested in the world of dog shows, I recommend the author's official website, where the dog show calendars of recent years, the official 2020 MEOESZ dog show calendar and all the 2020 MEOESZ dog shows' Hungarian and English language recommendations will be available in the usual format!
Look for Ildikó Vámosi dog writer, author's official website:
Http://ildikovamosi.hu/
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