Famous Ankles

So, the show was ready to begin.  The lights went down and the announcer said it was time to play the National Anthem.  And so they did, and the crowd, without prompting, sang it out.  Very cool.

From the left side of the arena, the Hound Group participants came out.  I’ve watched the show for perhaps 15 years on the USA Network.  The only announcer you ever hear in the Garden is the same “main” announcer’s voice.  You know, the one where he comments about the breed and how it’s a wonderful breed and everything.  (I have to admit I listen between the lines and when he says things like “This is a dog that knows what it wants” or something like that.  When I hear it, I can’t help but think about what he must be trying to really say but is too constrained.)

I really blew it on the Hound Group.  I couldn’t really figure out how I was going to handle the picture taking and missed the first few dogs.

One thing you really notice in person is how it is really designed for TV.  (Of course, aren’t all events like that?)  In this case, the picture below captures how they are showing one dog while the next dog is brought over and prepped.  The dog being prepped below is, I think, one of the foxhounds.  I didn’t get a good picture of the winning beagle till later.

I finally did figure out how to keep track of the dogs.  Below is Norwegian Elkhound #16.

Otterhound #12.  Being prepped is Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen #6.  (The PBGB was a crowd favorite, including me.)

Pharouh Hound #8.

Plott #11, with Rhodesian Ridgeback #6 being prepped.  The Plott was a brand new dog to the Show.

Saluki #5 (the only decent picture I got of it).  This shows how I kept track (take a pictue of the name and then a picture of the dog).

Scottish Deerhound #8.

And the last dog of the Hound Group:  Whippit #12.

During the review, every so often I heard a dog howling.  I figured it was the Bassett (my absolute favorite of the group), but it was the beagle that ended up winning.

Here’s the final positioning of the winners:  beagle to the right in the #1 spot.

And then it was time for a long, long commercial…and the Terriers.

But that’s for the next post.

-H

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This entry was posted on February 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm and is filed under Events, Mid-town. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.