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Finger Lakes dog shows of New York
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Finger Lakes Kennel Club
The four shows in the last week of September in upper New York state call themselves, “The Wine Country Circuit.” But I’ve noticed that when those of us in the northeast talk about the shows, we always say, “Are you going to Finger Lakes?”
If you look on a map of New York state, you can see the ten long lakes that stretch north- and south, looking just like two hands. It’s a truly unspoiled area of New York, which comes as a shock in a state so well known for large, smog-filled cities.
As you drive to the park, you often see white deer. Not albino deer with pink eyes, but a special strain of whitetail deer that mutated to a pure white color in 1949. Because they lived on the 7,000 acres of the Seneca Army Depot, they were protected from hunting, so now the herd numbers about 200. Twenty-six miles of 8-foot chain link fence keeps poachers out and the deer in. The land is now protected by the Seneca White Deer organization, and they are working to keep the white deer safe.
The four-day cluster has the biggest entries of any shows in the country on this weekend. Winning Best in Show all four days would have brought one dog upwards of 8,000 points.
But the judges split their decisions. At Onondaga Kennel Association show on Thursday (1,643 dogs), Best went to the Bulldog, Ch. Kepley`s Showbiz Razzle Dazzle with Phoebe Booth handling.
The Hound Group winner was a complete unknown coming from the Open Dog class, the Irish Wolfhound, Aotearoa Lee Ridge Tote owned by Barbara N. Daley. Every owner’s dream and 197 dogs defeated. Hope there was a 5-point major in there somewhere.
The Bulldog repeated her Best in Show win on Friday under judge John Shelton. Saturday, it was the Scottish Deerhound’s turn, Ch. Foxcliffe Hickory Wind handled by Angela Lloyd under judge Doris Cozart. On Sunday, at the Elmira Kennel Club show, the Smooth Fox Terrier, Ch. Slyfox Sneaks A Peek, went Best in Show under Dr Alvin Krause. He’s owned by Jim Smith, a member of the new club Lake Effects Fox Terrier Club of Western New York.
In the Non-Sporting Group on Sunday, there was an upset as the Bulldog went Group 2 to the Dalmatian bitch, Ch. Troika Serendipity, with breeder-owner-handler, Michele Markoff. That’s a wonderful win for a beautiful bitch who is just getting started. When I wrote about the Dalmatian Specialty at Somerset Hills in September, I mistook Michele for Kim Pastella Calvaca, which is a huge compliment to her handling. Lola and Michele won’t be out much this fall because Secretary of State Hillary Clinton needs Michele back at her job as Senior Policy Analyst at the State Department. Sometimes, your real life has to take precedence over your dog show hobby.
On this last weekend in September, the trees around us were just beginning to lose their verdant green and change to autumn’s brown and orange colors. There is so much room to roam at this show site, and it is so visually lovely, that even folks who don’t normally walk very much can be seen leading their Bull Terrier or Scottish Deerhound or Doberman Pinscher along the trails. Patti Fitzgerald even walked her pig.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback Association of Western New York held their supported entries with style. Each day, exhibitors could show in the morning and take part in lure coursing in the afternoon. On Saturday, RRAWNY held a picnic at the Teeling trailer, supplying hot dogs and soda.
This year, we sampled wine at Three Brothers Wineries & Estates, whose motto is “Pleasure, passion & adventure in one location.” This winery is hilarious -- not a word often associated with wine. You start at Passion Feet Wine Barn, sipping wine on couches in a room with velvet curtains. Next, the Stony Lonesome Wine Cellars is in a big log cabin with a wraparound porch. Their pamphlet requests, “Feel free to leave your embarrassing relatives at our winery down the hill.”
Last, there is a shack at the end of a dirt trail, next to a pond. This is Rogue’s Hollow Winery, where the favorite wine is Dog Head Red. They advise, “No jacket required here and no need to lift your pinkie when you raise your toast.”
We dined at Dano's Heuriger on Seneca. A ‘Heuriger’ is a small tavern in Austria that serves only wine from the latest harvest. It was amazing; at the next table, a party of six professional chefs had traveled from Ohio to eat here. They served salsify salad. Salsify is a root vegetable that tastes like oysters (not my favorite in any language). The wine, Berger Gruner Veltliner, was served in mugs instead of wine glasses. Every dish was something special from Vienna.
There is all that going on during the Finger Lakes shows, without even mentioning the great outlet stores or a visit to the Village of Seneca Falls, home of the first Women's Rights Convention, the National Women's Hall of Fame and the Women's Rights National Historical Park. So much to do, we did what we always do, and said, “Let’s do that next year!”
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