SPECIALTY UPDATES

May 3rd – Last Specialty Update #5

Update #5

Your faithful correspondents are happy to report that this is the last Specialty Update you will receive — the show is upon us! Just a few last details and, of course, deadlines. Most notably, the meal deadline is TODAY, and the first running event pre-trial closing date is TODAY. Read on…

Meals

The final meal deadline is TODAY. You don’t want to miss our great line-up of delicious and fun lunches and dinners!

One change to report: the Friday dinner, which was originally supposed to be al fresco, is now being held in the West Ballroom in Wilson Lodge! Please join us there for dinner and the silent auction and raffles, including a special raffle only for those who buy the dinner!

Order all of your meals here: Order Meals

Please join the fun!

Please note that our Thursday dinner will be al fresco, in one of the park’s great shelters. It is covered, of course, and has a kitchen, bathroom, and even a fireplace, but it is still open-sided, so if you weren’t prescient enough to order some specialty outerwear during our merchandise sale, please be sure to bring something warm for that dinner, just in case.

And don’t forget to join us for the Wednesday Welcome Reception, hosted by MADA! All are welcome! It’s 4-6 PM.

Running Events

The first pre-trial closing date is TODAY, but you can still enter up to and on the day for our great running events! All the information you need can be found here: Coursing Events

Auction/Raffle

Time is running out to rummage through your collection to bring something for the auction and raffle!

You do not need to be present to win a special raffle item, and we have arranged for proxy bidding for both our silent and live auctions. More information can be found here: Silent Auction

and here: Special Raffle page

and here! Live Auction

Hospitality

Once you arrive, the Hospitality Room will be in front of the West Ballroom right in Wilson Lodge, next to the Glassworks restaurant—actually, a lot of our activities will be in the West Ballroom. The hours will be

Tues 10-4

Wed 10-5

Thurs 10-5 (10-noon West Ballroom, ringside in the afternoon)

Fri & Sat ringside during the judging.

Vendors

Here is a preview of our great show vendors who will be ringside this year! [PAM, USE A SELECTION OF PHOTOS DERIEN SENT YOU VIA EMAIL — make sure you get a couple of photos from all of the vendors, except for Happy Wags — only do one.]

ConeraKnolls Designs – Derien Pratt https://www.facebook.com/ConeraKnollsDesigns

That Scottish Woman — Linda Madden https://www.facebook.com/linda.madden2

Janis Hills – Paintings (Deerhound Paintings)

Angie Candell: Sara Sue’s Garden! Artistiqueportraits.com

And a local vendor, Tina Prokes: Happy Wags: Clothing Line with Dog is Good and PuppyLove brands.

Videos

Videos will still be available for sale, but if you know you’re going to order them, why not order now, while you remember? We have new formats and new low prices! Check it out: Videos and DVDs Deadline is June 7.

Volunteers

People have been absolutely wonderful about volunteering, but we have a few new jobs to fill:

Trophy Schleppers: We need trophy schleppers to come to the ring at 8:00 AM on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to help unload each day’s trophies and rosettes from the ringside trailer, carry them to tables under the tent, and arrange them such that the stewards can grab them in order.

Ring Set-Up and Take-down: We need people on Monday afternoon (sometime after FastCATs — time TBD) to help set up the ring, and we also need people after the judging is over on Saturday to take down the ring.

If you can do any of these jobs, please contact us – Click here to volunteer

As always, so many thanks to everyone for coming together to help.

Deer

Finally, don’t forget that Ogelbay has a TAME DEER HERD, so it is imperative that we remain vigilant and keep our dogs under control at all times. Ask for help if you need it!

We can never express our thanks to the literally dozens of people who have stepped up in one way or another to make this specialty a success. No matter what happens next week, that has already made this specialty the best ever.

Safe travels, everyone and we’ll see you next week!

Jodi, Jana, Miranda

April 29th – Specialty Update #4

Welcome to Update #4 — only 10 days to go! And the deadlines keep coming…

WE DID IT!!!!!

https://specialtydogshows.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2023-SDCA-JP.pdf

So many, MANY thanks to everyone who entered—we have a lovely entry!

This also has the final schedule.

And did you know that you can still enter the Special Properties Classes? They are being judged by our own Mary Ann Rose (who is also judging the 3 Generations Class, for which entries have closed). Here’s the information:

SPECIAL PROPERTIES CLASSES NOTICE Showcasing all of one of Best Gait, Best Head, Best Outline — $10 per class or $25 for all 3 for the same dog. Those interested can enter and pay any time during the show on Thursday and Friday at the Show Secretary’s table. Cash, check, or credit card will be accepted. Judging is scheduled as the last ring event, following BOB & non-regular classes on Saturday, May 13.

Running Events

Speaking of entering, we have put together the most fantastic line-up of running events ever seen at a Deerhound National, split between Observatory Field at Oglebay and the wonderful Sandscrest estate, only 4 miles away from the hotel.

And for the first time, FastCAT, All Breed on Sunday and Deerhounds only on Monday, both days at Observatory Field. Whether you are just starting a puppy or going for some final points towards a title, you have the opportunity to run your dog.

And there is COMPLIMENTARY CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST FOR COURSERS AT SANDSCREST AND ONE FREE LUNCH per kennel for those entering LGRA, ASFA, or AKC coursing at Sandscrest — but you have to pre-enter to get it! All the running event information can be found here: Coursing Events

Note: The first pre-trial entry deadline is May 3! Don’t miss out!

Meals

Speaking of May 3, we’ve got delicious and fun meals planned, but the deadlines are coming up quickly!

Monday, May 1 — EXTRA COURSING LUNCH DEADLINE

Wednesday, May 3 — Tuesday CPR Class dinner, Thursday–Saturday lunches and dinners.

For more information on our meals, including our just-added light supper for the K9 CPR class participants: Info on Meals

To order the meals, go here: Order Meals

Welcome Reception Hosted by MADA

Our Mid-Atlantic Deerhound Association friends cordially invite you to join them Wednesday, May 10 4:00 to 6:00 pm in Oglebay’s beautiful Fort Henry Room. You can expect some yummy hors d’oeuvres in a relaxed atmosphere to just hang out. And you don’t have to be staying in the hotel to attend either.

Auction information

For more information on the Live Auction, Silent Auction and Raffle — which you definitely don’t want to miss:

Silent Auction If you can’t join us, we have proxy bidding!

Live Auction If you can’t join us, we have phone bidding!

And for details on the Special Raffle, for which you do not need to be present to win: Special Raffle

Join us!

Seminars

Speaking of seminars, we’ve got not one, not two, but THREE fantastic seminars this year! Recently added is the aforementioned K9 CPR class on Tuesday. Pre-registration is required for that class — you can register for it and find information on all of our great seminars here: Seminars

Volunteers

People have been absolutely wonderful about volunteering, but we have a few new jobs to fill:

If you can do any of these jobs, please contact us – Click here to volunteer

As always, so many thanks to everyone for coming together to help.

Jodi, Jana, and Miranda

April 19th – Specialty Update #3

Once again, thanks to the literally dozens of people who have stepped up to help during this frantic time of getting ready for the show — we just can’t thank everyone enough. And now we enter the final stretch…

Including the big kahuna of deadlines: Still need to make an entry? ENTRIES CLOSE TODAY AT 7:00. Click here to make a show entry

We have two judges — our show judge, Jay Phinizy (read more about him here: Our Conformation Judge ), and 3-Generation and Special Properties Judge Mary Ann Rose (Our Judges) — who between them have about 100 years of experience in the breed.

Our Sweeps judge, Mary White, brings a different perspective to her judging from decades in both Dobies and Salukis.

Anita L. Eisthen will be judging Obediance and rally which closes today as well.

You get the large classes where you actually have time to work your dog. You get your dog’s entire performance on video (see below for our awesome new video options). You get wonderful candid photos, taken by the show photographer and others. You get extra-special trophies and rosettes.

But you can’t get any of those things if you don’t enter!

So whether you are hoping someone will use your dog at stud, want other breeders to see what you’re doing with your breeding program, want to honor the breeder who sold you your wonderful Deerhound, or you just love showing your dog, this is the best show of the year to get your dog seen, get some time in the ring, and enjoy seeing how your dog stacks up against the competition.

There is no other way to put it: IT’S THE GREATEST DEERHOUND SHOW! Thanks to Kathy Lazenby for putting this video together, what fun!:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6kgk9cia05rzu74/The%20Greatest%20Show.mp4?dl=0

ENTRIES CLOSE AT 7:00 PM!!!!! DON’T MISS OUT!!!

New Running Events this year too! Entries are important, too — you have a little more time on those:

Scott Dove and his team have put together an exciting new coursing program including a first for us —

All Breed Fast CAT on Sunday and Monday just for Deerhounds! Click here for Coursing Events

Slightly less big kahuna of deadlines: MEAL DEADLINES

Finding meals that are affordable and delicious (and, we hope, fun) was a challenge this year, so we are wicked late with our meals — the first meal deadline, for our Award Banquet with its exciting Live Auction — is in TEN DAYS. So we need you all to spread the word for us, because when it comes to meals, the more is definitely the merrier!

In addition to some great box lunches and a fantastic banquet, here’s something new! We have rented the Hess Shelter for two al fresco dinners. The Hess Shelter is near our ring and Wilson Lodge and has a kitchen, bathrooms, plenty of parking, and even a fireplace!

You can find all of our meal information here: Meals

Please tell everyone you know that the deadlines are coming up! And don’t forget to sign up for the meals yourself!

Memorial Presentation Deadline

If you lost a Scottish Deerhound since the last Specialty and would like your loved hound to be memorialized in a presentation at this year’s Specialty, we need your information. Send a couple of high-resolution pictures of your friend, birth and death date, registered and call name to: Contact Kathy Lazenby If you’re not going to be at the Specialty we can provide you with a link to view the memorial after. Please send your photos by April 29.

Many thanks to everyone who bought a catalog ad. Thanks to you — and a terrific effort by Fran Smith and Wendy Fast — we EXCEEDED our catalog ad target. THANK YOU!

Volunteers Needed

So many thanks to the dozens of people who have stepped up to help us out! More positions have opened up now:

Merchandise Sales: We have a few items of glassware and umbrellas to sell yet. They’re gorgeous, and we hope they will sell out in the Hospitality Room. If they don’t, however, we want someone to be the go-to person later in the week for people who want to buy these items. We need this person to bring samples to ringside, meals, and events, and sweet-talk people into thinking they need six insulated tumblers and 12 umbrellas.

Food Wranglers: Our Thursday and Friday dinners are going to be family-style buffets, so we need a couple of people per night just to bring new trays of food out as trays get eaten.

Please contact Betty Stephenson if you wish to volunteer!

What’s New?!

Videos are what’s new — you can’t just call them DVDs anymore, because, in addition to DVDs, we are also offering USB flash drives and online versions (the latter at steep discounts)! We’ve also slashed prices on the DVDs. Read all about it here: Videos and DVDs

Seminars are also what’s new! In addition to what is going to be a fascinating health seminar on Thursday, as we have all faced the new realities in veterinary medicine, and what looks to be a very lively forum on Wednesday, we are also offering a Canine First Aid & CPR seminar on Tuesday. Read all about them here: Seminars

Auction, Raffles and Proxy Bidding! We are getting new stuff every day for the auction and raffles — now we have three! In addition to our usual raffle, we have the best line-up of special raffle items ever known to Deerhoundom! We’re even having a flash raffle at the Friday dinner! And there’s more — you don’t have to be present to win! There will be live proxy bidding for those who won’t be there, bid from home. Donations are still very welcome — here is more information: Auction

There is so much going on…vendors…the health clinic instructions are posted…glassware and umbrellas are still for sale…you can find everything specialty at https://deerhoundspecialty.org/

And if you are just ready to buy, go to the specialty store page, and it’s all there: Specialty store

As always, thanks to you all for your support. We can’t believe the show is just a few weeks away!

Jodi, Jana, Miranda

April 4th – Specialty Update #2

Hold onto your hats — things are coming up at a fast and furious pace for our National Specialty. Only one month to go before the show!

First of all, so many thanks to the dozens of people who have stepped up to help us in so many ways! We are so very grateful.

UPDATES

WE MADE OUR HOTEL ROOM NIGHT GOAL!!! We are thrilled and want to remind you that our block is only being held until April 7, so if you’ve been thinking about coming, we urge you to make your reservation before then or run the risk of not getting a room. Also, we’ve heard from several people about problems with their reservations. We are working with the hotel on this. If you’ve had any problems during the reservation process, please let us know so we can work with the hotel to rectify it.

WE MADE OUR TROPHY FUND DONATION GOAL! Thanks to some extremely generous donations, we have made our trophy goal! We don’t have exact numbers (we’re still waiting on that final ribbon total), but it looks like we will even have a small rollover to help next year’s committee. There’s still time if you want to make a donation and get listed in the 2023 catalog — there are still some classes left to sponsor, and general trophy donations are always welcome. Make your trophy donations here https://deerhoundstore.com/product-category/trophies/ The deadline is April 8.

WE ARE SOOOOOO CLOSE ON OUR CATALOG AD GOAL! As of this writing, we have reservations for 30 catalog ads! This is fabulous, but we need just two more to meet our budget goal. So if you have been debating about running an ad and need a tie-breaking vote, we vote yes! Here is more information on ads https://deerhoundspecialty.org/catalog-ads/ The deadline is April 8.

WE MADE OUR MERCHANDISE GOAL: Thanks to the many people who ordered more than 275 items of our specialty merchandise! We had to submit our order already, so orders are closed for most items, but limited quantities of glassware and umbrellas are available while supplies last — you can order them here https://deerhoundstore.com/product-category/specialty/ . Remember — we are not shipping glassware, so if you are not coming to the show, arrange to have a friend pick it up for you. We can ship umbrellas.

REMEMBER, ENTRY INCOME MAKES THE SPECIALTY GO! Whether you enter running events (see below), conformation, or obedience or rally, it all helps a lot!

SPEAKING OF OUR CONFORMATION SHOW, don’t forget that entries close on Wednesday, April 19. Want to know more about our conformation judge? Read all about him here https://deerhoundspecialty.org/a-little-more-information-on-our-judge/

Want to know what dogs you are looking at when you get to the show (and see all the fabulous ads), the conformation and futurity catalog pre-order deadline is April 15. Only limited quantities will be for sale at the show, and at a higher price — pre-order your catalogs to make sure you get one! https://deerhoundstore.com/shop/specialty/catalogues/2023-specialty-catalogs/

COMING IN AN RV? If you are planning on parking your rig at the hotel, please let us know. All of the RV information can be found at https://deerhoundspecialty.org/rv-reservations/.

WHAT’S NEW

RUNNING EVENT PREMIUM LISTS AND SCHEDULES ARE POSTED: We are offering an unprecedented, absolutely fabulous line-up of running events! Here is more information and links to all of the premium lists and entry forms: https://deerhoundspecialty.org/coursing-site/ For the first time at our Specialty, Fast Cats are being held right at the hotel and our LGRA and coursing events are being held at Sandscrest Retreat, a 4-mile drive, 10 minute drive, from the hotel. There are JCs, QCs, and puppy fun runs, too! Our photographer will be at all events to capture great shots of your dog! And this year our videographer will be filming all of our Specialty running events!

THE AUCTION AND RAFFLE is now accepting donations! A highlight of the show for many people are our auctions (silent and live) and raffles. To make these events a success, we ask EVERYONE to bring at least one auction or raffle item and just drop them at our Hospitality Room. Items can be shipped if you are not coming to the show, and we hope to have proxy bidding, too (see below for our call for a volunteer). And we have a line-up of fabulous items for our special raffle this year. Here is more information. https://deerhoundspecialty.org/auction/

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

We got a great response to our last request for volunteers — so many thanks! Here’s what our current needs are:

Video Narrators: Narration adds so much to our videos. We need people to sit next to the videographer (which is the best seat in the house to watch the judging) and read the names of the dogs as they are being judged. Take a look at the schedule https://deerhoundspecialty.org/schedule/ and sign up for blocks of time.

Auction/raffle proxy bidder coordinator: We need a point of contact for people who see our auction items online and want to bid. Must have a cell phone and be available during our auctions.

Meal ticket takers: We need people to take meal tickets at our lunches and dinners. All you need is to show up a few minutes early for the meal and take people’s tickets as they arrive.

To sign up for any of these volunteer opportunities, please contact Betty Stephenson. Click here to contact Betty

COMING SOON!!!

Meals: As we all know, food prices have soared in the last year, so it is taking some alligator wrestling to come up with club meals that are as affordable as they are delicious. We will post meal information as soon as we can.

Videographer: We are still working out the details, but we will have some great options for people who want to buy specialty videos but don’t want DVDs. Stay tuned!

Once again, we are so grateful to the many people who have stepped up to help. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.

Jodi (Chair), Jana, & Miranda (Co-Chairs)

________________________________________________________________________

March 22 SPECIALTY UPDATE #1

Since we have taken over the show chairmanship, we have received so many well wishes, offers of support, and questions about how things are going, we thought we’d write this summary rather than send out 20 separate blog posts. We are so appreciative of everyone’s support! But this is where we are now and where we need help.

[Cue music] Money, money, money, MONEY!

Did you know that the National Specialty is the club’s ONLY significant fundraiser? So one of a Show Chair’s chief responsibilities, especially leading up to the show, is financial. Looking at the numbers to date, we’re behind in many areas. On the positive side, that means there are MANY ways you can help. Here are some:

STAY IN THE CLUB’S HOTEL BLOCK. The hotel calculates something called “room nights” where the club signs up to have people stay so many nights in exchange for deals on meeting rooms, the show field, etc. The hotel puts those room nights aside for us. So if we don’t reserve all of those room nights, not only are we not meeting our obligations, the hotel has also lost the opportunity to sell those room nights to someone else and charges us a penalty. So room nights are a huge deal. Right now, we are 60 room nights short, and our deadline is April 7. So if you were thinking of coming or adding to your stay, it all helps! But you have to stay in our room block — if you reserved a cottage, for instance, that isn’t in our block and doesn’t count.

Oglebay is a gorgeous resort. Our rooms are reasonably priced, especially if you’re sharing, and come with awesome hot buffet breakfasts daily! And there’s no dog limit per room. Please join us! Here is the hotel information page:

https://deerhoundspecialty.org/accommodations/

Reserve your room now!

BUY MERCHANDISE: The Merchandise deadline of March 26 has passed. There are limited quantities of glassware and umbrellas that are still available in the store and will also be sold at the show, in the hospitality room, while supplies last. To purchase in the store please use this link – Specialty store website

MAKE A TROPHY FUND DONATION: Lynn Heiler, Johanna Hanson, and Marylane Brett have done a spectacular job choosing wonderful trophies within our budget, and Kathy Lagatta has done an amazing job raising money, so we are RRREEEAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYY close to our goal, but we still need $300 to make our trophy budget. However, every specialty chair wants to leave a little seed money for next year’s show committee — it’s called a trophy rollover, as trophy fund donations must be spent on trophies — so we’d really love to raise a total of $900 more so we can leave the 2024 specialty with a small rollover to get started. There are still classes left to sponsor, and general trophy fund donations are always welcome. Here’s the link to donate:

https://deerhoundstore.com/product-category/trophies/

The trophy fund donation deadline is April 8th to be listed in the catalog.

BUY A CATALOG AD: Our catalogs become keepsakes, and one big reason why is because of the awesome ads. But ads are also a source of income for the show, and currently we are 13 ads short of our goal. So your purchasing an ad can really help! The ad deadline is April 8 — here’s more information:

https://deerhoundspecialty.org/catalog-ads/

Your ad doesn’t need to be of a BIS or BIF win — people want to see any nice show win photo, and running photos are always lovely. And you don’t need to be touting your dog, if you don’t want to: even a cute photo of your dog on the couch and a “Best wishes” note is great! And don’t think these ads aren’t useful — every breeder is always looking for stud dogs, for instance, and you never know when your ad will spark an idea.

ENTER THE SHOW. We’re not going to lie: entries are a chief source of revenue for the show. But that’s not the only reason to enter. Entering the show is the best way for other Deerhound fanciers to see your dog. It also gives you a chance to see how your dog stacks up (pun intended!) in the ring in a big entry. You will have the rare opportunity for a breeder-judge to judge your dog. And you will have the rare pleasure of showing your dog in a relatively large class, which really gives you time to show your dog. Not entering because “you know the judge won’t put up your dog” misses the point of national specialties. Plus, we can make a prediction about the judging outcome: You can’t win if you don’t enter. Entries close April 19. Here is the premium list:

https://deerhoundspecialty.org/show-entries/

And, of course, running and obedience event entries count, too! Look for premium lists for the running events to be posted in the next couple of weeks.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for any help you can give!

WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK

Catalog pre-orders are now being taken through the SDCA Store:

https://deerhoundstore.com/shop/specialty/catalogues/2023-specialty-catalogs/

Deadline for pre-orders is April 15.

Still in the works: menus and DVDs. Stay tuned!

There is one other way you can help:

VOLUNTEER — MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK

We need volunteers, plain and simple. To run a successful specialty, we need about 75-100 volunteers to do jobs big and small, so please help us out and volunteer to help with something. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! And you’ll find that volunteering is a great way to meet people and actually increases your enjoyment of the week. Most volunteer positions only take a couple of hours, so it won’t make a huge dent in your time. And we have so many open positions, you can find something that fits in your schedule.

Currently, we need:

Hospitality — We need volunteers to staff the hospitality room so that it can be open for longer periods. We also need help with setting up table decorations before the Saturday night banquet.

Trophies — We need people to help set up trophy tables each day.

Grounds — We need people to help set up the ring and decorations and who will walk the grounds to ensure people are picking up after their dogs.

Vendor Coordinator — We need a vendor coordinator to take reservations by email, divvy up the vendor space at ringside, then meet the vendors, show them their space, collect their items for the auction, and deliver them to the auction chair.

Obedience ring — We need people to help set-up and take-down the obedience ring and equipment on Thursday morning.

Please CONTACT US to volunteer. Click here to contact us

FUN!

The reason why so many people are doing so much work is we have an awesome specialty planned! We will provide more details on this in the days to come, but here are some highlights:

A GREAT PLACE TO STAY: Oglebay is a gorgeous resort: There are thousands of acres with beautiful hotel spaces. And the food is divine. We have the foundation for a memorable specialty at Oglebay.

RUNNING EVENTS: Are you a coursing enthusiast? Scott and Ceil Dove and Michael Blair have done an amazing job coordinating our running events, so you have not one, but TWO FastCat trials to attend, as well as LGRA racing and ASFA and AKC coursing. There is truly something for everyone, no matter what your interests are.

A BREEDER JUDGE: Jay Phinizy has bred, owned, and shown Deerhounds since the 1970s, and his life in Deerhounds is a fascinating one that was influential on both sides of “The Pond.”

Come to our Welcome Reception hosted by MADA (Mid-Atlantic Deerhound Assoc.) on Wednesday 4:00–6:00 pm.

All the pieces are here for a fantastic specialty, and a lot of people are working really hard to make sure that happens. All we need is you! We look forward to hosting you in Wheeling.

Finally, we send a humongous thank you to all of the people who are spending literally hundreds of hours to make this show extra special under some very trying circumstances. We literally cannot express our appreciation for your help.

If you have any questions or comments about the show, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT US. Click here to contact us

Thanks!

— Jodi, Jana, Miranda, and the entire show committee