Some 35 years ago, the Seaway Kennel Club members put together an invitational match to inspire good sportsmanship and encourage dog fanciers to get together and work as a team. This year, the club celebrated its 35th-anniversary invitational match!

Every kennel club in southern Ontario and western New York is invited to field a team with one representative per group, and the caveat that the dog has to be owner-handled in the ring. Points at the match are awarded for first through fourth in each group, and the team with the most points gets to take home the team trophy. While Best in Match is judged, it does not affect the point standings for any of the teams. The judge for the match is a well-kept secret, and only the match chairperson knows ahead of time who the judge will be.

The match is followed by a sit-down dinner where guests can visit, network and, most importantly, have an opportunity to “roast” the judge. Each team has a spokesperson who gets time on the podium to share their club’s thoughts about the day, remark on the judge’s performance and talk about the club’s planned events in the coming year.

The primary purpose of the match is to promote good sportsmanship and collegial support. Some things have changed slightly, like the addition of a veterans group and a juniors group.

The show has had as many as 14 teams participating in the past. This year entries came from six teams: St. Catharines, Brantford, Caledon, Scarborough, Niagara Falls (N.Y.) and, of course, Seaway itself.

This year’s match was held on January 25 in St. Catharines, Ontario. The ‘secret’ judge was well-known professional handler, Bullmastiff breeder and writer, Pam McClintock. McClintock was congratulatory to the participants, and her great praise for the quality entry was well received by exhibitors and spectators alike.

The St. Catharines Kennel Club was the 2009 overall winning team. This win gave the St. Catharines crew an unprecedented 13 years as the match team winners! Seaway’s own Hound Group winner, Irish Wolfhound Can. & U.K. Ch. Starkeeper McEnroe of Limerick, was McClintock’s choice for Best in Match.

The Niagara Falls Kennel Club (N.Y.) has the next highest number of match team wins, with six under its belt. They say that imitation is the best form of flattery and the Niagara Falls club has hosted an invitational match, with the same rules as Seaway, for the last 15 years! Seaway has the next highest number of wins, with five team wins, and Caledon, Scarborough, Credit Valley and the Buffalo kennel clubs can each claim two wins. One-time winners include the Burlington Kennel Club, Kitchener-Waterloo Kennel Club and Georgina Kennel and Obedience Club.

McClintock offered the following, in her thank-you note to Seaway:

“I hope that you keep this event alive and well for as long as possible. Its very existence so many years after its inception is testimony to the passion and stewardship of so many caring individuals.”