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Old English Sheepdog Club of America Centennial Celebration Week:
19 – 25 September 2005
by Jilly Bennett
photos by Colette Hornig |
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We all knew the Centennial celebrations of the Old English Sheepdog Club of America would
be good but actually, they weren’t - they were fantastic! A truly amazing week of non-stop events: not just one dog show but
two, as well as the glamorous Top Twenty event, seminars galore. There were Herding, Agility and Obedience trials (all three
a great success), Breakfast with John Mandeville, the Amish dinner, the Centennial dinner and cabaret, and more – it went on
and on and how we loved it all!
Lancaster, Pennsylvania is 3 and half hours from New York by train and 70 miles from Philadelphia. The Lancaster Resort Hotel
is what is known as an event centre and well able to host any convention, not to mention an Old English Sheepdog Centennial.
The hotel itself boasts spacious rooms, a swimming pool, gym, a shop, and restaurants and is set in 225 acres with a golf
course and walking trails. The area is known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country and many stayed on to explore the beautiful countryside
and discover the way the Amish people live. As if this wasn’t enough, just down the road from the hotel were the Outlet Centres,
which sell well-known brand clothing and house wares at amazingly low prices, enabling many of us to leave with bulging suitcases.
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The Australians at the show
We journeyed from all corners of the globe. There were more overseas visitors
than ever before seen at an OES event in America, hardly surprising being the Centennial. We all wanted to be part of it, to share
the excitement and to celebrate with our American friends. There were around 150 overseas visitors, who`d travelled from Austria,
Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland,
the UK and with the largest group coming from Australia. It was good to see so many famous faces from the UK show ring as well as
stalwarts of the breed, such as Ann Arch, Joan Real and Norman Harrison.
Stalwarts of the breed:
standing: Norman Harrison, Patricia McLeod, Dr. Hugh Jordan, June Soderstrom
sitting: Ann Arch, Mona Berkowitz, Joan Real
HOSPITALITY:
It all started when we collected our badges, our wonderfully filled doggy bags (Centennial logo mouse pad,
alarm clock, a beautiful decorated tile, doggy treats, people treats) and the schedule of the week. When I tell you this
schedule had two closely typed foolscap pages, you`ll understand why we rarely had time to even think, as we went from event
to event.
The first get-together in the hotel, sponsored by the Western Reserve OES Club, was the ‘Welcome Party’
on Monday evening, and many thanks must go to Dick Blair who provided truly delicious food and wines for us all.
Apart from the main events, we were treated to coffee and breakfast in the Hospitality Suite every day.
These were sponsored by a different American OES Club each day and I know were much appreciated.
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