At the AGM on 12th March 1995 the following proposal was put forward:
I propose that the Club reintroduces a Championship Series within its Rally Season in order to provide a unified image to the sport, linking this into the Annual Show Results, thus continuing the Dual Purpose Capability of this unique Breed.
Proposed by standing down Committee Member Ian Smith and seconded by Michelle Lakin, the Minutes note that lengthy discussions took place before a vote of 43 for to 8 against ensured that a new era of competition was to begin for the Club and its Members,
Since its inauguration in 1996 the system has been annually scrutinised and adjusted at the Club’s AGM’s, championed mainly by Helen Gutteridge with Lyn Hall adding extra ideas and expertise when necessary – 1997 saw the award being confined to the team’s best five championship show (plus the SHCGB Open Show) and five best SHCGB rally results; Currently the award is calculated on this basis, with necessary weighting to balance out results – see full details below. 1999 saw the introduction of the replica cup for winners to keep.
Over the years, many people have been involved with the arduous task of calculating points towards the award – it is a job not readily volunteered for too many times! Members brave enough to have helped in the past include Helen Gutteridge, Lyn Hall, Sarah Robinson, Dave Williams, Krystyan Greenland, Nikki Spowart, Rob Cooke, Liz Fry and presently Angie Allen. At the end of each Rally Season Members are asked to forward their race results to the Club Co-ordinator (forms are sent out with the year’s rally brochure, but are also available from the website) who collates these together with the end of year Show Points to reach the outright winner, plus a full table of all dogs competing. The DC Winner is awarded their trophy at the Club’s Annual General Meeting, whilst full results are published on the Club’s Forum shortly afterwards.
So why is this award so special to our breed and, indeed, why was much discussion held before the Members agreed to introduce such an honour?
To answer the last question first … in the early years of the Club’s Working Rallies an annual award was given to the highest placed Mushers. Concerns regarding safety aspects soon followed – not for the health of the Musher, but in typical UK breed tradition … for the dogs. Would it be possible for a Musher to run a dog who was not well or even injured, just to reach the top accolade? Why was the Club rewarding the Musher when the dogs were equally, if not more involved? In very short time the award was removed from the Club’s annual competitions.
Members with good memories recalled these concerns at the 1995 AGM, but Ian Smith and Michelle Lakin put their case well, stressing that one of the Club’s main aims was to jointly promote the show and working capabilities of the Siberian Husky and that by giving the award to the team members, rather than the person the Club was recognising the true winner.
But to answer the first and most important question … retaining the breed’s dual capability. The proposal was aimed to recognise and award the dogs winning in the show ring who were also those achieving results in the working environment rather than the breed being split into two types as has so often been seen in many pedigree breeds of dog. In other words by supporting and promoting a dog that is fit for purpose, ie., one Standard-fitting dog capable of being successfully shown and doing its job of work out on the trails, the Club was promoting its aims and helping the breed to retain its health, type and origins. And so for many this award is the most important of the Club’s accolades.
Social Links