** Updated Info: Entries for AKC conformation, obedience, and rally events are now closed. Judging schedules are available.**
- MSDA’s Premium List is available here.
- Schedules of ring times for conformation, obedience, and rally are now available at Rau’s website.
- Don’t forget that there are also lots of other activities at Spring Event. Read on for more information.
- The dog-loving public is invited to attend! More info below.
- There will be many fine vendors selling dog-related products and services. Most will be located in the Main Exhibition Hall. Scroll down or click here for a complete list and descriptions.
- Lastly, some volunteers are still needed to help at the events. Check here for available jobs and to sign up. You do not have to be a club member to volunteer and even a brief commitment will be very much appreciated.
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Overall Schedule: MSDA holds two of the largest sporting group conformation shows in the U.S. and, along with those, three days of all-breed obedience and rally trials, breed specialties, bird instinct clinics, and other activities. In 2020, the dates and major activities for MSDA’s events at the Howard County Fairgrounds (just south of I-70) in West Friendship, MD will be:
- Thursday February 27th:
- No events. Show location is available after 3 pm for setup. No entry after 10 pm.
Also on the schedule are sweepstakes, owner-handled, junior handler, and best bred-by-exhibitor competitions. There will be puppy and veteran sweepstakes (Sunday), dog show tour and new exhibitor briefing (Saturday), morning coffee & doughnuts (Sat & Sun), and an armband raffle and afternoon snacks on Saturday. The NSDTRC-USA also will be offering designated ringside mentoring areas for prospective judges.
Event hours are officially 6:30 am – 6:30 pm all three days. However, actual activities generally start later and finish earlier.
Look who’s coming! Based on preliminary counts, we have 540 entries for breed judging on Saturday and 484 on Sunday. Please consult the Judging Schedules for more final counts by breeds and classes.
Preliminary conformation entries by breed are as follows: ASCOB Cocker Spaniel (5 on Saturday,4 on Sunday), Barbet (2,2), Black Cocker Spaniel (4,5), Boykin Spaniel (2,2), Brittany (16,15), Chesapeake Bay Retriever (22,20), Clumber Spaniel (12,17), Curly-Coated Retriever (9,5), English Cocker Spaniel (16,17), English Setter (13,12), English Springer Spaniel (27,22), Field Spaniel (6,6), Flat-Coated Retriever (42,33), German Shorthaired Pointer (22,19), German Wirehaired Pointer (1,1), Golden Retriever (72,63), Gordon Setter (2,2), Irish Setter (17,17), Irish Water Spaniel (12,10), Labrador Retriever (50,49), Lagotto Romagnolo (4,4), Nederlandse Kooikerhondje (1,1), Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (68,46), Parti-color Cocker Spaniel (4,4), Pointer (19,19), Spinone Italiano (6,7), Sussex Spaniel (14,13), Vizsla (25,21), Weimaraner (15,18), Welsh Springer Spaniel (25,22), Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (7,8). Unfortunately, this year we have no entries for the American Water Spaniel, Irish Red & White Setter, and Wirehaired Vizsla breeds. There are 13 Junior Showmanship entries on Saturday and 8 on Sunday. You can see detailed preliminary counts by breed and also for obedience and rally events and the Friday Brittany and Golden Retriever specialties at Jim Rau Dog Shows. Please remember that these are all just the preliminary counts.
The following clubs are supporting entries at the shows: Capital City Cocker Club, Capital Region Flat-Coated Retriever Club, English Cocker Spaniel Club of America, Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America, Irish Setter Club of Greater Richmond, Irish Water Spaniel Club of America, Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac, Lower Susquehanna Irish Setter Club, Maryland Brittany Club, Mid Atlantic Field Spaniel Club, National Capital English Setter Club, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club – USA, Potomac Valley Golden Retriever Club, Susquehanna Valley English Springer Spaniel Club, Sussex Spaniel Club of America, Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America, and Wilderness Pointer Club.
A big THANK-YOU to all who answered the call and sponsored trophies for our 2020 Spring Event!
CGC and CGCA testing will be available on Friday late afternoon, Saturday morning, and Sunday early afternoon. The Friday session will be in the main exhibition hall once a ring becomes available following Golden Retriever and/or Brittany Specialty judging. Saturday and Sunday sessions will be in the partially-enclosed Barn #6 next to the Main Exhibition Hall, though this location could change. The fee per entry is $10, payable at the start of the test in cash or by check. There will be more information and clipboards for signing up in the Main Hall at Spring Event; you do not need to register before then. If you would like to learn more about AKC’s Canine Good Citizen program, please visit https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/ for general information, https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/take-the-test/ for requirements for the CGC test, and https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-community-canine/test-items/ for requirements for the Advanced CGC (aka CGCA or Community Canine) test.
There will be a Barn Hunt “try-it” on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon in Barn 6 (next to the Main Exhibition Hall). Just go on over and sign up for a time slot right there. All breeds are welcome to participate. This is not an official event or test, but is just for fun. For $20, a dog will have up to four minutes to find a rat hidden among the hay bales. Encouragement and advice will be available from an experienced instructor. (If you’re worried about what happens to the rat, don’t be: they are well-protected and are not harmed during Barn Hunt events.) The Barn Hunt activity is being organized by the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club, which is holding a specialty event on Saturday.
There is a Flyball demonstration and “race” scheduled for Sunday afternoon and, tentatively, for Saturday morning. Flyball will be either in a semi-enclosed barn or outside if the weather is good. Watching the demonstration is free. The demo will show how to teach a box turn, how to teach how to grab the ball, how to teach the jumps, and then put it all together. Then, for just $5, you (a human!) get to race a Flyball demo dog. The race is a great activity for kids, but adults are welcome, too. The Flyball activity is being organized by the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club, which is holding a specialty event on Saturday.
Public Invited: The dog-loving public is invited to attend MSDA’s Spring Event! If you are interested in sporting dog breeds or obedience training for all dogs, a dog show is a wonderful place to learn more since many hundreds of dogs will be entered. Check the published schedules for each day for judging times for the breeds or obedience events that especially interest you. Those documents also contain final counts of number of entries by breed and obedience/rally class. Although owners and handlers will be busy preparing dogs for judging before their time in the ring, you can view the dogs in their event and then afterwards have a chance to ask questions and make friends with owners, handlers and the dogs themselves. Dogs entered in these events are very friendly and love attention. Similarly, owners, handlers, and many of our spectators are very knowledgeable and are usually happy to share.
Location and Grounds: The Fairgrounds’ address is 2210 Fairgrounds Road, West Friendship, Maryland 21794. It’s adjacent to I-70 and near that highway’s Exit 80. The grounds are open until 10 pm each day. There is a $5.00 (cash) daily parking fee. Prime Parking and RV Parking are available at an additional charge but must have been reserved in advance. See the Premium List for more information.
The Fairgrounds food vendor will be open all three days. Fairgrounds rules do not allow food to be delivered. So, you can buy something from them or bring in your own lunch but you may not, for example, order a pizza delivery. Volunteers may get a free lunch!
Brittany and Golden Retriever Friday specialties, the Tollers’ Saturday specialty, MSDA conformation, vendors, hospitality, and all admin tables will be in the Main Exhibition Hall located directly on the Midway. All MSDA Obedience and Rally events will be in “Barn 7/8”, which is just behind the small barns off the Midway to the left of the Main Hall.
Vendors:
David Sombach Photography is the official photographer. He will be taking all of the “win” photos. Photos will be available for viewing and purchase online, usually within days of the event.
Horse Brooch: So much more that a brooch or cute pin. Horse Brooch makes hand-made enameled (glass/porcelain enamels fused onto copper) brooches true to standard AKC dogs as well as a large variety of animal images. A technique of “painting” with enamel, originating in Limoges, France, in the 15th century which was developed by the Penicaud family. The use of this technique was the first time that different enamel colors were put next to each other without the separation of wire or surface metal. The pieces offered at The Horse Brooch are completely unique. The Realistic Style of each piece is individually drawn on and hand-sawn from a sheet of copper, which is then hand-painted using the Limoges painting technique. Each piece requires a minimum of five separate firings in
an enameling kiln producing a work of art.
White Bone Company: Since 1994, White Dog Bone has been family owned and operated by parents, children, and even grandchildren. The whole family is committed to offering quality Pet products and customer service. We work to represent as many USA manufacturers as possible and provide the same customer service you’d find at your neighborhood pet supply store. We provide quality, USA-manufactured products for pets and educational resources for owners.
The Sharp Shop: We offer a complete line of scissors, clippers blades to meet your individual needs. Family owned and operated in Maryland.
Salty Dog & Sweet P’s Swag is an Authorized Dog is Good Retailer. We offer paw-some clothing, accessories, and gifts for dog and cat lovers. Check out our events tab on Facebook for the location of our upcoming Pup Up Show.
MFD/Digi- Art Photography and Portraits: I am a pet portrait photographer. I use several art programs on my computer to create a digitized portrait of your “dog” or other pet… making it look like a painting. I then print on canvas (on site) in my booth and offer matting and framing. These portraits are completed in about a half hour, depending on how busy I am. I offer many custom gift items for clients, once I have a working portrait in my system. I also have created a line of note cards, (Gadfly Note Cards) using many of the fine breed representations I have taken over the years. I get the owners approval before doing this. Most of my MFD/Digi-Art career was spent in the Northeast, when I lived in PA. Now I’m located in South Carolina, and only come north a few times a year. I’m looking forward to seeing many old friends at the Sporting Dog Cluster.
Sunflower Trading Company: With 30+ years in the hat industry we know a thing or two about quality hats. We’re always looking to improve the shopping experience for our customers, so please don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s anything more we can do to help.
ComfyPooch by Mindy offers dog beds, crate pads, throws and now ottomans made from Crypton fabric. Products: Dog Beds, Pillow covers – to cover multiples for beds or decorative single pillow covers, Crate pads, Throws and Ottomans.
K-9 Fun-Fit, LLC is a multi-dynamic dog service business. We are passionate about fulfilling our canine family members in every way. We have learned the importance meeting our dogs’ needs by providing them with healthy food and treats along with keeping them in a balanced state through proper training, structured walks, and interactive play. K-9 Fun-Fit, LLC was birthed out of a life-long love of dogs. We understand the importance of gaining the dog’s trust and respect while providing a positive, well balance training experience. We teach that training your dog is a lifestyle. It is a continual, ongoing activity that you can be creative with. Lifestyle training goes beyond obedience commands. It is for everyday life and cohabitation. We are looking forward to opening a facility that will encompass all aspects of the K-9 Fun-Fit, LLC vision. We invite you to grab some treats from the online store or fetch the Mobile Treat Truck in your neighborhood. Also, you can schedule midday walks, training or stimulating activity sessions.
More Information: Once again, the chair of this event is Richard Jackson. Please contact him directly with any questions.
Please help us spread the word about our Spring Event. Download and share the 2020 event flyer.
We’ll continue to post updates on this page as plans are finalized for MSDA’s 2020 Spring Event, so be sure to keep checking in with us. Meanwhile, photos, some results, and lots of other information from our 2019 event are here. We also invite you to learn more about us, and sign up for our e-mail list to be updated (mostly via a monthly newsletter) on all club activities:
