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I've been watching some of the breed judging at the 2014 Westminster Kennel Club conformation show online and I noticed that there are two stewards in the ring. Any of the other dog shows that I've been to have had a single ring steward (I've shown at AKC, CKC and IABCA shows, and attended but not shown at UKC shows). Looking at the judging program for the show, there are indeed two stewards listed for almost every ring.

So, why does the Westminster KC show use two stewards for most rings? And in the few cases that they only have one, why are those rings different?

user11111111111
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Cucamonga
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1 Answers1

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The American Kennel Club notes that two stewards should be assigned to large rings in their documentation and rules for Dog Show Stewards (see near the end of page 2). Given the size of the rings, they're clearly quite large when you view the photos of the events at Madison Square Gardens, and the number of duties that ring stewards perform (as covered in the rules), it would make sense that they would have two stewards for most of them.

For rings with only one, it's likely that the steward is very experienced or the ring is small enough to be handled by one. In general, though, this is a very prestigious event and having a couple of ring stewards in attendance is probably considered a good idea even if some of the rings may not have warranted it in other shows.

Joanne C
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