NOHS Regional Events from the Club’s Perspective

Ryan Horvath and Sandra Pretari Hickson join host Laura Reeves to discuss the upcoming first ever NOHS Regional Event at their Harvest Moon Classic dog shows Oct. 17-20 this year.

“Since the inception of the owner handled competition, we've included it in our shows every year,”  Horvath said. “And we've also recognized the need to elevate it to a status on par with the rest of the show. So, we've offered similar trophies. We have the event taking place right in the main hall with the rest of the show so that you can kind of go pick and choose what you want to watch, who you want to cheer for, you know, and make sure that you can make all your ring times because, you know, it can get a little hairy sometimes.”

“(NOHS Regional) is happening on Saturday,” Pretari Hickson said, “on the same day as the regular dog show, but it is a standalone event. So we're not offering the traditional owner handled that day.

And we have rings dedicated to just owner handlers. And we actually have brought in judges just for this.”

“It’s challenging being one of the first clubs to put this on,” Horvath added. “Trying to invent it from the ground up. And we are in a new site that we've had two years in and we continue to evolve and develop new things that we need to improve each year. So this is one more thing that we have to integrate in and kind of start out without anyone to look at and see how they do it.

“One of the things that we try to pay attention to, and something we've definitely done for this regional event, is to have judges that are approved for these groups. And so you're gonna have judges who, judge them, know the breeds, and many times we've had them on our panels doing similar breeds and groups in the past. So, we're thrilled to be able to provide them with an equal stake.”