The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.

Trivia Time with Archibald (twenty): The Biggest Dog Show on the Planet

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Q: What is the biggest dog show on earth?

No doubt about it: there’s plenty of dog shows that take place in all countries and nations. But golly. I wonder… Which show dog show is the biggest, the best, the most attended of all-time?

Hint: The show’s patron is none other than Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II.

A: The world’s largest annual dog show is Crufts, founded in 1891 by Charles Cruft.

Crufts is named after its founder Charles Cruft. Charles worked as a travelling salesman of dog biscuits, which brought him into contact with large estates and sporting kennels. When just two years out of college, he travelled to Europe to visit French dog breeders (circa 1878), and he was invited to organise the promotion of the canine section of the Paris Exhibition.

Back in England, the first Crufts show in that name was booked into the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington in 1891. This was the first in a long series of shows there.

At this time it was possible to run shows for personal profit, an aspect that appealed mightily to Charles Cruft, and he ran his shows with considerable profit. Today there are no privately owned dog shows and permission to hold shows is granted by the Kennel Club which licenses only non-commercial organisations.

In 1938 Charles Cruft died; his widow ran the 1939 show. Three years later Mrs Cruft felt the responsibility for running the show too demanding and she asked the Kennel Club to take it over. And so the show was sold to them. The 1948 show was the first show under the Kennel Club name. Held at Olympia, it proved an immediate success with both exhibitors and the public. Since then Crufts has increased in stature year by year.

In 1979 the show moved from Olympia to Earls Court due to increased crowd and competitor numbers. The growth of the show didn’t only demand a larger space, but also more time: in 1982 the show ran for 3 days, while in 1987 it was increased to four days.

1991 saw the Crufts Centenary Show being held at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, this being the first time the show had moved from London. 2007 will be the sixteenth year that the show has been staged at the NEC.
The centenary show of Crufts, held at the National Exhibition Center, Birmingham, UK, on January 9–12, 1991, attracted a record 22,993 canine entries.

It’s likely my distant family relations were there, as us Roletas have taken part in competitions for over two decades…
The 2007 Crufts show — just recently passed — had a total of 22,319 dogs and bitches entered to compete from many countries around the world. Seems the show will continue to grow and grow — partly aided by the introduction of Pet Passports, which has made it easier for show dogs to travel in and out of Great Britain.

Awoof!

Archie (a show-dog wannabe)

Posted 25 Mar 07