National Specialty Ten years after the first AKC recognized IRWSAA National Specialty was held in Metamora, MI at Hunter’s Creek, we will return to Michigan. The show will be held on July 6, 2018, in Monroe, MI, concurrently with the Michigan Sporting Dog Association’s Maize & Blue Combined Specialties. Our Judge will be Sharon Lyons. On Saturday and Sunday, the 7th and 8th, there will be supported entries for the Ann Arbor Kennel Club shows. Thus, there will be four opportunities to show in three days. Obedience and Rally trials will be held by the Ann Arbor Kennel Club all three days. One of the days, yet to be determined, we will support the entry by providing IRWSAA Qualifying Ribbons and High in Trial IRWS awards. Plans are rapidly being made and more information will be coming in the future via Facebook, the IRWSAA Website, and emails to the membership. Tentative plans call for a Judge’s Education Seminar at 8:30AM on the 6th, followed by the Specialty after 10:00AM and the MSDA classes for IRWS in the PM. Our Award Banquet and Annual Meeting will be that same evening on the Show Grounds. Exact times will be determined after entries are in for both the IRWSAA Specialty and the MSDA Specialties. Plans are being made for hotel rooms and camping sites and will be finalized in the near future. We will get that information to you as soon as the details are finalized. Come join us in the Great Lakes State. Keith Eldred 2018 IRWSAA National Specialty Chairman *Subject to change until finalized* 2018 IRWSAA NATIONAL SPECIALTY LAST REMINDERS #1 The deadline for submitting entries to MBF is this Wednesday, the 20th, and 12:00PM.  There are four shows available, our National, the Michigan Sporting Dog Association also on the 6th, and the Ann Arbor Kennel Club on July 7th and 8th. #2 The IRWSAA Supported entries for Obedience and Rally are on July 6th with the Ann Arbor Kennel Club.  Use the AAKC Entry form with MBF. #3 There are Supported Entries for IRWS on both the 7th and 8th. #4 The Banquet/Picnic with be the 6th at approximately 30 minutes after the MSDA Group Championship.  The Parades will occur then as well as the Annual IRWSAA Awards.  The IRWSAA Annual Meeting will follow.  To make your reservations for the Banquet go to the IRWSAA Website and follow the links to the Banquet.  You may pay with PayPal or send a check to IRWSAA Mary O’Leary. (The deadline for Banquet Reservations is June 22nd.) #5 To enter the Parades you must also go the IRWSAA website and use PayPal or send a check to IRWSAA Treasurer Mary O’Leary.  Additionally, send the registered name with titles to 2018irwsaanational@gmail.com so that the ribbons can be customized and ordered. (The deadline for Parade entries is also June 20th.) #6 You may drop off your equipment in the area designated for IRWSAA grooming on the 5th.  I will be there after lunch to show you the options.  There will also be signs directing you to the area. (Head toward the Free Stage.) 2018 IRWSAA National Specialty Update 6-12-2018 I am going to try to answer a bunch of questions with this update. I will also send a map of the fairgrounds after this message. Grooming: We have a designated area for the entire weekend. It is the Free Stage.  Just IRWS will be there. The area is covered with a roof and there is plenty of electricity. Parking for exhibitors is immediately across the road in front of the Free Stage.    The Ole McDonald building is adjacent to the Free Stage and is an all breed grooming area with plenty of electricity.  The grass area in front of Ole McDonald will have an all breed grooming tent.  There will be two wash stations in this area. There is parking behind Ole McDonald. Some IRWSAA members will be camping behind Ole McDonald There will also be a large all breed grooming tent at the south end of the breed ring tent. You will be able to use the same spot all weekend. The Banquet will be in the Sporting Dog Pavilion, aka Sam’s Pizza, it is # 18 on the map.  We will be having a Michigan 4th of July Picnic, not pizza. Saturday and Sunday the Sporting Dog Pavilion is ours to use.  The Raffle will be held there on Saturday. The Specialty rings are outside on grass with a huge tent. Unless you are planning on camping don’t rent a campsite. You can set up your canopy in our designated are near the Free Stage and just pay the parking fee of $7. JUDGES ED CHANGE Following consultations between the MSDA show chair, the AAKC show chair, IRWSAA President Michael Lamp, and the IRWSAA chair Keith Eldred it has been decided to adjust the schedule for the National Specialty. We are anticipating entries in excess of 100 and with two shows on the 6th, the IRWSA Specialty and the MSDA Specialty we would be unable to conduct Judges Education with conflict with one or both shows. Thus, Judges Education has been shifted to Thursday evening, July 5th at 6:00PM. It will be held in the Expo Center in one of the rings set up for Obedience or Rally. On Friday the 6th ringside mentoring will take place at both specialties. Additionally, to be sure that the MSDA breed judging is done in time for the 4:00PM Group Judging, the IRWS will be judged in the MSDA show in the morning and our Specialty will be after noon.  The exact times will not be known until MBF processes the entries. Remember, the deadline for the entries to all shows is noon on June 20th. 2018 IRWSAA National Specialty Updates as of 4-2-2018 July 6 th  is rapidly approaching.  The deadline for entries is June 20 th  at 12:00noon.  The online entry service is MBF, www.infodog.com   There are four different shows to enter, the IRWSAA National Specialty and the Michigan Sporting Dog Association Specialty, both on July 6 th , and the Ann Arbor Kennel Club shows on July 7 th  and 8 th .  There are supported entries for both AAKC shows. The IRWSAA is supporting the entry for Obedience and Rally  in the AAKC trials on July 6 th .  There will be special qualifying ribbons from the IRWSA and a IRWS High In Trial Ribbon for Obedience and a Highest Combined Score IRWS in Rally Advanced B and Excellent B Ribbon in Rally.  Entries for Obedience and Rally are to be made on the AAKC page at www.infodog.com. As of June 7 th  there were still some rooms available in the IRWSAA block at the EconoLodge in Monroe, MI.  Call 734-384-1500 to make a reservation. The group account is IRWSAA 3240262. The rate is $60 per night and a one time $25 dog fee.  If you find that the block is full contact Keith Eldred at 2018IRWSAANational@gmail.com  He will contact the hotel to try to get an additional room. The Award Banquet/Michigan Picnic will take place approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the MSDA Group.  It will be held at the MSDA Pavilion (Sam’s Pizza) We will start with the picnic then have the various parades, then the Annual Awards, and conclude with the Annual Business Meeting.  Reservations may be made by check made out to the IRWSAA with Banquet on the notation line and mailed to IRWSAA Treasurer Mary O’Leary at 3225 Oxford- Middletown Rd, Hamilton, OH, 45013. The cost is $15 per person if paid by check or $16.50 per person if you use PayPal. To use PayPal go to the IRWSAA website and click on “Online Payment Donation” That will send you to the page where you can select how many reservations you want. Just follow the prompts from that point.  Checks and PayPal must be received by June 22 nd . As stated above the Parades will be held after the Banquet/Picnic just prior to the presentation of Awards.  To enter the Parade of Champions/Title Holders $10, Parade of Veterans $10, or Parade of Rescues (Free), either send a check to Mary O’Leary at the address listed above with the type of parade in the notation, or use PayPal as explained above to send payment of $11 for each parade.  Additionally you must send an email to 2018IRWSAANational@gmail.com listing which Parade/s you are entering and the exact name of your dog/s to be printed on the ribbon.  Do not put that information on the check, email it to the above email address. The Parade entries are due June 20, 2018, the same as the entries in the shows. The Annual Meeting will take place in the Sporting Dog Association Pavilion, Sam’s Pizza, immediately following the Parades and Awards no earlier than 6:30PM. The Michigan Sporting Dog Association will be providing all Sporting Dog Exhibitors Tim Hortons coffee and donuts at 7:30 Friday morning at the Sporting Dog Pavilion (Sam’s Pizza), in addition there will be coolers of water and soft drinks all weekend. During the MSDA Group judging on Friday afternoon there will be a Nacho and Margarita bar open in the Sporting Dog Pavilion for all Sporting Dog Exhibitors. This is just before our Banquet and Annual Meeting. The IRWSAA will have a grooming area on the Free Stage next to the 4-H building. We will be the only breed using that area. Day parking for exhibitors will be immediately across the road or behind the School Exhibit Building or the Ole McDonald building adjacent to the Free Stage. Watch for signs directing you to the area. The Ole McDonald building will also serve as an all-breed grooming area as well as the tent to be set up right in front of the Ole McDonald Building. There will be two dog wash stations in that area. Parking fees for the fairground are $7 per day.  Campers will have no parking fee. Details in regard to Judges Education and the order of the shows will be coming soon.

Events Calendar National Specialty Past Nationals

Nationals IRWSAA National Specialty Date: Friday, July 6 th , 2018 Monroe, Michigan Announcements New National Specialty Store information now available. Please check out the Store page. Membership Dues, Rescue Fund & Trophy Fund PayPal Payment Online Payment Donation Trophy IRWSAA Membership Renewal Link 2018 IRWSAA Calendar Paypal ordering H & G Committee Chair Cancer Survey Please if everyone that has had cancer with their IRWS please take the time to fill this out to help us collect information for our breed Please Click Here For Survey