Best In Show

[veralynn]

The Concept
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog show was about to hold the best in show round when animal rights activists set as many of the dogs loose as they could and pulled the fire alarm. With the resulting chaos taking too much time to settle the final round was postponed. Luckily the judge of that round, Esther Gardiner, offered up her family estate to host the owners and the final round. Now two weeks after that debacle all the owners and handlers are headed to the Hamptons to ferry over to Gardiner Island. They will be arriving Friday afternoon and get the enjoy the island over the weekend. The final round will be held outdoors on Sunday, taking advantage of spring weather and the beauty of the island.

Unfortunately a freak cyclone brews up in the Atlantic and hits the Hamptons that Saturday. The boats used to move between the island and the mainland is destroyed. Though because they have enough supplies for at least two weeks the Coast Guard tells them they will have to wait while more urgent situations are addressed. Esther Gardiner convinces everyone to run the show that afternoon, albeit in the grand ballroom of the house. Now after the cyclone stranded them, they finally know who the winner is and then must continue to be civil with each other for several more days.

This is based off my original Best in Show rp from HR that is now running on discord. You are welcome to join if you signed up for either or them or none of them. The only thing is if you are in the discord version I do request you select a different breed group. If you only signed up on HR you may select the same breed group and use the same character; Though I did make some changes to the forms so you cannot exactly copy and paste.


The AKC Staff & Best of Breeds 
Judge - Esther Gardiner - 62, female - She has been in the dog show world since her early twenties, though she had grown up with english cocker spaniels. Esther owns the estate they show will be held at and so she has brought several of her favorite dogs (L to R: Sadie, Ted, Ruby, and June) with her; She plans to stay after the weekend to vacation. She had previously won BiS twice, 22 years ago the first time and more recently 3 years ago with Ted. She is a very sweet, gossipy woman who can be prone to distractions outside of the show ring/dog world. Esther will be one of the main two people who will be helping the owners/handlers, mainly with regards to staying at the estate though.
Show Steward - Edward - 41, male - He has been around dog shows his whole life and started as a junior handler. Ed does breed labrador retrievers, though in very small numbers with maybe one litter every two or three years. He is a much more steady, unflappable person who seems never seems shocked by anything. Ed will be the person owners/handlers would go to if they have questions or problems regarding the show.
AKC npcs - Five other people to handle the behind the scene things and make sure everything is following standards. Two women and three men, they really are in the background and deal mainly with Esther.

Sporting - LWR Riders in the Sky owned & handled by Sorya Jones of Lone Wolf Ranch [AlaskaAirGirl]
Hound - Sorkin's Silver Spector owned & handled by James Hunnicutt of Sorkin Borzoi [VeraLynn]
Working - CK Eye of the Storm owned & handled by Stella Fortin [Mainehorse]
Terrier - Open
Toy - Open
Non-Sporting - CGD Evelyn Greene's Lady in White owned & handled by Allysa Rodgers [Illumine]

Herding - PCD Across the Seven Seas owned & handled by Grayson Mitchell of Phoenix Cattle Dogs [Brooke0518]

[veralynn]

Intro - All the characters are just getting off the ferry at the island's dock. Esther sent down her staff with four UTVs to drive the contenders and their belongings to the main house on the far side of the island, of course they are welcome to walk if they chose to do so. It is just requested that outside of the fenced areas by the main house all dogs are kept leashed to protect the biodiversity of the island. 

[veralynn]

Jay handed off his luggage to one of the housekeepers on the carts. They said they would drive him up but he wasn’t sure Spock would fit comfortably on the cart. So he was just going to walk the hound up on his leash and see the island in the process. Perhaps some of the other contestants would join him.

/Arrived safely, let me know how things are going/ After sending off a quick text to his wife he slipped the phone in his pocket. From his understanding there was cell service on the island though the middle was pretty much a dead zone; The dock had the strongest signal and by the house was weak but enough for a text. Jay was just a little worried about being here with Milena at 37 weeks; though she had to basically threatened him to come this weekend and promised she would have her parents staying with her. She had really pushed him to come as Spock really was his first dog he had paired and as much as Milena loved him, Jay was pretty sure she loved the dogs more.

[mainehorse]

Stella steps down off the ferry and onto the dock with Storm walking calmly by her side. His leash was looped around her wrist and her carry-on in hand. She had a backpack securely hanging from her shoulders. As one of the housekeepers comes to take her luggage, she thanks them quietly. A quick glance at the cart told her that Storm was quite unlikely to comfortably fit on the cart. Never the matter though she mused, they both frequently went on long walks through the woods, so walking to the house would be no issue. But before she set out, she wanted to be sure to let her family know that she had arrived safely. Thankfully the dock seemed to have good signal she notes pulling her phone out from her pocket. Just arrived on the island, all is well. I'll try to call tonight if possible she types and hits send before slipping the device back into her pocket.

As she begins the walk towards the house, she could see that she wasn't the only one who had made the choice to walk. After being on the ferry for a while, it was nice to have a chance to walk again after being confined to the boat. Storm seemed to be eager to be off the boat as well. His tail was wagging as he curiously explored - to the extent his leash would allow him to of course, but that seemed to be enough to satisfy the large dog. He wasn't overly curious but when he was some place new, he did seemed to like to look around and take in any new smells or sounds.

[Illumine]

 Allysa peered out from the ferry doors with a curious expression mingling on her face. She dusted her black pencil skirt with a confident hand and stepped outside, briefly taking in her surroundings before continuing on to the UTV. Lady, her best-bred Dalmation trotted next to Allysa with a look of deep interest at the seagulls attacking each other 100 hundred yards away. Allysa parked herself next to a cart and quickly handed over her bag (Black if you wanted to know) and stepped into the vehicle qaiting for Lady to climb on as well.
 "Thank you very much for the ride. I'd rather not walk in my... er heeled shoes." Allysa said gesturing to her very high stilettos. And honestly, I'd rather ride in a car than walk. Lady doesn't have the patience to walk this far.

[brooke0518]

Seeing the dock come into view, as the ferry comes to a stop, Grayson reaches for his maroon and black duffel bag, hoisting it up a bit over his shoulder, before tightening his hold on the leash, of his best Australian Cattle dog. Sinbad had managed the journey okay, but he was definitely getting a bit stir crazy. He was great in the show ring, but when he was stuck in a confined space, he would get a bit antsy. Patting the mottled red and white dog's head, Grayson begins to disembark from the ferry, following other people and their dogs, onto the sturdy, and robust looking dock. SO they were finally here........on the island for the getaway. He knew that animal welfare was important, but those people were going way too far. He wasn't mistreating his dog by any means. Sinbad was really well taken care of, with a raw diet, as well as a large open space to roam around and get his exercise. These shows for Sinbad, were few and far in between, and yet there were people out there, who went to such extremes to get a pointless statement out there. Walking onto the beach, he brings Sinbad over to a large tree, so that he could get a sniff of the area and take care of his business.

[AlaskaAirGirl]

Sorya looked around as the ferry finally docked and noticed that a few people with dogs were also getting off. Dakota, her best Golden Retriever was sitting next to her. She wished that her fiancée Austin had come with her, but had to stay behind until the show due to a reining show he had to attend with one of their best bred Quarter Horse stallions back in Texas. She pulled her cell phone out noticing that there was excellent service. She took a moment to text her fiancée was here with her as she sent the message saying that she was at the island and was just about to head up. She grabbed Dakota's leash and her bag to walk off the ferry. Back at the ranch, Dakota never wore a leash as she was free to roam without one. Many people would call that barbaric. But that was how she let Dakota and the other dogs run. Especially when she was on horseback.

She noticed a cart was waiting for her as she stepped off the ferry and decided to take it knowing that she was exhausted from the flight and ferry ride. She handed her bag to the attendant and then climbed into the cart. Dakota jumped in at her feet and laid down. "Thank you for the ride. My flight got a little delayed due to a storm and I am exhausted from traveling," Sorya announced in her Oklahoma accent.