If everything I outlined in Part 4 wasn't enough, there's still a fantastic amount of things a show needs. The premium list has to be printed and mailed to prospective exhibitors. Entries need to be collected and processed. A program for the show needs to be drawn up, with times assigned for each breed's judging. These programs need to be mailed to all the exhibitors who have entered. If any judge's entries total more than 175, some of the breeds may have to be assigned to other judges, or other judges need to be found. Ribbons, armbands, and show catalogs set up and printed. All the physical equipment - mats, ring standards, barriers, and so on - have to be procured and set up before the show and taken down afterwards. A show also needs ramps for Basset Hounds and Bulldogs, tables for small breeds, wickets for measuring dogs with height requirements in their standards, and scales for dogs with weight limitations. For benched shows, benching assignments need to be drawn up.
All of this is well beyond the capabilites of even the richest and largest clubs. That's why there are show superintendents. A show superintendent is an organization licensed annually by the AKC to help clubs put on dog shows. All the horrific tasks I outlined above are handled by the show superintendent for a fee paid by the club.
The two largest show superintendents are Moss-Bow Foley and Jack Onofrio Dog shows. On the whole, MB-F handles shows on the East coast, the Northeast, and the upper Midwest. They are also the show superintendents for Westminster. Onofrio's scope is the Deep South, Texas, and the center and Western part of the country. More regional show superintendents include Jack Bradshaw Dog Shows (California and Arizona), Roy Jones Dog Shows (principally Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin), Jim Rau Dog Shows (Pennsylvania, including the big Blue and Grey Cluster in Harrisburg), and McNulty Dog Shows (western New York).
Show superintendents are invaluable in helping a club, exhibitors, and the general public. Back in the days when shows were smaller and fewer, they used to do even more, like transporting dogs to shows and arranging to have a professional handler exhibit the dog. If there's a group of people who have seen just about everything at a show, it's the superintendents. One lady, who the superintendent had never met nor heard of, called them one day. There was a show she really wanted to go to, but she couldn't find a baby-sitter. Would one of the superintendent's crew go baby-sit while she showed?