Interview With Lorraine W. Bisso – 2025 Morris & Essex Kennel Club Sporting Group Judge

Interview With Lorraine Bisso – 2025 Morris & Essex Kennel Club Sporting Group Judge

1. Can you describe your reaction to receiving an invitation to judge the Group at the 2025 Morris & Essex Kennel Club All-Breed Dog Show?

Lorraine Bisso: The Sporting Group at Morris & Essex has traditionally featured the best of the best over the long history of this show. I was deeply honored to be invited to judge the Sporting Group at the 2025 return of Mrs. Dodge’s illustrious show. The arrival of the cream envelope embossed with the M&E logo is truly wonderful and exciting.

2. What does it mean to judge a Group at the only all-breed show to take place once every five years?

Lorraine Bisso: I have attended every Morris & Essex show since 2000. The five-year reoccurrence (this year, four years) just adds to the anticipation of its return. The club offers a Veterans class eligible for Best of Breed, which helps to insure great quality at the Breed level. The quality of the entry is amazing. It is not just a dog show, it’s an event to be enjoyed all day.

3. In your opinion, how does this show differ from other AKC events?

Lorraine Bisso: Mrs. Dodge wanted M&E to be the “Exhibitors Show” and her traditions have been respected: boxed lunches, beautiful flowers, the Revere bowls, the list goes on and on. The anticipation blossoms into a celebration of purebred dogs in a beautiful park setting. I love that attendees embrace the fashions of the original shows! I think a defining feature of the show is the selection of judges. Whenever possible, judges are assigned breeds in their original Group of interest or Breed to which they have made a significant contribution. I feel it is a contributing factor to the huge entry.

4. What were you thinking or feeling moments before you stepped into the center of the Group ring?

Lorraine Bisso: The day had been a busy one for me as a committee member, starting at 5:45. For over a year, as the show began to come into focus, I had thought about the assignment. But as the day unfolded, it seemed that suddenly it was time to step into that ring and see the Breed winners emerge from the shadows under the tree and into the sun-drenched Group ring to well-deserved applause. I took a deep breath and enjoyed every moment.

5. Was there a heightened energy coming from the dog and handler teams? Did you feel any excitement from the spectators?

Lorraine Bisso: I think a Best of Breed win at Morris & Essex is a cherished, sought-after piece of history. The Sporting entry was over 1,000 dogs and was judged at the Breed level by a distinguished panel of Sporting experts. Every dog and handler was in top form, and the audience filled with the luminaries of the sport worldwide was most appreciative.

6. How challenging was this assignment? Can you share your selection process?

Lorraine Bisso: The Breed judges sent wonderful examples of the breeds! We were asked not to make a cut and so, as I worked down the line, it was a matter of assessing the essence of breed type and constantly sorting the choices in my mind.

7. Do you have a word or two about your Group winner?

Lorraine Bisso: I had never judged the Black Cocker before. Shown on a loose lead, he is a wonderful example of the breed, possessing the requisite merry temperament, balance, and a free way of going with a proper topline and tail set. He was presented in full bloom. The expression and eye shape contribute to his appeal. The beautiful type of the Irish Water Spaniel could not be denied. The German Shorthaired Pointer is a stallion of a dog, presented in solid condition. The English Setter is full of breed virtue.

8. A dog show of this magnitude is a monumental undertaking. Is there anything you’d like to say to the M&E Show Chair, and the club’s Officers and Committee Members?

Lorraine Bisso: A huge THANK YOU for the time, effort, dedication to detail, generosity, and respect for the sport of purebred dogs that this show represented in Mrs. Dodge’s era and now in its revival. Wayne Ferguson and the Morris & Essex Kennel Club have given us a look back at our history while celebrating the present and looking forward to our future.

9. Are there specific ways in which this show furthers the cause of purebred dogs?

Lorraine Bisso: Besides the show, Morris & Essex has a considerable philanthropic and charitable outreach.

10. Do you have any thoughts on the next iteration of Morris & Essex?

Lorraine Bisso: Each show, beginning in 2000, has been extraordinary, with each one being named as “the best one yet.” I would expect 2030 to be just as amazing as it brings the Golden Age of Dog Shows to life once more on a cool October morning. Start planning now.