The following is a copy of a letter sent by kennelhand Mark Pierrepont to GBGB
Good morning Mark and Mark.
Just to raise some concerns the forthcoming awards.
The cheapest room for 1 night at the Royal Lancaster is £329 , add breakfast that is £25.
Ticket for the awards £110
Travel to and from London as an estimate the average would be approximately £50.
Suit / dress minimum £200
Drinks will be around £6 – 7 each
I would estimate that the night will cost not far short of around £1000 per person. Obviously those sharing maybe able to reduce costs a little.
The average wage for a kennel hand in this country would likely be approximately £250. Do you feel it is justified to ask kennel hands to pay out approximately 4 weeks wages to attend a night which is supposed be celebrating the efforts of the dogs they dedicate their lives to ?
To me the figures are quite obscene especially in the current post pandemic climate. People in our sport are struggling to get by from week to week but they’ll not want to miss this night so some will no doubt put themselves into debt in order to attend. What would be even more concerning would for these people to then see others who work in the sport enjoying the night on fully paid expenses.
During the pandemic we were all told that we’re in this together. I would request that the GBGB lead by example and everybody pays their own way at this awards ceremony. No free tickets, no free meals, no free drinks and no free hotel rooms. I would also ask that no members of the media receive free tickets either and I’ll be the first to state that even though I’ll be reporting on the event I shall be paying my own way. If the GBGB were planning on offering me a free ticket can I request that this is given to a deserving kennel hand.
I look forward to hearing from you about this without delay.
I would suggest in future years a much cheaper alternative such as a country house hotel with a pre agreed drinks price is arranged which will be much more affordable to the majority in the sport.
Mark Pierrepont
I think Mark’s letter will resonate with many kennelstaff (and some owners and trainers), though this is not a new complaint. For many years, there were similar discussions over the awards and exorbitant London prices, notably when the events were held at both the Park Lane Hilton and Dorchester hotels.
Readers of a certain vintage will recall that in the end, so many trainers and kennelstaff boycotted the awards that they were canceled. I can recall presentations being made at ‘SKY nights’ at Peterborough and Hall Green. They were eventually reintroduced by owners group NAGO, with the awards switching to Hemel Hempstead.
The BGRB eventually took over the awards again and I can recall that on one occasion they were held at a venue just off the A12. There was also at least one awards night in Birmingham. Over time though, we ended up back in Central London and many owners and kennelstaff once again being priced out of the market. Indeed for many years, kennelstaff even had their own special night, organised and partially subsidised by the GTA.
In my view, GBGB finds itself in an unenviable position. Not least because there are a limited number of hotels who are able to accommodate the numbers involved; at least London has good travel links.
Hopefully a solution can be found th0ugh it won’t be simple.
Ed
