Thanks to the very generous gestures of the Cuyahoga Valley Golden Retriever Club and the Golden Retriever Club of America, the Mid-Florida Golden Retriever Club will get to host a GRCA National Specialty after all: the 2021 GRCA National has been moved to Florida and will be held at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.

The MFGRC was originally slated to host the 2020 GRCA National Specialty in October but the event was canceled last week due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the CVGRC, which was to host the 2021 event, agreed to move its event to 2022, with approval from the GRCA, so that the MFGRC could finish what it started and host the National in 2021.

“We cannot thank the members of the Cuyahoga Valley Golden Retriever Club and the GRCA enough for allowing us to move our event to 2021,” said Pat Kopco, co-chair of the National Committee for the MFGRC. “We had done so much work and preparation to get ready to host the National this year and to have all of that go by the wayside would have been heartbreaking.

“Now we’ll have 18 months to finish preparations and bring the GRCA National back with a big Florida welcome.”

Anyone who has already paid for grooming or vending space, RV parking or trophy sponsorship for the canceled 2020 event will have the option of receiving a refund or applying their funds to the 2021 event. Full details will be posted soon.

The 2021 GRCA National will take place over the last week of October, with the schedule to be announced in the coming weeks.