Regarding the bench show rule, what you will have can not be considered an "open" show and historically the winner would not be considered worthy of a championship because the winner did not compete against the full field of hounds willing to be shown in the ring.
I fear there are not enough people in the right positions who understand foxhound history and understand why things have been set up the way they have been for so long.
It's not even logical to do it that way. To be consistent you would have to disqualify scratched hounds that place on the bench if the show were held before the first days running.
I don't know who is on the board and I'm sure you're wonderful people who are probably friends of mine but that bench show rule wasn't thought out very well.