12/21/2024
An excellent article by Wayne!
This reminded me of several conversations I had with Judge Judy over the years...
Let's Ponder.....
With Wayne R Cavanaugh
The late Tom Horner was a legendary figure in England and beyond as a judge, author, and all-around dogman. Through his musings in Englandâs brilliant Dog World newspaper, and in his book Take Them Around Please, he left some memorable words of wisdom. Among my favorites is this wonderful summary about judging:
"When judging dogs, you must not be swayed by any consideration, except by the relative merit of the dogs in front of you. You have but one duty: to judge the dogs. Forget the handlers and forget what the dogs have won previously. Place the dogs as you think they should stand. Never mind if the winner belongs to your best friend or your worst enemy. Disregard the fact that you won under one exhibitor last week, and that another is judging at the next show. Be completely selfishâplease yourself and simply judge the dogs and safeguard your reputation. That is the only way to gain respect among your peers".
There is so much bold truth in Mr. Hornerâs words. For judges, it serves as a pleasant reminder of what judging is all about. As important, it is a reminder to exhibitors that, as they say in investing, previous results do not guarantee future returns. The adage of making selections âon the dayâ should never be taken lightly.
The best judges are selfish; they give their honest opinion backed with a lifetime of knowledge and do not care one bit what others might think. They can focus only on the dogs in their ring and are well-accomplished in eliminating the noise that goes along with the task. My dear, late friend, Dr. James W. Edwards, always ended his judging seminars with this pearl of wisdom: The only real mistake you can ever make when judging dogs is to fail to give your honest opinion about the breed you are judging. Please, you and no one else. Most importantly, do what is best for the breed you are evaluating.
Judging by the words of Mr. Horner and Dr. Edwards doesnât come easily because we are humans. Erasing the slate when walking into the ring takes intentional practice, courage and, more important, knowledge. Because judging is subjective by nature, it is and will always be an imperfect process. As humans who are bombarded with noise at every level, wiping the slate clean isnât easy. In fact, itâs impossibleâperfection in any subjective endeavor is impossible. No judge is perfect, and no dog is perfect. However, the best judges and breeders constantly strive to make the best decisions they can for all the right reasons, all the time. For judges, one of the best ways to do so is to walk into the ring with the sole intent of evaluating breeding stock.
The climate in which subjective decisions are made seems to be more challenging every day. In the age of disrespect in which we live, judgeâs opinions are constantly being challenged on social media and dedicated websites. While there is the potential for everyone to learn from a respectful discussion with the judge, no one learns from poorly tossed arrows. While these online occurrences are all too common, there was a recent email event that completely missed its mark yet has the great misfortune of being a timely example:
An exhibitorâs dog was apparently shown to three judges on three consecutive days and was defeated all three days. The exhibitor proceeded to email all three judges with a bewildering complaint - all three judges awarded Best Of Breed to a dog that âwas not ranked.â The exhibitor could not imagine how the dog that won defeated top ranked dogs including the number one ranked dog in its breed. That was the complaint; that was the reason to email three judges. Even setting aside the obvious disrespect, is there really an assumption that judges should consider a dogâs rankings while assessing breeding stock? I certainly hope not!
Here, two of the judges emailed the exhibitor back. The responses were pure poetry. Without repeating them in their entirety, here are some Horner/Edwards-level excerpts that are well worth repeating: My duty as a judge is to evaluate breeding stock. Although I am a judge, my job as a breeder comes first. I apply the same principals as a breeder as to my judging. In fact, the one thing that constantly goes through my mind when judging a breed is, âif I was to start my breeding program from this entry, which one would I take home firstâ. On my day of judging, I know that from the entire entry, I would take that bitch home in front of every other entry that day....and thatâs why she won. You donât have to agree with me at all but thatâs my prerogative on the day and not yours. Rankings mean nothing to me. While I donât expect you to take my reply well, I figured I should at least have the opportunity to reply, and with a little bit of luck you might understand where I am coming from.
In case youâre wondering, the breed, the dog, the exhibitor, the judges, and the event are absolutely immaterial in this example. It is the brilliant sensibility of the judgeâs message that is important. Judges have one job; that is, to evaluate breeding stock. A dogâs ranking has nothing to do with the evaluation of breeding stock in the ring. It is my prerogative on the day, and not yours. Mr. Horner would be proud.
Two of the judges suggested that talking to them at the show on the day could have been a learning experience. To me, the tone of the complaint suggested otherwise but one can always hope.
Clearly, people enjoy rankings. They can serve as a goal for breeders, exhibitors and handlers who enjoy the race and are willing to commit to do what it takes. Many if not most people in the sport enjoy checking the rankings. There is no doubt that top winning dogs win for a reasonâthey are quality show dogs, purposely bred, and beautifully conditioned and presented. They are also dogs that compete in the most shows in a calendar year. No one is suggesting that each and every one of their wins was not deserved! But, can there be better examples of a breed on any given day that did not attend 250 shows a year? Of course.
If rankings were the ultimate arbiter in determining who should win, weâd not need shows to start the year; instead, we could just mail each top winning dog in every breed, group, and best in show lineup the appropriate rosettes then go golfing.
The top ranked dogs in the country all have one thing in common: none of them started their career as Number One. In fact, none of them had any ranking at all at their first show, including the great Kerry Blue Terrier, Mick. An unranked dog today may very well be next yearâs top dog... if its owners choose to compete a couple hundred times a year, advertise enough, and have the talent to build a successful team. It takes knowledge, cooperation, and dedication to build that team, and it also takes a special dog.
I have the utmost respect for those who take the plunge. The best teams always make the health and well-being of the dog and the people a top priority. It can exhilarate and rewarding for everyone involved. It can be an expensive bowl of stress salad. Or it can be a little of both. A tolerance for the normal course of subtle and not-so-subtle politics inherent in any subjective sport is also helpful. But when all is said and done, the top-ranked dogs are the same exact dog, minus the uninheritable presentation and polish, as they were before the journey began.
Incidentally, can you name the top-five ranked dogs in your breed from two years ago? I didnât think so. How about the number one dog all breeds from five years ago, ten years ago? I canât either. It doesnât matter because when youâre running the race, itâs now that counts. Love them or hate them, rankings have added another level of pursuit for the sport. They have created another level of expertise; a new set of talents and they are here to stay. Some would say they are a celebration of the sport of show dogs. Others would disagree.
The importance of any ranking system is not only how they are usedâitâs how they should not be used. They should never be used for judging dog shows and have no relevance in the evaluation of breeding stock. And a pro tip for those whose dogs were just defeated by a ârankedâ dogâdonât bother telling the judge your dogâs ranking or record before, during, or after.
Good judges do not care about your numbers. Instead, they care about the breed they are judging. And they are ranked amongst their peers by knowledge, sound decision making, a healthy dose of common sense and, yes, respect.
