Freighter was in a dog show this past Sunday. Dog shows are not top of our list of fun things to do in the summer and fall when the weather is good so we if we enter, it is usually just one day. During the winter when the weather is crummy, we don’t mind spending two days at a show, but who wants to waste an entire weekend when the weather is nice. Plus Freighter was busy all summer training and running hunt tests so his time was limited.
This show turned out to be an exercise in frustration. We all know there are politics involved in dog shows, but what happened at Sunday’s show was not exactly politics. I have struggled with how to explain what happened because you win some you lose some. But sometimes showing is very frustrating, especially to people like us that are not breeders or handlers and have one dog to show.
There were only four male dogs (five were entered and one was absent). Three of the dogs were in the Bred By Exhibitor class and Freighter was the only dog in the Open class.
The judge examined and had the handlers move the dogs in the Bred By class. He then rearranged them and put them in a different order than they entered the ring. He pointed to the first, second, and third place dogs which matched the order he had rearranged them. The ring steward called their numbers and the judge handed out the ribbons. The first place dog exited the ring with his ribbon, The second place dog was half way out of the ring when the judge decided he wanted that dog to win and not the dog he had originally given the first place ribbon to.
This is highly irregular. In fact I have never seen it. So OK the judge changed his mind. But he only had three dogs to keep track of so if he can’t even do that, then maybe he is not really able to judge. One of the competitors asked for the AKC rep to be called to lodge a complaint. It would not be to change the result, but to let the AKC know that this judge may not be qualified to judge. When you pay the entry fee which is now $30, you expect to have a competent judge that can at least keep track of three dogs (which is not a large entry).
While all of that was going on, the ring steward was hustling hubby and Freighter into the ring. The ring steward runs the ring so you have to follow his direction.
So hubby entered the ring and stacked Freighter…
Then hubby and Freighter waited and waited and waited. To Freighter’s credit he held that stack for a long time while the whole Bred By class placement snafu was figured out.
Unfortunately when the judge finally got around to judging Freighter, he was so preoccupied by what had happened in the class before him that he barely looked at Freighter. Since Freighter was the only dog in his class, he really did not need to look at him other than to check his bite and make sure he was intact. He did check his bite, but I don’t think he checked the other.
Hubby did a very nice job with Freighter and Freighter was all business in the ring but could not capture the judge’s attention. Freighter received his ribbon and moved on to the Winners Dog competition.
This is about the best look Freighter had from the judge.
Winners Dog went to the other dog and Reserve went to the dog that was given first place and then told he was second in the Bred By class and Freighter got nothing. Like I said, you win some, you lose some but we have witnessed some odd things in the show ring that just a few years back would never fly. A dog that has swimmer’s tail should not be awarded a major just because it has a handler showing it. A dog that paces around the ring and never trots should not receive points because of who is on the end of the lead. Clubs should not be allowed to give an IOU-come-back-later for a ribbon. The AKC really needs to get a handle on it for the integrity of the sport.
I don’t want to take away from the winning dog yesterday because he was a very nice dog. The problem is that we paid $30 to show our dog and wasted a nice Sunday at a show. We would like a fair look. Beyond how the snafu affected Freighter’s chances, I think the judge being distracted carried through to the bitch classes and the Best of Breed competition. Most importantly, I am shocked that a judge would give out a first place ribbon and then take it back after the competitor has exited the ring. A novice exhibitor would probably never come back. If the sport is to survive, people need to feel confident in the judging.
Wow what a craptastic day for sure. Sorry for what happened.
I’m sad with you… what happened at this sow was not good. Also that you had to wait so long in the ring till the judgement started. I’m sorry that you wasted time and money and that this judge probably was mentally still at the class before you :o( I’m with you you win some, you lose some but if things like that happen, you drive home with frustration and sadness. We fortunately can look for the judges of the upcoming shows and we avoid those with a judge with whom we made bad experiences (it’s only one by now). Hugs to you Freighter, I know you are a winner.
here is the missed “h”… I meant sHow, not “sow” LOL
I am so sorry that Freighter and Hubby had this experience. I was so hoping Freighter could be done with all this. Your photos
show a well balanced and cooperative Chessie (who we all know would rather be in the bird field)/ He is a real winner. The on;ly
plus is you were not in Saturday’s cloudburst!
Omg!! How awful!! So sorry about your experience!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Oh dear. How terrible! That isn’t such a professional way to judge…
That really was either a seriously inexperienced judge or a very biased one – or just a truly sucky one. He should definitely be removed from his pedestal. It sounds to me like he already had his mind made up before he even judged Winners Dog. Freighter, you are always top dog in our judgment!
I think maybe he was just old and confused. Unfortunately every once in a while you get one that should step away from judging, but they do not. Usually it is not much fun to show under them either. Some judges make it fun win or lose.
Sounds awful and not right! Just another reason we are happy we decided never to show. Hopefully next time will go better.
It used to be fun back when we were showing Thunder. But it has changed which is too bad. I guess given how prevalent politics are in the ring are these days, we have done well to put as many points on Freighter that we have.
Having a booth at the show but not showing dogs, I hear from alot of people who talk to me about the problems of showing. It is unfortunate. The idea of AKC showing is to improve each breed. I know the things you are talking about happen and it does hurt the overall integrity of the AKC.
I think my biggest issue is that this kind of thing discourages people from entering. It used to be that a person with a dog would enter a show if it was in their area. They did it to show off their dog and have some fun. But we no longer see that. The high cost is one thing, but also if you are not always in the ring showing dogs so the judges are familiar with your face it really is an uphill battle to finish in the points these days. Don’t get me started on the whole charade of the AKC Owner Handler competition. lol
Wow, that’s crazy. Sounds like if an ump called a strike and then tried to change his mind. Nutty. That’s a bummer that it’s not as much fun for locals to come out and show their dogs anymore. There’s politics everywhere!
Definitely not the norm.
That is so weird! I have never seen a judge change their mind before. Wonder if it’s early onset of senility. (Not being sarcastic)
A friend of mine owned a Bouvier she was trying to finish, and a judge put up a dog who paced for BOW. A herding breed.
The handlers are wrecking the sport imo. Judges don’t have to really know the breed, just have to pick out the handler they are most familiar with. I do think the judge Sunday was just older and confused and we were his last of the weekend. It is not that a deserving dog did not win, but if he cannot keep track of 3 dogs then that is not a good thing. I also did not care for the way he approached the dogs from the rear. Thank goodness Freighter has a lot of experience in the ring. Most all judges always come from the front side. Also in the group before us (Springers) there was a dog that rolled on its back and would not stand at all for inspection. He did not excuse it and did not even touch it, but gave a ribbon anyway. Yep there was a handler on it.
UGH! I hate the assumption that a handler wouldn’t bring in a poor quality dog, so might as well put up what they have. It’s so not true in many cases.
Approaching from the rear wouldn’t fly in the working group. And it’s disrespectful to the dogs.
Being completely new to the breed ring I think I would have been mortified if that had happened to me (giving me first and taking it back). It really would have discouraged me.
I totally agree.
That’s one big reason we decided early on not to show our dogs, you really don’t have control over the situation. We’ve seen a lot of politics and “gamesmanship” at dog shows, and many judges have their own preferences. There is a resource where you can research AKC judges, their experience, etc. but offhand I don’t recall what it is.
The sad thing is that it never used to be that way with Chessies. Most people showed their own dogs and most judges really made an effort to pick out the best dog that day. I am not saying that the best dog did not win on Sunday, but you like a little more professionalism when you spend the money and effort to attend a show. We normally show to any judge, but lately our list of who to show to is growing.
That sounds like a fiasco, and so unfair and frustrating. It also seems very unprofessional and I can’t believe they let that judge get away with that.
Unfortunately the AKC rep never appeared. They are supposed to be present on the grounds so I do not know where they were.
Man, that stinks! I’m sorry you, hubby, and Freighter had to go thru/put up with that! I hope that judge loses his right to judge, at least until he proves capable of doing the job.
Thanks. It was bad for us, but worse I think for those in the other class.
Wow, maybe somebody should review the judges every so often to make sure they’re not broken. I really hate it when time is wasted.
As I understand, a letter will be written to the AKC and I think the club was told.
That’s great!
Nice looking boy! I always toss a backpack of bumpers and a change of clothes in the truck when we show Angel. Then I look for a field to run some cold blinds on the drive home. After we are done training I tend to forget all about the show. 🙂