From The Publisher

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10 – The Annual, 2023-24

By Tom Grabe

I am writing this commentary the day after the conclusion of the AKC National Championship. I  am not writing it because of any dissatisfaction with the judging at this year’s show. I thought the judging was good and the final lineup had seven outstanding dogs for Clay to evaluate and choose the winner. I write this column not for the exhibitors because nearly everyone I talk to is intrigued by the idea of having a five-judge panel at the group and Best In Show level of this show. I am penning this message for the decision-makers at AKC, and I know it will probably fall on deaf ears.

Let me give you a synopsis of how a five-judge panel works. I have witnessed this type of judging at major horse shows. Similar methods are used at most major stock shows. The five judges that would adjudicate the selected entry are chosen from a pool of eligible judges on the panel of the show. Consequently, if the Working group was being judged, the five judges would be selected from those on the panel that are eligible to oversee the Working group. In a perfect world, their names would be drawn from a hat, in public, about 30 minutes prior to the group being judged.

Upon entering the ring, the judges would be spaced at regular intervals and the dogs would travel in a serpentine pattern gaiting toward the judge (to see front movement) and then by and away from the judge (to see rear movement). After all of the eligible entrants completed this pattern, they would then make a circle around the ring to exhibit their side movement. Each dog would then take its place next to the sign designating its breed. The five judges would fan out and each would go over every dog with none inspecting the same dog at the same time. Upon completing their inspections, the dogs would make one more trip, individually, around the ring to exhibit their side movement again. Elements such as free-stacking or additional individual movement could be added to this process. The judges would not be allowed to converse with each other while judging.

Click here to read the complete article
10 – The Annual, 2023-24

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Posted by AnthonyA on Dec 29 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.