IMHO – Questions Answered by Those Who Know

BY ELAINE LESSIG

ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF HAVING APPRENTICE JUDGES IN THE RING?

Elaine Lessig – AKC Judge

On my own path to judge breeds with knowledge and passion, I took advantage of the opportunity to be an apprentice judge several times. My learning pattern is to layer and weave as many opportunities as I can until I feel prepared to judge a breed. Among those opportunities are institutes, seminars, mentors, kennel visits, specialties, judging non-championship level events, and reading various media. To assess my readiness, I then may also apprentice with a respected judge. For me it is the icing on the cake.

Apprentice judges are welcome in my ring if they are prepared. This should not be their first experience with a breed. Both of us adhering to the guidelines and doing the pre- and post-conferences make the apprenticeship valuable to the mentor, student, and future exhibitors.

Martha Feltenstein – Breeder/Owner

I am in favor of having apprentice judges in the ring – at least in theory. In my opinion, there is no better way to learn than going over a number of dogs with an experienced teacher. I have learned an immense amount by ring stewarding in Europe, and working as the steward who takes down the written critique from the judge. The catch, of course, is that just being a judge does not automatically make someone experienced or knowledgeable about the breed he or she is judging, and a particular judge may simply perpetuate ignorance.

“The catch, of course, is that just being a judge does not automatically make someone experienced or knowledgeable about the breed he or she is judging…” – Martha Feltenstein

Linda Pitts – Professional Handler

Yes, I am very much in favor of apprentice judges in the ring as long as they are apprenticing under people who have been associated with the breeds being judged for a long time, or who would be considered breed experts. Having sat outside the ring being mentored on many occasions, I can only imagine what an invaluable experience it could be to get the thoughts on breed priorities and class placements from the judge directly.

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Posted by Alex on Nov 16 2017. 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.