Judging In Bogota’… Excelente’

148 – November, 2010

by Dr. Bob G. Smith

In September, I flew from New Orleans to Tampa, Tampa to Miami, and then Miami to Bogotá, Columbia. Nothing unusual for a dog show judge. Regular travel: 7 a.m. departures, nodding seat mates, grumpy passengers, and sleepy attendants, long walks from one gate to another–Just the ordinary airport food, no free airport Wifi, and expensive bottles of water and pop.

So why am I writing this? It was a first-time experience judging at a FCI show and traveling to South America. I was anxious about judging at an Asociación Club Canino Colombiano/FCI-sponsored show and judging a Sporting Group Specialty where I would be asked to critique each dog. In reality, I had only had experience at AKC supported shows.

Borrowing from the ACCC/FCI critique judging form, (EXCELENTÉ, VERY GOOD, GOOD SUFFICIENT, DISQUALIFICATION) I wanted to examine some of the judging and non-judging experiences I enjoyed while in Bogotá.

I admit that friends and family had great reservations about my traveling to Bogotá, Colombia, South America. At times, I was in their camp, other times, bravely anticipating the trip and the judging. Preliminary contact with the Show Director/Chairman, Carlos Quiñones, had been nothing but professional, pleasant, and attentive to my inquiries. Having communicated primarily through Facebook and email, Carlos was the consummate Show Chair providing updates, information, and links to the ACCC website: http://www. accc.com.co. Fortunately for me, he and all the show committee and club members I met were bi-lingual. My Spanish is limited to “Gracias, Muchas Gracias, and Buenos Noches”. I would like to think that qualified me as “bi-lingual”. Far, far, far from it! If and when I return to South America, I have promised myself that I will be better able to converse in the country’s language where I would be visiting. Embarrassed at my limited language skills as I was to be on the outside of many conversations among the countrymen and women, all were gracious and quickly translated conversations into excellent English—sometimes better than my own.

I would rate the consummate show director, Carlos Quiñones, as “excelenté”. I learned from him that he is also show director for several other shows. Yes, current local club show chairs: TWELVE shows a YEAR! This fact made me somewhat faint thinking of the work that entails being a show chair for that many shows a year. He is also an all-breed FCI judge. It is no wonder that during his assisting me in recording and translating my critiquing of the dogs I judged in the Sporting Specialty, he became ill and was transported to a nearby medical facility. “Excelenté” is his condition as I write this as he has chaired two more shows since that time.

Not only would I rate the Show Director as ”excelenté”, I would give that rating to Dr. Rafal Otalora, the President of the Associacion Canine Club of Colombia. As head of the ACCC, Dr. Otalora has similar responsibilities as those of the President of the American Kennel Club. Dr. Otalora is also an all-breed FCI judge. He was extremely involved in the minute to minute workings of the ACCC shows on Saturday and Sunday where I judged, overseeing the inner workings of the club’s volunteers, the visiting judges, and the three rings of dogs and exhibitors. He hosted an “excelenté” gathering for the visiting judges and club officers on Friday night prior to the weekend’s shows. The occasion was held in his beautifully decorated residence in downtown Bogotá.

The ACCC is blessed with “excelenté” officers including Aída Rivera Franco and Juan Alberto Grillo—both all-breed FCI judges, as well. Each fluent in English, they were warm and welcomed the visiting judges with “open arms”—Aída, an ACCC Director, and Juan, the Club Treasurer. Not only were they a part of the judges’ welcoming committee, they hosted the shows that weekend on the campus of the private school of which they are the proprietors. The beautiful facility where the competition was held was the school gymnasium complete with composite flooring making footing for the dogs and the judges “excelenté.” The obedience competition was held outdoors on the adjacent school campus. Aída is the school administrator and Juan the school manager of approximately 600 students.

Other judges on the panel were also excelenté! Two international judges made up the panel with Mrs. Lee Canalizo and this writer. Horacio Pérez Vidal and his wife from Mar del Plata, Argentina and Gabriel Gamarra from Montevideo, Uruguay became excelenté friends with us Americans. Horacio’s wife, Suzann, accompanied him from Argentina and was my tour partner on Saturday as we toured the historic city of Bogotá, Fortunato Botera’s Art Museum, the Simon Bolivar Plaza and several cathedrals before journeying across the city to watch the Best In Show judging that afternoon. Mrs. Perez, also a university instructor, became a close friend to me very quickly as she assumed the role of my translator with the driver hired by the club to be our personal guide/driver since I spoke NO Spanish. Sr. Pérez and Mrs. Canalizo had much more in common than judging dogs. Both are accomplished jewelry designers and artists and seemed to enjoy the time spent talking about jewelry making, fine metals, and designs. Judge Gamarra, an accountant from Montevideo and Treasurer of the Uruguay Kennel Club, is one of the youngest FCI all-breed judges I have met. Knowledgeable, confident, and efficient in the ring, Sr. Gamarra was a pleasure to watch as a judge.

I had the honor of judging a Sporting Group Specialty Show on Sunday. I found some wonderful dogs among the entries of American Cocker Spaniels, Golden and Labrador Retrievers, and English Springer Spaniels. The Sporting Specialty BISS was the Black American Cocker Spaniel and was the big winner throughout the weekend, winning All-Breed Best In Shows both days. My Best In Show Junior Dog was an excelenté Clumber Spaniel, bred in the US by Doug Johnson and Jamie Hubbard of Clussexx Kennel renown and owned by the well-known Columbian sister duo of Adriana and Patricia Jaramillo. Their Clumber was also BIS Junior Dog on the other day of the weekend.

Many breeders were on hand to see their exhibits in the ring and were anxious to talk to some of the judges after the judging about their breeding program. The breeders were very knowledgeable of the US breeding programs behind their exhibits. Several breeders had been breeding their own line for many generations as was evidenced by the quality of the dogs they bred.

Other participants at the dog show included the handlers; some were excelenté professional handlers and others very capably handled their own dogs. They were courteous and very supportive to other handlers, exhibiting great handling expertise, most often bi-lingual, and very professional. Many travel to the US to exhibit at AKC shows and obviously do their share of winning here, as well. One of the fascinating aspects of judging in Bogotá and, I’m told, other South American countries is the enthusiasm of the spectators during the judging. There were shouts, loud clapping, and enthusiastic encouragement from outside the rings. The cheering did not seem to be breed-specific in that the loud support seemed to be for any and all good dogs. I was especially impressed by the cheering of the youngsters at ringside when hearing their exuberant chants of “Olé” as they championed the dogs being moved around the ring.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the stewards that worked the rings on both days. For those of us who spoke limited Spanish, having a steward who was fluent in English was a major “gift”. The stewards were efficient, energetic, young, and kept the judging on a smooth tract and moved the classes in and out of the ring like a well-oiled machine. On one day before the weekend shows, Mrs. Canalizo and I were treated to a tour of the city, visited a local market, enjoyed the sights at the Simon Bolivar Plaza, and visited the nearby Gold Museum. Our tour guide, Adriana Jaramillo, is a club member who served as guide and translator. A wonderfully knowledgeable university instructor in architecture, Adriana gave us insight into the political, culture, and academic life of Bogotá. He is the voice of the ACCC at the shows announcing the classes and placements. We were treated to lunch in one of the oldest restaurants in Bogotá complete with what appeared to be original floor tiles and fireplaces appearing to be several hundred years old. Another of the unexpected treats of the day was the chance encounter at the Bolivar Plaza with a beautiful white Llama saddled with a small saddle and colorful blanket. The young Llama was kneeling on the stones of the place allowing youngsters to pet, look at, and even climb into the saddle. The owner told this author that the animal was only 15 months old and with this outing, it was its first time out in public. It certainly was calm, cool, and collected with the “circus-like” activity surrounding the Bolivar Plaza.

A visit to Bogotá is not complete without a visit to the Gold Museum. The museum has a collection of 50,000 gold pieces. The largest museum of its kind in the world containing everything in gold from crowns, utensils, jewelry, armor, sculpture, and clothing. Exhibits in the Main Room of the Gold Museum are called ‘People and Gold in prehispanic Colombia’. Through its glass cases it displays the goldsmith work of the different cultures which inhabited Colombia before the Spanish people arrived; the room is divided into different halls for every culture; Calima, Quimbaya, Muisca, Zenu, Tierradentro, San Augustín, Tolima, Tayrona and Uraba, and a special room called After Columbus (Despues de Colón). Visitors could spend hours and even days viewing all the gold pieces and reading the inscriptions describing details about the gold piece(s).

To continue the travelogue, a visit to Bogotá would also not be complete without a trip to Ferdando Botera’s Art Museum. We were informed that Botera purchased the facility that later became the museum and donated it to the City of Bogotá as long as admission remained FREE to all visitors. Writers on Wikipedia’s internet website describe Botera’s style as: “While his work includes still-lifes and landscapes, Botera has concentrated on situational portraiture. His paintings and sculptures are united by their proportionally exaggerated, or “fat” figures, as he once referred to them. Botera explains his use of these “large people”, as they are often called by critics in the following way: ‘An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it.’”

Accommodations for the judges were wonderful with rosewood covered walls and beautiful leaded glass windows and door panels of the dining room of the Hotel le Manoir—a small hotel with an excellent staff. Each day there was a beautiful fresh arrangement of Birds Of Paradise from tabletop to ceiling with one flower gracing each table. The staff would be rated “excelenté” with the hotel receiving a “good” rating. (Ask me about a “runaway commode” sometime.)

The city of Bogotá is a contrast between the old and the modern with multi-storied skyscrapers, casting shadows on one and two story bodegas nearby. Several universities are located within the city limits, some nestled against the towering mountains ringing the outside of the city. So much commercial construction was evidenced along with major road construction throughout the city and the outskirts. As in most major world cities, there are many blighted buildings sitting abandoned in the shadows of the new high-rise apartment and condo buildings. However, the economy appears to be thriving evidenced by the number of people driving cars, riding motor vehicles, or public transportation going to and from work. So many vehicles are on the streets that, according to one club member, drivers can only drive their cars three days a week. Non-residents are encouraged to “leave the driving to the trained professional”. No backseat driving is encouraged.

Since the country of Columbia is a major supplier of fresh flowers to wholesale florists throughout the world, roadside vendors, both stationary and braving the traffic, were abundant. Vendors of all ages dodged the bumper-to-bumper traffic to thrust their beautifully-arranged bouquets against the windows of the cars hoping for a quick sale. A traditional part of the culture is the traditional visiting of the gravesites of relatives on Sunday’s. This benefits the roadside flower vendors. On the route to the show site each day, there were floral arrangements resting on the side of the road available for purchase by the visitors to the cemeteries.

I will finish this recount of my “excelenté” visit to Bogotá with thanks to all the members of the Bogotá Kennel Club, its officers and directors. Thanks are extended to the President of the ACCC and his staff for their encouragement and interest in breeding better dogs. Thanks are offered to the people of Bogotá for their kindness and hospitality. The visit to Bogotá and the opportunity to judge at an ACCC/FCI show was, in a word: excelenté!

In a future article, I hope to contrast a FCI show with an AKC show. Some of the features are very similar and some are not. I will look forward to exploring their uniqueness and differences.

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