is to judge dogs against their breed standard and against the competition in the ring on the day. MC: In my primary breed, the Afghan Hound, it would be a dog that not only impacted the breed as a top winner and producer, he was a dog that impacted an entire genera- tion in the sport across many breeds. He was Int. Ch. Shirkhan of Grandeur; born in 1954, he could win in today’s ring without question. My career spans over 50 years and the list of great Hounds that I have total recall of is long. PS: Ch. Courteney Fleetfoot of Pennyworth—Whippet, Ch. Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Winslow—English Foxhound and Ch. Blu Shah of Grandeur—Afghan. RS: I do not like to single out certain Hounds, but there have been many impressive winners over the years in many of the Hound breeds. PT: Some of the great Hounds of my lifetime competed in the same era. The Bel S’Bram Salukis, Punkie the Grey- hound, Pepsi the great Afghan come to mind. Keep in mind that there were few dog shows in our part of the world during that era, so all these greats were in competi- tion with each other. It was scintillating to be in the ring with them while campaigning Nimbus. In the East, there was the beautiful Re-Up Basenji of an earlier era and then the two Basenjis that duked it out for Top Hound in the 90s. Another hound I greatly admired about that time was the Basset bitch, Lipstick. The great Grandeur Afghans were always in a class of their own. Shirkan, Shah, Tryst and others defined the breed in the day. Shirkan blood spread throughout the breed in the 1950s and 60s, producing some of the most exotic Afghans the world has ever seen. Yet we do have some individuals today that could compete with the dogs of yesteryear. Unfortunately, these dogs are not often in competition with other outstanding ones in their breed due to declin- ing entries and the numerous shows that water down the competition at all shows except for the precious few such as Westminster. For example, Beagles in New York this year were very competitive! Yet most shows do not enjoy that opportunity for spectators to study the breed. 9. Biggest pitfall awaiting new and novice judges? GB: Why are so many people so eager to make fools of them- selves by adjudicating on breeds before they are really ready? We all make mistakes, but it helps if we know it when we do. Recently I awarded BOB to the wrong dog and knew it the minute I did it, but it was too late. Doing that really unsettled me but I learned a lesson and I think it’s important that we all recognize our weaknesses, admit our mistakes and always try to do better. It always helps to talk to the wisest people in breeds that we can
find and be prepared to acknowledge that we can never know as much as they do. EB&JM: The best advice I can give a novice judge is to prepare yourself by doing your homework. Anytime you are about to take a big test, having prepared yourself completely, will remove any doubt or anxiety that you will fail. And by preparing yourself, I mean not only book wise, but more importantly, studying other judges in the ring and talking with expert breeders and/or handlers who have been highly successful in whatever breed you are undertaking. Ask questions, don’t be intimidated or shy, everyone started at the same exact place you are starting from and don’t second guess yourself, be confident in your decisions. Have control of your ring, construct a ring procedure that you are comfortable with and stick with it and most important have fun! MC: This is a great question! It is very different nowadays, in the past one could and did gather at shows in the groom- ing areas hanging over an expen of puppies of others watching and discussing. I lead broke many a future star of other breeds. Handlers/owners were anxious to get ones opinion on their next generation. Today, if one gets caught mingling in the grooming area among exhibitors (as a judge), all hell breaks out and the poor Rep has to come and disconnect the interaction. Lost opportunity once again. I am fortunate to have received the education I did from the legends of the sport before the perception of this became a negative. To that point, the progressive nature of social media has changed the sport enormously. When a new judge was anointed, everyone showed at least three times to test their meddle. Now everyone has an opinion in an nanosecond and sometimes their back- ground does not support their right to offer anything of the sort. For the new judge I would hope they have done their proper homework before they take on the responsibility to judge a breed. Now a judge will start off with their first few assignments sorting out what’s entered and simulta- neously a sector of breeders will watch what they do and if their placements seem consistent with what they had to work with by the fourth or fifth assignment that judge is presented with a few dogs they may have given a point to or maybe a reserve and then also are a number of dogs that don’t look anything like those previous awarded dogs. Now, that is your test, those breeders with the better dogs are giving you an entry and you damn well better know the differences and place them correctly or your entries will plummet because you were not well prepared. PS: Not all of the new judges coming into judging Hounds have not taken the time to study the history
204 • S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2017
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