If you read my previous blog posts you will already know that I attended the Westminster Kennel Club 2016 dog show. My take-away on both the breed judging's massive crowds at The Piers in NYC, and the lack of women's restroom facilities has been discussed earlier. I will mention that if I entertain another visit to WKC, I will not attend the breed judging programs, instead just the Group Judging events on both evenings. I'd much rather while away my day enjoying NYC's numerous attractions instead of re-experiencing the awful crowds during breed judging. Being on your feet, as one cannot find a seat, from 8:30AM until 4:00PM and walking the long distances in and between the Piers is exhausting, especially when you cannot view the competitions.
However, when I posted from the show I did not go into detail about a glaring issue that was maddening to watch. During breed judging it was plain to see that a foreign judge had limited knowledge to proficiently judge dogs in accordance with AKC procedure. Not only did he demonstrate inadequate procedural knowledge but was painfully slow -- as evidenced by the show breed video and my iPhone video. I can confirm that this particular judge took, on average, nearly 3.5 to 4 minutes per dog -- and it was agonizing. All told, he took almost 26 minutes to adjudicate over 7 entries. From my observation point, he most likely would not have been able to complete his assignment if not for the capable hands of his Ring Steward who had to repeatedly explain how to proceed with the awards. This did NOT just occur in one but several of his breed assignments.
The foreign judge required constant consultation with the Steward regarding the awards process -- he would proceed to award Best of Breed and then wring his hands until the Ring Steward counseled him again as to what to do next. Minutes would fly by as the exhibitors were standing, waiting, while he discussed "who knows what" before he would walk over and declare another decision.
He appeared to be quite a jovial chap but that does not excuse his lack of proficiency in adjudicating under the AKC Dog Judging system. Surely, all foreign judges MUST understand and be fully versed in how to judge under our procedures, at the very least, they need to make an effort to do so. It was evident during this foreign judge's breed assignments that this was not the case and it was and remains maddening. If you are going to accept such a privileged assignment then you better know how to do it, properly.
And what is it with Judges, including this international judge, asking exhibitors the age of the dogs?! Are they not aware that under AKC rules, a judge is not permitted to ask the exhibitor such a question? If age is a factor in their decision making process then they must have the steward provide them with this information -- NOT the exhibitor. As any AKC Field Representative will inform you- an exhibitor might lie so you do not base any decisions on what the exhibitor tells you. The question I ask is WHY are foreign judges not versed in this and other procedures? If you are going to accept an assignment in a foreign country you MUST learn that country's federation judging system. You don't just wing it. I find it disrespectful and I know for certain, that if and when I do receive an assignment overseas, I will do everything in my power to make certain I am studied in their adjudication processes.