Page 74 - Showsight January 2013

off the coat so as to better handle
their dogs. We don’t want them
collapsing from overheating do we?
One other thing: I have yet to see a
man in shorts in my ring and I hope
I never do!
Now, for the ladies. “Ladies
should dress accordingly. Scarves,
hats, vests, jewelry or anything else
that may dangle into the dog’s line
of vision should be secured away
from proximity to the dogs.” I
can relate to this in several ways.
When I first began judging I had an
exciting first assignment to judge
our national outdoors in August. I
made a special dress and was well
prepared for a hot assignment. I
even had a small attractive sun-
hat to protect me from the sun.
However, before judging the Paps
I had a small group of Miniature
Pinchers to judge first. I went out
into the middle of the ring and
asked the steward to send the dogs
in. Well, they came in briskly to line
up on the side when all h---l broke
loose. The dogs looked at me and
in a chorus they began barking and
howling. What I realized was that
they objected to the hat. So, with
chagrin I slipped it off and set it on
the table never to be worn again!
Another time I was showing a
little bitch and had placed her on
the table for the judge to exam.
The lady judge came towards her
and lifted her hands up to touch her
head which was fine, but when she
dropped her hands all the bracelets
came dangling down her arms and
scared the bitch to death (almost). I
swear she had at least 3 or 4 brace-
lets on each arm. I, myself, discov-
ered a pendant can be treacherous
to the dog as I bent over a large dog
to examine him. Once it almost
clunked him on the head! Then I
tucked it under my blouse. I truly
think twice when assembling my
attire for the ring.
Women again: “Above all avoid
inappropriate, conspicuous or out-
landish dress. Women should not
wear skirts that are too short or too
cumbersome.” My comment is that
this applies to lady handlers as well.
Too short, and right now the styles
are very short. These may be all
right for some ladies, but it is always
a good idea to check yourself. Get
the dress or skirt on and look in
the mirror. Then turn around and
look back at your image, then bend
down as if to handle or examine
a dog and see what the skirt does.
You may be surprised. I remem-
ber a lovely lady judge making this
comment. “I received a copy of the
video of my judging their specialty.
I put it on the VCR and watched.
To my horror every time they took
a picture of me examining the dog
I was bending over the dog and the
shot was of my rear. And what I
saw was not pleasant! I threw the
tape in the trash and afterwards I
checked my back before judging.”
Now, I have to say that when a club
has a theme show and ask judges
to dress accordingly, that is quite
acceptable. As long as it doesn’t
interfere with the judging process.
Lastly, to quote the rules “Cell
phones and other electronic devic-
es must be turned off while judg-
ing. Telephone calls should never
be made or received by either the
judge or the ring steward while in
the ring.” I might add exhibitors
also. Turn the phone to vibrate or
shut it off. I have had this happen
while judging, of course the han-
dler excused himself and turned the
phone off.
These rules and suggestions
aren’t hard to follow and can
improve the day for judges and
exhibitors alike. I’ll look for you in
January. Happy New Year to all! n
RULES FOR JUDGING
was approached by another
judge to write about attire in the ring.
I’ve done this before, but I agree with
her that we need to be reminded.
Or, perhaps, the judges have never
read the rules, or they may want to
ignore them. Whatever—I am put-
ting it down in black and white again.
I am copying the rules first and
then commenting on it. I do find that
we can stretch some of them a bit.
First, “Gentlemen should wear coats
and ties (weather permitting).” We
are professionals and I seldom see a
male judge without a coat in normal
conditions. However, I have observed
no tie and no coat on many who are
having pictures taken. The exception
here is very hot days outdoors. I feel
that men need to be comfortable in
those conditions and besides I think
a sweaty coat is not very attractive or
necessary. The same thing goes for
handlers. I find they all have coats
and ties when in the ring, unless it
is extremely hot. Sometimes I even
suggest to them that they may take
ArleneCzech
70 • ShowSight Magazine, January 2013