A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
SilverZook,I could not agree with you more.I am just starting to realize the luck factor involved because I finally have a decent male that I can enter and expect to win but he has not come closer than second in his cast first time out 3 times in a row.But I guarantee you I had fun.When that stops I'll stop.I really enjoy LP judging and had the priveledge of running with some fine houndsmen before I soloed,but when that stops being fun I'll stop.I went to a hunt here in Ohio last winter expecting old RedBull to win it all but really wanted to watch him do it so I didnt volunteer to judge,drew out with an older guy for judge who admitted he didnt want to do it alone and Red lost by 10(of coure he was the best dog in the cast )What would have happened if I would have stepped up to the plate and judged?Never know but I DO know I'll help judge from now on till it stops being fun.Just wish I could get out to more trials than the local ones but duty calls on most weekends,maybe when the kids get older I'll get to meet some of you and even run into some of the Kentucky mafia. I do know that I will try to take a kid with me next time I judge.
Looking at these post i realize most of you guys have judged me somewhere at sometime . I have judged most of you also win lose or draw, thinking about it my heyday was when the surber boys were winning it all , man ol skim could run .
I lived to beat em they were some top notch fellas. All the rules keep changing the dogs are getting better , Myself as well as all of us aint getting no younger. thats for sure .I think so many times the guys are judging by the rule instead of using common sense , its so easy to say "I did not see it" But i knew it should of been a jump not a strike , the system we use today is not perfect . But if judges were rabbit hunters , and would judge my dog not me . Plenty of people dont like me , why? I will tell it the way it is , not what you want to hear. For some thats a flaw ,
Lol to me its the truth. Example at a hunt recently there was a dog scratched for running deer , nothing to me i had no connection to him or his handler, but the dog was in my sight the whole time , he did not run a deer . at the end of the cast I spoke up . At that time i was pretty much told to nip it in the bud lol. All that judge had to do is admit he scratched the wrong dog . I made a mistake is that to hard to admit , i have made a kazzilion ,pride stings a man pretty bad .
you know pride in one's self is a good thing because if a man has pride
in his self he'll bring back in his mind the hound that scores the most
points for the hour. we all know the best dog don't always win. anyone
that thinks alot of there self doesn't want others to think badly of them
and most will try there very best to do the right thing. all us ole judges
can help our young by just trying to guide them in the right direction. if
i see something that might help them i'll try to catch them alone and
talk with them about it and not try a make them look bad in front of cast,
in hope that they listen and it helps. silverzuk your right on.
bwall
let honesty run through the veins of each and every judge at each and every trial at each and
every format.
Jimmie
Again the same page but we northerners have alot of the same happenings. Judges judging their get seem to be predisposed to place em.
Some outright cheat and some are completely incompetent. Our only opposition can be to not spend our dough when we believe the ribbons have a chance of being tainted. Sooner or later they disappear some not soon enough to suit me but I guess I am hard to please. The CKC system of complaints can cause undue hardship and financial costs that make the complaint system basically not used. The clubs make the decisions to hire the judges and thus have the responsibility of providing a level field to start off. As always some are cheaper than others and seem to get their share of jobs but all can be resolved.
Knowledge and the reporting of incidents that happen will place the individuals in positions that are deserving. Its a hard racket if the dice are already thrown but still fun is what its about and competing on the level is definitely preferable to the alternative. L&S monk
Boys the plain fact of the matter is!!! If we dont get the younger generation involved, and I mean judgeing, train them properly, and not burn them out, then we will not have an ARHA feild trial format to worry about. If things dont change as far as judgeing is concerned, we will see this die in a decade, or little more from now. There are other factors also, but this is the single most important issuse to address.
to much running for me to judge so i dont bitch about it to much. every club ive been to has buddy judging and home cooking at some point in time. the only complaint i have is i think there should be 2 judges per round from start to finish even if it takes until sunday to finish up. its hard for 1 judge to judge the entire hour without missing something.
lj 2 judges woudl sur ehelp us old guys lol .. but i doubt that would solve everything that happens,,all we can do is try i think the new programs installed for teaching kids to judge will pay off in the long run. we really do need some more younger judges that KNOW THE RULES..and nothing beats experince i know some think they can judge from the crowd ,, but i learned early on in judgeing what u hear and what happened can be 2 totally different thing when u see it right in front of ur eyes!and after judgeing for 2 yrs i respect any man or boy that runs for an hr thru thick and thin getting all he can!
ACTS 2:38=repent,baptised in the name of jesus christ,receive the holy ghost!
A little off topic but I think LP will eventually lose all its credibility and become a trial dog format if the hunters finally totally abandon it.The average dog I judge I would never feed through the year as a hunting dog...but I know I am picky and I have seen some outstanding ones.The worse thing that could happen would be a format made up of entirely trialers....then you have a beagle as worthless as a walkie talkie.Go watch the coon dogs (greyhounds...literally) run at Kenton Ohio and you will know what I mean.Question:if there was a rabbit hunt tournament with a really nice kitty but tough hunting conditions,last day of the season like the one I went to last year with a foot of snow,would you take just your LP trial dog ?IMO the more professional trialers LP gets the more junk you will see with the judges.
Bob ur are right , as times are changing so are the dogs as well as the judging . Fortuanely for me i have stayed on track with my dogs . Several years ago i had to choose . Hunt or fad , I did not see it as much of a choice myself . I have tried to stay on course as much as possible , i may like fast dogs but i have slowly bred the nose i was lacking . Fortunaly Hunt has always been there not a issue . I fill as though hard hitting with speed and line control is the direction i will try and hold to . I will always hunt first and trial second . As age is starting to creep on me , i really prefer to pleasure run and enjoy life . I really enjoyed my short stent with akc .Really good format . My days of trialing
are probaly getting short. I mainly enjoy seeing my buddies and watching the up and coming hounds . As far as snow hunting aint skeered
I just want to go up north sometime and check out them yanks , snowshoe hunting has got to be the best . Maybe monkman will fly me out for a trip. See ya bob .
)What would have happened if I would have stepped up to the plate and judged?Never know but I DO know I'll help judge from now on till it stops being fun.Just wish I could get out to more trials than the local ones but duty calls on most weekends,maybe when the kids get older I'll get to meet some of you and even run into some of the Kentucky mafia. 
I do know that I will try to take a kid with me next time I judge.