Poor Judging is Our Own fault

[rabbitatfarm]

No one wants a protest, BUT when something seems blatantly wrong it is our duty to step up, not only to protect the sport but to protect the others in our cast. Too many of us, myself included, go along to get along. We sign the card even if we have questions rather than make waves. Then we sit around and grumble about the poor judging. The judge has a lot of discretion but we should not hesitate to ask about a call. Judges are usually in short supply so we don't always have a lot of choices. However, is a poor judge better than no judge? Some judges are perceived as "buddy judges" warranted or not. This helps no one. People are not going to show up if they feel the deck is stacked before they pay their entry fee. What's gained by cheating? Has the breed been improved? Has the sport been advanced? We all need to step up if we want better judging.

Larry

[randy hicks]

don't sign go to master of hounds and talk about it,usually the decision made in the field stands tho. hard for the club to go against a judge.

[rabbitatfarm]

Yup, Randy. Judge has all the power. One reason I don't like the deer rule as currently written. Don't need to see a deer; it's all the judge's call. Leaves too much room for mischief IMO.

[bwe007]

You seem to complain about the judging a lot maybe you should stop going. Judging is not always easy I've been doing it for over twelve years now.try thanking them instead of complaining.

[rabbitatfarm]

I know judging is tough. I don't mind getting beat by a good dog, but I want to feel that I at least have a chance. Apparently, you've never had any "buddy judging" at your trials. Some of us cringe when we pull a certain judge. All judges are not the same. Some come back looking like they lost a fight with a bobcat from all the brush and briar scratches; others not so much. I always thank the judges for the job they do, but if we don't stand up or weed out the poor judges how will it get any better?

Larry

[bfoster]

We all need to step up if we want better judging.

Larry

Step up by JUDGING! Being part of the solution should be leading by example. Actions speak louder than words. Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!

You don't have a trial without judges. Show them how its done and then more will listen to you speak. jmo

[Casey Harner]

We all need to step up if we want better judging.

Larry

Step up by JUDGING! Being part of the solution should be leading by example. Actions speak louder than words. Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!

You don't have a trial without judges. Show them how its done and then more will listen to you speak. jmo

agree 100%. Don't weed out the judges, jump in and see what they are looking at before jumping the gun.

[golden acres]

Larry deer or off game races are pretty easy to judge.

[RollingTrack]

[rabbitatfarm]

Jamie; Do you think a rabbit NEVER runs a deer trail so all dogs running a trail are running off game? Granted, if they take it out of the area in a straight line it's easy. We had a rabbit today that covered about 400 yards on a straight run right to a hole. Luckily, the judge saw the rabbit. A judge could have called deer and what recourse does the handler have? That was my only point.

[golden acres]

Larry I have judged well over 100 cast in 20 years and can guarantee you i know a deer race but always have someone say my dog does not run deer. If I had a dollar for every handler that wined about a deer race I wouldn't work 60 hours a weak.

[rabbitatfarm]

I don't doubt that, Jamie, or your ability. In my case, we had jumped a fawn and none of the dogs went or even broke stride. Later, my dog got DQ'd for opening and running on a deer trail. No one heard or saw a deer and the dogs were not moved. Later, another dog opened in the same area and they ran a rabbit. My dog went maybe 50 yards on that trail and quit barking when he hit a ditch filled with water. This was a couple of years ago so the dog was about a year old. The others in my cast thought it was a bad call too. My point was, a judge COULD dq a dog to "thin the competition or because he dislikes the owner" and the owner/handler has no recourse. That's what I meant by mischief.

[HBmudbug]

I don't doubt that, Jamie, or your ability. In my case, we had jumped a fawn and none of the dogs went or even broke stride. Later, my dog got DQ'd for opening and running on a deer trail. No one heard or saw a deer and the dogs were not moved. Later, another dog opened in the same area and they ran a rabbit. My dog went maybe 50 yards on that trail and quit barking when he hit a ditch filled with water. This was a couple of years ago so the dog was about a year old. The others in my cast thought it was a bad call too. My point was, a judge COULD dq a dog to "thin the competition or because he dislikes the owner" and the owner/handler has no recourse. That's what I meant by mischief.

totely agree. a broke Grand got scratched yesterday at the world for running a deer. the dog split and ran a small loop right back to the pack. no deer was seen.

[Houndsfootball]

I have to agree with Brad and Jamie on this one.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Not really trying to take a stand here but thought I'd express a couple of opinions and see what others thought.
I was a licensed A.R.H.A. Little Pack judge and also had my Master of Hounds license.Over about a 12 year period
I judged at every trial I attended and there were many trials that I ended up judging three or four casts.The one thing that I never felt good about in Little Pack was the fact that you might have one judge judge your dog in the first round,another guy judge in the second round and a different guy judge in the final.That meant that at best each judge only got to evaulate five of the total dogs entered in that class [open,champs,grands ].And with only one judge,no matter how athletic he might be, depending on the cover there was usually a ton of work he couldn't get score on unless he was scoring on "sound"which should never occur!Just doesn't feel right that a judge in the final who may not have seen any of the previous running can award a dog that might just have "lucked out" by winning his cast with say 10 points or a single check in the last five minutes of the cast over dogs that may have contributed solid work and score throughout.Luck is a poor excuse for a win!JMHO of course.
I much prefer the A.K.C. method of having two judges that evauluate ALL the dogs being run in their particular class and and bringing back those that did outstanding work for further consideration, not JUST the dog that won the cast maybe by a strike [10 pts. ] when the pack then couldn't even make a decent run on the rabbit! Or even worse,hunting and handling, which again in my opinion is the ultimate joke!!
At least with two judges there stands a chance of more of the work [and faults ] being evaulated accurately and hopefully a concensus being reached between the two.And with the benifit of the SAME two judges having watched ALL the dogs in the class run they have a much better feeling for who the top dog is then the one guy who may have only judged the final 2-3 dogs