CRUFTS 2007

The Judge's View

By Jacqui Downes

Out of the blue a call came from the Crufts Committee “Would you be willing to judge Maremmas this year at Crufts?”. Well, this was totally unexpected. I knew our designated judge was unwell but the thought had not crossed my mind he would not be able to fulfil his judging appointment. “Uhh, ummm, but I have entered two dogs,” “not to worry” came back the reply, “we will note this”, “can you give me twenty minutes to phone around to see if I can find another judge?”, “no, we are asking you. We will give you ten minutes to make up your mind.” – Oh heck! What to do? So I phoned a few folk; no they couldn’t do it but all encouraged me to take the appointment. It was after all, a great honour and I would be silly not to accept. There was one other call to make.....in all the excitement I had forgotten that I had bred dear old Hawksmoor, so another call , this time to Jens, “have you entered for Crufts?” yes he had, but I need not have worried because when I explained to Jens that he could not bring his dog to Crufts if I took the judging appointment Jens was delighted for me and said he was happy to withdraw his dog. So when the call came ten minutes later I accepted.

Then the whirlwind started. First the most important thing, what to wear. Don’t let other judges tell you different, even the men I spoke to worry over which suit, tie, shoes etc would be fitting for Crufts. Having established that I had absolutely nothing in the wardrobe, Nikki and I set off for a shopping trip to Shrewsbury and good old Marks and Spencer came up with the suit and top. Next what to wear on my feet, I decided that a pair of black boots with heel looked good with said suit so that was the attire sorted. Along with the much needed cappuccino and carrot cake my purse was now considerably lighter.

Over the next two weeks I received the pack from the Crufts Committee detailing the hotel booking, order of judging etc. Nikki had never missed a Crufts, coming with me as a babe in arms right through to her now seventeen years, so she had to come along. I got in touch with the organisers to upgrade to a double room and offered to pay the fifty pound extra but as they put it, I had saved them a lot of work by accepting the invite to judge so they would upgrade the room for free, (thank you. Now to organise the cover for the boarding kennels and my own pack. Sister Karen agreed to stay overnight and Vivi (kennel maid) agreed to work a twelve hour shift (at a cost of course) to cover on the day of judging so Karen could come to the show.

Now this was strange, run up to Crufts and no dogs to bathe!! Gosh this didn’t feel right. Normally by now I have worked myself into a frazzle trying to bath dogs, keep them clean, brush them up, keep them clean, exercise them, keep them clean, find leads, collars, trolley, flask the list goes on and on (pack the paracetamol tablets). No panic, no shouting “I know I put that lead here last night who’s moved it?” The light dawned, I was going to enjoy this Crufts.

The hotel and evening meal were superb, nearly all the guests were there for Crufts, exhibitors of all nationalities and dogs of all shapes and sizes. The foyer and lounges were crowded with happy excited folk all looking forward to their days at the show either judging or exhibiting, some taking the hospitality a little too far (bet their heads hurt the next morning). We limited ourselves to just one glass of wine. Must keep a clear head for the next day. What a change to get up the next day knowing that the show was just ten minutes away- even I could make this one on time (no comments please); such a relaxed shower, breakfast, time to put a face on, do hair, all so different from the frenzied exit from home in the wee small hours. trying to get dogs in van (and keeping them clean) that is the normal Crufts day for me. No wonder I had a smile from ear to ear as I walked leisurely into the show. Visit to the secretary’s office, pick up my judging folder and then a walk around the halls – this is when I discover that the new boots, along with heel, may look great but actually were not the most comfortable for being on your feet all day – so casting fashion to the wind I changed into my old faithful black, flat shoes. Such a relief! So what if I was back with the vertically challenged? I was comfortable. We were second in the ring, I arrived twenty minutes before my allotted judging time, preferring to forgo the lunch in case I was late. Needn’t have bothered, the judge in the ring was running late and it was over an hour behind time when the Maremmas got in the ring.

Glancing around it was lovely to see some familiar faces watching the proceedings, some of these folk having had the breed many years ago but still interested to come along. Likewise it was great to see those who are waiting patiently for a puppy showing an interest. Then we were off. The dogs started to come in for the classes and time just raced by. Every dog was clean and well behaved, every owner proud, and quite rightly so, of their charges. When you judge a breed that you deeply love then it is easy to find something special in each and every one of them but hearts must not be allowed to rule heads and dogs must be judged according to the standard set down by the Kennel Club – well that’s what I was telling myself when....WOW! I had heard a muttering that there was an Italian dog over for the show, and here he was, a real heart stopper. I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on him, trouble was I did not want to let go – had a vision of the stewards dragging me off the dog! I came too, long enough to ask him to move around the ring and what a magnificent sight he was, this was my best of breed, my icing on the cake, all the other events on the run up to Crufts faded into insignificance, what more could one ask for but to be given the privilege of judging one’s own breed at the greatest dog show on earth in the company of great dogs and the people who love them.