Why do we exhibit? Years gone by, shows were the obvious place to meet up with
fellow enthusiasts, talk with and learn from the senior, experienced breeders or
exhibitors. In that way, we were able to become aware of the good or undesirable
points that we were to take into consideration when selecting stock for both
breeding and showing. And then, later on, when we came to start judging, this
knowledge was extremely helpful. The operative word was ‘apprenticeship’ – which
should surely still apply nowadays? If breeding of future generations depended
solely on the number of wins achieved, then some breeds would be in a
considerably bigger mess than they currently are!
We should look to thoroughly examine and fault our own stock. When we have bred
the perfect specimen, there is nothing else to achieve so we may as well pack
up! Aware of any shortcomings, caring breeders will seek out and use lines that
are particularly strong in such points, in an attempt to improve future
generations. You can’t just learn that from books or the Internet! When starting
to show OES in 1962, one of the doyennes of the breed told me, “We are the
guardians of a breed in our lifetime, and should always seek to maintain, if not
improve, the quality, so that when we leave, it’s still in as good, if not a
better start than when we began”. I’ve quoted her many times over the last 45
years and believe it still applies. We plan a litter and hope it will result in
quality stock. Sometimes it works, but not always. The attitude of “I only breed
top quality show stock” is still held by folk but thank goodness, there remain a
few in all breeds who will evaluate with total honesty and place pet stock in
loving homes and with Registration endorsements to ensure they are not bred from
and pass on faults to future generations.
With the advent of the Official Health Monitoring Schemes, so much has been done
to help breeders with information of any genetic problems. Yet quarterly
publications of the Kennel Club’s Breed Record Supplement carry very few animals
which have been checked out under their relevant schemes. Look at the number of
puppies bred and registered, and then look at health monitoring, and in many
breeds there will be few, if any, listed in the latter category. Several breeds
also have their own particular test scheme. When it comes to jumping over the
fence from exhibiting and starting to judge, we all hope that by giving an
honest appraisal of the exhibits and placing them accordingly, in time we may
accrue sufficient classes and dogs to be put on the A3 list, whereby the Breed
Club confirms their support for judging at Championship level and to award CCs
We must all remember that we are being trusted when judging, to honestly place
the exhibits in the order that their qualities, (and shortcomings), deserve. A
favourite saying is, “Friendships and Prize Cards do not go hand in hand”. That
should apply at all levels of shows, and in numerically smaller breeds, it’s
inevitable that we may one week be exhibiting alongside someone, and next
exhibiting under them as a judge, or indeed judging their dog! Always remember
there is an “experienced” ringside at all levels of shows, quite a few of which
may be interested in your breed but never likely to own one. However, they could
perhaps be likely judges for Open Show level and these people need to be helped.
Therefore, we need to encourage the open shows to schedule our breeds and then
our owners to support the classes, to ensure that the breed remains scheduled at
their future events. If we don’t encourage the right sort of breed specialists,
a minority breed could easily be on a downwards slope towards forever being
judged by “Jack of All Trades”, and let’s hope it will never happen. Many years
ago, the late Bobby James and I debated the importance of Breed Specialists
versus All-Rounders, when it came to maintaining so many points in a breed –
type, size, soundness, etc. We always agreed that both were important,
especially when the non-specialist was themself a really experienced person who
cared about the dog as a whole package, still able to do the work for which it
was originally kept and bred. We always came to the same conclusion – 51% versus
49% - but could never agree which of the judges was meant to carry which
percentage!