Fri, 02/24/2023 - 9:39pm

Field Reps and Judges

Different interpretations of the judges breed commentary process

I believe today’s AKC Executive Field Representatives are some of the best we have had in a long time.

It is difficult to be a Field Rep, with all the travel and reports and judges’ interviews and staying in hotel rooms that this job encompasses. I appreciate what they do, and most of them are good dog people. I have only failed one post-judging discussion (Judge’s Breed Commentary), but that is a long story.

Well, here is the story.

I stewarded for my local Poodle club on Friday and was judging some Hound and Sporting breeds on Sunday at the all-breed show. Our local Poodle club had their own catalog; I had no access to the all-breed club’s, and only Working dogs had specialties on the Friday I was stewarding.

The next day I came to the all-breed show and was the mentor for the Pee Wee special attraction. The field rep approached me and told me I should not have stewarded for the Poodle specialty, as I was judging on Sunday.

I told her I knew the policy on stewarding, but I had no access to the all-breed catalog and that it is a stupid policy that I hope to get changed. She was taken aback by my response and seemed shocked. I told her I was not upset with her, but rather with the stupidity of the policy.

By the way, I am still trying to get that policy changed.

The next day at the all-breed show I was observed on one of my provisionals. Below is AKC’s description of the procedure for the Field Rep and the provisional judge. (Emphases mine.)

“A Judge’s Breed Commentary (JBC) is a joint effort of a judge and an Executive Field Representative. The JBC provides a dialogue opportunity for the judge and the Executive Field Representative. It is a mentoring opportunity for new and beginning judges and is intended to assist them in evolving their skills as a judge both in adjudicating their entry as well as their procedural skills.

“The ultimate purpose of the JBC is to guide and document a conversation between the judge and the Executive Field Representative at the conclusion of a breed judging assignment. The intent is for an Executive Field Representative to observe the judging of a breed and to facilitate a discussion along a prescribed format where the judge describes and documents the choices made during the judging as well as discusses any procedural or other issues that may have occurred. It is not the Executive Field Representative’s role to express opinions about the placements made. Rather, the Executive Field Representative should help the judge describe the dogs judged, the factors which contributed to the particular awards and placements made, the estimated quality of the entry and the overall impressions of the entry all in breed specific language.

“The JBC process will be as follows:

“1. Judges will check in with the Executive Field Representative in the morning of the judging assignment. Judges assigned permit breeds should expect to complete JBC reports. In addition, JBC reports for a breed may be requested by the AKC when concerns have been expressed regarding one’s judging of that breed. The Executive Field Representative will advise the Judge of the breed(s) which will be observed and a JBC form for each breed to be observed will be provided to the Judge. Following judging the Judge will fill in the Commentary section of the JBC form by describing the entry as a whole and noting any strengths and weaknesses observed in the exhibits. The judge should describe in breed specific language; the dogs awarded (or of which special note was made), the factors which contributed to the particular awards and placements made, the estimated quality of the entry, and the overall impressions of the entry.

“2. On a separate form, the Executive Field Representative will also fill in the Commentary section of the JBC form by describing the entry as a whole and noting any strengths and weaknesses observed in the exhibits. The Executive Field Representative should describe the dogs observed, the estimated quality of the entry and the overall impressions of the entry, all in breed specific language. Just as with the Judge, the Executive Field Representative will provide their critique of the entry using breed specific language as appropriate.

“3. Once both have completed the appropriate JBC form sections, the discussion shall center on the salient/hallmark characteristics of the breed and the level of the entry that day. Notes regarding the discussion, based upon the Judge’s and Executive Field Representative’s observations and post-assignment discussion, will be added to the second section of the Executive Field Representative’s JBC form using breed specific format as above. There will be no grade assigned to the report nor is this a “pass/fail” discussion. It is intended to help the new judge to consider the entry and have the opportunity to exchange ideas. While there is no definitive right or wrong due to the subjective nature of judging through one’s interpretation, concerns regarding the recognition of breed specific characteristics and/or the recommendation to pursue further education will be noted by the Field Representative.

“4. JBC reports will primarily be completed on Permit breeds but may be completed in any breed for a judge not fully approved to judge a complete group, and/or currently approved breeds where prior reports or concerns from the fancy warrant. The entry of the breed for which a JBC will be completed should be sufficient to allow a meaningful comparative discussion of the merits of the dogs in competition. When such an entry exists, and an Executive Field Representative is available all efforts should be made to complete a JBC. Although no minimum requirements for the completion of JBC’s for a judge are imposed, the more often a newer judge has an opportunity to engage in a JBC with an Executive Field Representative, the more value the JBC will have as an educational tool. The classes in which the dogs in competition are entered are immaterial.

“5. The JBC completion shall be at the discretion of the Executive Field Representative, but a judge may request an Executive Field Representative to conduct a JBC completion. A judge may make notes during the breed judging, and it should be recognized by all that a bit more time for judging the breed is appropriate.

“6. The Executive Field Representative and Judge will sign and date the reports. The Executive Field Representative will scan the reports and provide the Judge a copy. The Executive Field Representative will file the completed JBC with the Department.

“7. If a Judge believes an Executive Field Representative has gone beyond the intent of this policy during the Judge’s Breed Commentary, that belief may be reported to the Executive Secretary of the American Kennel Club. Any such report must contain the specific instance(s) where a policy violation is alleged to have occurred and how it had an adverse impact on the JBC for the Judge. Upon receipt of such a complaint the Executive Secretary shall compile a response to the complaint from AKC staff and submit the complaint, the response and all other relevant facts to the Board Appeals Committee for review and disposition. The Board Appeals Committee may take any action it deems appropriate with respect to the JBC at issue.”

After the judging for the day, the Field Rep and I sat down for the JBC. From the beginning she asked me why I did not put up the Winners Dog for Best of Winners. My reply was that I did not think the dog was the best of the two. She told me that my bitch had a “pinched front.” I ask her what she was talking about, and it was very confusing when she talked about a “pinched” front, as this breed I was observed on had no reference in the breed standard to a “pinched front.” After all, it was supposed to be “breed specific,” and if it was not “breed specific,” it should not have been in the discussion. She failed me because she thought that the dog was better than the bitch. That is not allowed in a JBC, as stated above. I had to do three more assignments with observations, which I passed and got approved for that breed.

By the way, the bitch I placed BOW won the Futurity at the National under an icon in this breed, and the breeders were very well known as good breeders in this breed.

I called the head of Judging Operations and was told that they had to support the Field Rep, and that was that.

I have had very pleasant discussions with many of the Executive Field Representatives, and they do a great job. It is a hard job, and I respect most of them, and will continue to respect them all in their job.

    

 

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