JUDGES CORNER - August/September 1995 - Hunting Retriever magazine

by Tim Gibson  
Carbondale, IL.

             It's been my privilege to serve HRC as your national Judges/Handlers Seminar coordinator for the past 3 years.  With this magazine feature, I've been asked to resurrect the popular "Judges Corner" done so well by Ed Thibodeaux a few years back.  Ed's direct, insightful answers to judging questions and scenarios helped us all to become better judges. We hope this feature will again help to educate and inform you about testing procedures, the HRC rulebook, and why and how judges make their decisions. 

             Beginning this summer, your regional field representatives have begun to conduct the Judges/Handlers Seminars.  Each field representative, being an experienced, licensed finished level judge, has now been extensively trained in the seminar presentation.  They are your best source to answer judging questions at the local level.  For the Judges Corner, I'll be consulting with the field reps and other licensed judges, and drawing information from the seminar book, and of course the HRC Rulebook.  Let's begin with a situation that occurs frequently at the Started test level.

Situation:

            The handler comes to the Started test and elects not to hold his retriever at the line.  Upon sighting the thrown bird, the retriever "breaks" toward the mark before being released.  The handler is able to successfully stop the young retriever and call it back to heel before it gets to the bird.

 Question:

 Should this retriever be failed for "breaking?"

 Answer:

            The answer, of course, is NO.  There has been however, some confusion about this.  Some judges have felt that since the started rules allow the handler to hold the dog on the line, if the handler elects not to, and the retriever leaves on their own, they fail.  This is not correct. 

             In the scenario, this retriever exhibited a "controlled break" by stopping and returning to heel at the handler's command.  The HRC Rulebook, Started Guidelines, page 14, Item II states:  "a controlled break shall not fail a dog, but shall be marked down."

             We spend a lot of time in the Judges/Handlers Seminar discussing steadiness, breaks, controlled breaks, establishing the break line, (maybe it should be called the controlled break line), and how to apply these items to each category of testing.  I'm sure some of you can come up with some interesting questions and scenarios on this topic.  Without getting into a lengthy discussion of the subject, I'll save more for future articles.  Our next scenario occurs at the Seasoned test.

---

Situation:

             At the Seasoned water test, the judges instruct the handlers to turn and fire a shot at the blind as their retriever is coming up the pond bank on the dog's return from the second mark.  The judges said this was okay as the retriever should be moving slowly, almost back to the retrieving line, and what the heck, the blind was only 35 yards out across an open water neck to the right.

 Question:

             Is this a legal Seasoned test?

 Answer:

             To their credit, the judges have done several things right in this scenario.  They remembered that one of the required seasoned test was, "a blind water retrieve",  (HRC Rulebook pg. 15, Description).  They have established a legal distance to the blind: "The water blind retrieve maximum test distance will not exceed forty (40) yards.” (HRC Rulebook pg. 16).  Finally, they have complied with the HRC Rulebook Guidelines for Judging Seasoned Hunting Retrievers that state:  "Blind retrieves shall be through easy cover and relatively open water.” (HRC Rulebook pg. 18).  They have not, however, set up a legal Seasoned test.

              This situation should have been discovered and resolved when the hunt committee previewed the test on Friday afternoon.  The HRC Rulebook clearly states:  "A dry shot popper shall be fired by the Handler in the direction of the blind while the dog is at heel prior to the dog's running the blind retrieve.  The intent is to encourage the dog to run the blind.” (HRC Rulebook pg. 18).  Our judges either did not know exactly what the rulebook states or lacked an understanding of the purpose and intent of this rule.  In the Judges/Handlers Seminar we discuss the specific rules regarding the blind, the reasons behind the rules, and recommendations for setting up the blind retrieve.  We also cover evaluation of the retriever’s performance.  A refresher course on blind retrieves would enable our wayward judges to set up a legal test and make better judgmental decisions.  Our final question concerns the Finished marking test.  

---

Situation:

              Two retrievers are on line at the Finished land test.  One retriever is working, the other is the honor dog.  Three marks are thrown for the working dog, which is on the left side of the line.  The marks come one at a time from left to right.  The working dog's handler is instructed to shoot once at each mark.  The honor dog's handler is then instructed to fire a dry shot at the "blind," straight out, and another shot at a short mark to the far right.  The honor dog is instructed to retrieve the far right mark, and the working dog will retrieve the first three marks down.  There is adequate separation between the marks, and both dogs see all the birds.

 Question:

             Is this a legal test?  Why or why not?

 Answer:

             Briefly, NO.  In reviewing the HRC Rulebook, we find that one of the required four tests for the Finished retriever is a "multiple marked land retrieve," (HRC Rulebook pg. 20, Description).  Further, under the test rules on page 22, Item IV, we read that "testing will consist of double or triple marks for both water and land."  What is the problem with this test if the judges are requiring the working dog to pick up the triple and the honor dog to retrieve the last bird down? 

             These judges need to review the definition of a mark:  "The act of seeing a bird in flight and subsequently judging the direction and distance of the bird when it falls."  In actuality, the judges are asking the working dog to mark a quad (4 birds).  Think about this.  The working dog is presented four birds prior to being cast from the retrieving line.  The dog does not know it is supposed to only mark and remember three of the falls.  We are in effect throwing a quad, which is only allowed, at the Grand level.

             The Judges/Handlers Seminar discusses this in much more detail than we are able to cover in this article.  Topics such as evaluating marking and memory, setting up and executing the marking test, and handling on marks are covered extensively.  The judges in our scenario could have made this a legal test with any number of minor changes such as releasing the working dog after the triple was down, then at some point after that presenting the last bird to the honor dog. 

             We hope the Judges Corner will both entertain and inform you.  Please send your questions to:

 

                        UKC, Inc. 
                        Attention:  Michelle O'Malley 
                        100 East Kilgore Rd.
                         Kalamazoo, MI  49001

 

            Answers to your questions will come from the HRC Rulebook, the Judges/Handlers Seminar, and the consensus opinion of your Regional Field Representatives.