JUDGES CORNER - October-November 1995 - Hunting Retriever magazine   

Tim Gibson

Carbondale, IL  

Thank you all for the positive responses and support for the judge's Corner feature in the August/September issue of HUNTING RETRIEVER. With this issue, we'll continue to answer more of your questions about judging and test scenarios. I've also received several copies of a survey HRC national Treasurer Diana Peacock mailed at random to several attendees of the eight HRC Judges/Handlers Seminars held this spring and summer. The survey asked the respondents to comment about the seminar presentation and material, and what improvements they could suggest that could be made to the seminars. I was very pleased that the majority of HRC members surveyed felt their field reps did an excellent first- time job with the presentations. This did not surprise me at all, and is a testament to their hard work and preparation.

 Most people surveyed stated the seminar manual/workbook is very helpful. Again, our thanks to Purina for continuing to make it possible for everyone to have a seminar book. Many were pleased with the way the seminar keeps them current on rules and procedure changes, and several commented that HRC should promote the seminars more to the non-judges in the organization. Several handlers attending were surprised at the amount of helpful information they received about how judges set up tests and make judgmental decisions. Quite a few people mentioned "video" as a change they would like to see incorporated into the seminar presentations. This idea is a good one and is being considered at this time. Let's get to your questions.

 Situation:

             A handler comes to the line carrying their own shotgun and asks the judges if it would be okay if they use this gun in the test. Our HRC rulebook clearly states "no unauthorized guns will be allowed in the test area”, pages 12, 16 and 21.

 Question:  

Should the handler be allowed to use his/her own gun?  

Answer:  

There is no clear-cut answer to this question. Generally, handlers are discouraged from bringing their own guns to the line, but the decision to authorize the use of a gun is solely at the discretion of the Judges. An "authorized" gun is one that has been inspected by the judges or Marshal and has been deemed to be safe and in good working order and plugged to limit it to three shots if it's a pump or automatic. Club guns provided for use at the test site have been checked to meet these criteria. In the pre-test handlers meeting, judges will explain that they will be judging gun safety and proper gun handling, and the type of shotgun(s) to be used. Handlers who have a question about the operation of a particular type of gun should ask for some assistance. Any handlers who wish to use their own gun should speak up at that time. If there is a good reason for a handler to use their own gun, the judges, or marshal at the judges direction, will inspect the gun and authorize its use. Some legitimate reasons for allowing a handier to use their own gun might be that the handler is left handed, or the handler is vertically challenged (short, for you non-PC people), and requires a shorter-stocked gun. Again, the decision to authorize use of a gun in a test lies with the test judges, and if at all possible, should be made prior to the start of the testing. Some judges may legitimately ask that a handler leave their gun available at the test site for any other handlers who wish to use the gun. Our next situation occurs at the Seasoned test.  

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Situation:  

 When attempting the blind retrieve at the seasoned water test, a young retriever takes a short line into the water then hooks back toward the bank. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to re-direct the dog back into the water, the handler calls the dog back and elects to re-cast the retriever. This time, the retriever carries the line farther, and is successfully controlled to the bird. During the marking test, the retriever picked up the last bird down fine, but was re-cast on the memory bird after an unproductive first attempt.  

Question:  

Should this retriever be failed for being re-cast on more than one bird at the water test?

Answer:  

The answer is NO. The HRC rulebook states in the rules for Started and rules for Seasoned (pages 12 and 17) that: "The hunting retriever can be cast from the retrieving line a maximum of two (2) times. If the hunting retriever is unproductive after a second attempt, the judge will instruct the Handler to pick up the hunting retriever and that the test is failed." What this means, in essence, is that the retriever could legally be allowed a re-cast on each and every bird in the Started or Seasoned test.  Being re-cast on more than one bird in a test, in and of itself, does not constitute failure. We must keep in mind several things when talking about multiple casts. In the Judges/Handlers seminar, we learn that a retriever is "cast" when it leaves the retrieving line at the handler's command. The judge must be careful to distinguish between a dogs refusal to go, or a dog leaving on its own, and a handler cast (dog leaving on handler's command). Further, while there are legitimate times a handler should and is encouraged to call the dog back in and take advantage of the re-cast opportunity, the judge should evaluate the performance of the retriever the entire time it is in the field. Use of the re-cast does not eliminate the performance on the first cast. A good handler will learn when it's time to call the retriever back in. We discuss this in detail in the seminar. As a practical matter, I'll tell you that a dog that must be re-cast on every bird in a test will more than likely fail for some reason such as lack of marking or memory, or lack of control, etc. There has been confusion at some Seasoned tests about this issue and I hope this question helps to clear it up. Your field representatives will be happy to discuss this in more detail with you  

We hope the Judge’s Corner will both entertain and inform you. 

 

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