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JUDGES CORNER - April / May 1997 - Hunting Retriever magazine by
Tim
Gibson
We’re going to depart from
the usual format of the Judge’s Corner
in this issue to discuss the HRC Judges Test our judges were required to
complete recently. As most of you
know, every HRC Judge must take a written test every two years (HRC Rulebook
requirements). The test is mailed to every licensed judge who is asked to
complete and return it. The purpose of having our judges complete a written
test is simply to encourage the judges to at least once every two years pick
up the rulebook, read through it, and re-familiarize themselves with the rules
and guidelines for conducting our events and tests.
Also, the judges can get “up to speed” on any and all new rules and
changes. In the past, the written
test usually consisted of questions most experienced judges could answer
without referring to the rulebook. This
test was quite different. In
talking with several judges who took the test, I found their most frequent
comment was, “I actually had to read
the rulebook to find the answers”.
Several judges had other comments about the test which I cannot repeat
if you have a family subscription to the magazine.
I recently received a fax from UKC’s Marti Goodall who graded and
compiled this years test results, which proved quite interesting.
After receiving
approximately 220 tests back out of 304 total that were sent, 23 judges failed
the test. If you assumed that the
category of judges who failed most were our least experienced (Started
apprentices), you would be very wrong. Only
4 apprentice Started judges failed. The
majority of those failing were Finished judges!
In fact, as many Finished judges failed as licensed Started and
Seasoned judges combined. I
probably shouldn’t use the term “fail”, as no one actually fails the HRC
test. Let’s just say that several judges choose the incorrect
answer on too many of the test questions.
The test results are sent back to each judge indicating the questions
they missed for their review. Marti
tells me that of the 23 test questions, several were missed frequently, so I
want to take this opportunity to go over those particular ones.
One of the most missed questions was number 5.
The questions was:
HRC Rules require that all pump or automatic shotguns used in the test
area have a plug in the magazine limiting the gun to a total of three shots.
An exception to this rule is for personal shotguns of gunners in upland
tests at hunts in those states where it is permissible to use an unplugged gun
for upland hunting. True or
False?
The correct answer is False.
The first part of the question is true, (look under Shotguns in the HRC
Rulebook, pgs.14, 18, 23, and 27). Our
rulebook is very specific in
stating that no unauthorized guns will be allowed in the test area, and if a
pump or automatic shotgun is used, a plug must be in the gun magazine.
The rulebook does not differentiate between guns used by the handler, a
“bubba” hunter, or “gunners” in a test, and no exceptions are
indicated in the rules or guidelines for conducting the tests, or in the new
Upland test rules.
Another question missed most often was number 9.
The question stated:
It is not permissible to use a visible “Gunner” to simulate a
dove hunt in the Started class. True
or False?
The correct answer is False, and can be found
in the Started Guidelines on page 16, Item # VII which states: “At
the discretion of the Judges, not more than once in each event the Gunners may
be visible in order to simulate specific hunting situations, such as dove
hunting.” We usually think of using a visible gunner, or “bubba”
hunter in the field at our Seasoned, Finished and Grand tests, but throughly
reading the Started Guidelines reveals that this is acceptable no more than
once per event at the Started level.
Question number 11 gave our judges some difficulty.
The question was:
At the judges discretion, the Seasoned dog may be failed for a controlled break. True or False?
The correct answer is False. The
Seasoned test rules on page 18 of the HRC Rulebook, #II states: “The
Judge will also give lower score to the Seasoned Hunting Retriever for a “controlled
break.” Nowhere in the
Seasoned rules or guidelines is the judge given the discretion to fail the
Seasoned retriever for a controlled break.
The Seasoned Guidelines on page 20, item # II does state however that “Controlled
breaks, poor obedience and poor manners should be noted and when
excessive or repeated, should be cause for failure.” The Finished retriever may
be failed for a controlled break (HRC Rulebook, pg. 23).
Question number 16 gave several people trouble.
The question stated:
A shot must be fired by the Handler
when the bird is at the top of its arc only at the Grand level.
True or False?
Because so many people missed this question,
Marti tells me UKC did not count this question as correct or incorrect in
scoring the tests. Apparently,
the majority of judges missed it. The
correct answer is True. Because
there is some confusion on the issue of when a shot must be fired at a mark,
and who shoots, this subject was covered in the last scenario discussed in the
Judge’s Corner of the Dec. 1996/January 1997 issue of the Hunting Retriever. Everyone
who read this column should have answered the question correctly.
The scenario involved a bird coming into the field over a tree line.
Shots were fired behind the tree line, then the bird appeared, but no
shots were fired by either the handler or a “bubba” hunter while the bird
was in the air. I quoted the
rulebook at the Started, Seasoned, and Finished levels which says, “A
shot must be fired when the bird is at the top of its arc” (Rulebook
pgs. 14, 19, 24). This same article also told you that at the Seasoned
and Finished levels, under Shotguns, the Rulebook states “when directed by the Judge, the Handler must shoulder his shotgun,
aim, track and shoot at the top of
the arc of the thrown bird” (Rulebook,
pgs. 18, 23). The answer to
question 16 was given to you when I said: Our
rulebook does not say the handler has to shoot the birds at the top of the arc
(except at the Grand level)! This
answer is found on page 28 of our Rulebook, item # VIII, the last sentence
which states: “A shot must be fired by
the Handler when the bird is at the top of its arc”. This question was not intended to be a trick question,
although it did confuse the majority of judges taking the test.
One disgruntled judge (who apparently did not choose the correct
response) put it like this: “Let me see if I understand the logic of the question.
First, a shot must be fired at the top of the arc of the thrown birds
in a test”. Correct.
“Secondly, when directed by
the Judge, the Handler will shoot”. Correct. “But
only in the Grand test does the Judge have to let the Handler shoot each bird
for his/her dog”. Correct
again.
Those judges and handlers involved in the Grand tests have been well
aware of this rulebook “oddity” for quite some time.
Judges in the Grand must be careful to allow the Grand handler to shoot
at all birds judged as marks for his/her dog, yet while quads are allowable in
the Grand hunt, the shotgun is still limited to a three shot capacity!
I’m not sure why the rulebook was written like this when if anything,
the Grand dog should be the most capable of any level of marking a bird
someone else shoots at. I do know that if the judges at either the Seasoned or
Finished levels were restricted to allowing only the handler to shoot the
marks, it would take some of the flexibility out of the testing they now
enjoy. Least anyone be confused
about what I’m saying, or tries to imply I mean something I don’t, let me
make it clear that I believe what I’ve said many times in both the Judges
Corner and the Seminar. What is
legal according to our rulebook does not necessarily always make for good
testing. A judge should give
every opportunity to the dog to mark the birds.
Although our rulebook allows for flexibility in our tests, the very
best way to judge a dog on marking is to allow the retriever to sit by the
handler and swing with the gun. We spend a great deal of time in the
Judges/Handlers Seminar discussing distractions in the marking test and how
they may effect the judge’s ability to evaluate a retriever.
Factors such as placing a retriever some distance from the handler, or
having another gunner shoot a mark all can have an influence on the dogs
performance, and should be carefully considered by the judges.
Question 16 was not easy to answer, but it served its purpose if it got
us all thinking about some parts of our rulebook that require reading, study,
and thought.
The last question that several judges got wrong was 18. The question made the statement:
It is permissible to throw a
single mark at the Seasoned level. True
or False?
Reading the Seasoned test description on page
17 of the Rulebook, our intrepid test takers thought they found the answer
when they read that the hunt will consist of at least the following: “(1)
a double-marked land retrieve, (2) a double-marked water retrieve, etc”......
They then marked the answer as False, and got it wrong.
Reading further in the Rulebook under the Seasoned Test Rules, pg. 19,
item IV, we find that: “Testing will consist of single marks or back-to-back singles and
double marks for both water and land”.
It is true that it is permissible to throw a single mark for a
seasoned dog. Must you throw a
double marked retrieve on both land and water at the Seasoned level? Yes. Could you think of a situation where a judge might want to
throw a single for a Seasoned dog? Is
this good testing, or tricky testing? What
do you think? This topic is
covered some detail in the Judges/Handlers Seminar. Additional
information about owning, training, handling and passing a dog etc.........
In the first part of last issue’s Judge’s
Corner, I discussed in some detail what is required of an individual who
wishes to become a judge in HRC as respects owning, training, handling, and
passing a dog at the level you are wishing to judge.
Shortly after the article was written, I received a call from Region 10
Field Rep Greg Moffatt in which we discussed the upcoming Region 10
Judges/Handlers Seminar he had scheduled for Feb. 22, 1997.
Greg mentioned during the call that there was a gentleman in his region
who was going to attend the seminar and wished to begin judging.
This HRC member was an avid hunter, knowledgeable about our rules and
procedures, had passed his dog at the Finished level, and certainly sounded
like a guy we needed to get into judging.
The only problem was, his dog had never run a Started test.
He began running the dog in Seasoned tests and went up from there.
Greg asked me if I knew what was normally done in those circumstances,
and while I was sure it had occurred before, I was honestly not sure how UKC
would consider the situation. I
had an idea of their response, but I suggested Greg might wish to call Marti
or Michelle to find the answer firsthand, and asked that he let me know what
he discovered.
It turns out that UKC told Greg the individual would indeed have to run
a Started test, and pass. Since
the gentleman in question only owned one dog, he was to take the dog and go
back and run it in Started at the next club hunt.
I suspected this would be their response.
It’s not a matter of the dog needing to pass started work as much as
it is one of the handler needing to be exposed to what is involved in running
a started test, if you can follow the logic, and it makes good sense from that
perspective. Since the dog would
not be running for “points”, according
to our rulebook, he could drop down and run the Started test.
This situation came at a good time, since I had just covered what I
thought was most of the requirements a handler needed to meet to begin
judging. As always, there are
unique and exceptional situations, and now have an opportunity to pass this
information along to you readers. There
is however, and interesting aside to this story.
It turns out that, without mentioning any names, the gentleman in
question not only owns a finished level retriever, but the dog is a HRCH.
It happens that this particular retriever is Canada’s first Hunting
Retriever Champion. According to
Greg and other sources I’ve spoken with in Canada who wish to remain
anonymous, there will be a rather large gallery gathered to watch Canada’s
first champion run his first Started test! It’s no doubt that this is an exceptional dog and handler,
but will they be able to conquer the Started marks? Will the dog overrun the marks, thinking he was thrown an in
line double and he surely missed the second throw?
Will he swing off the single looking for a triple?
We all know the Started dog is required to come to the line on lead.
Will the dog think he is in some trouble?
Will this experienced hunting dog ignore the attention getting devices,
simply thinking his master has once again taken them to crowded public
hunting? We all know that even
simple tests can sometimes turn difficult.
Will the handler be so nervous that the dog will pick up on it and
loose concentration at a critical moment?
Greg assures me that both handler and dog, with the help of the entire
local club, will be training diligently for this test.
I want to wish them best of luck, and assure them we’re all behind
them. I’ll keep you informed as
the story develops.
On behalf of all handlers who have run in our hunt testing program in
the past, and for those who will continue to enjoy HRC hunt tests,
I want to take this opportunity to again thank you judges who give your
time, experience, and knowledge to our organization. You make our testing
program the best of its kind in the country.
No other retriever testing organization licenses their judges and
requires them to take tests and attend seminars to stay current.
We are a better club for your efforts, and we continue to produce
superior hunting retrievers in the field.
In the next issue of the Judge’s Corner, we’ll get back to our
regular article format.
We hope the Judge’s Corner will both entertain and inform you. |
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The Judges Corner - copyright
2006 All Rights Reserved Last modified: February 18, 2008 |