BE ON TIME
F or those of us who have had the honor of being on the judging panel for the Westminster Kennel Club during those years when Tom Bradley served as Chairman, you came away remembering Tom’s only rule, which was just three words: “BE ON TIME.” Those three magic words should be a creed to both exhibitors and judges. When you think of the magnitude of shows such as West- minster, which is televised and has a schedule to keep, being on time is paramount. As both a judge and an exhibitor, I am always amazed at the num- ber of exhibitors who are not ready and make the judge wait while they are outside the ring talking to their friends. Some have mul- tiple entries and no help to allow them to quickly switch dogs so that they don’t hold up the judging. Exhibitors are quick these days to be critical of judges for not spending enough time on their dogs during judging, while not admonishing their peers who routinely keep the judges waiting. Then there are also those exhibitors who don’t show up until the class has already started being judged, and then want to be admit- ted to the ring. I know that I do not allow latecomers into my ring once I have examined the last dog. There is a published schedule for a reason. The schedule allows the show to run in a timely fash- ion while also giving the exhibitors a really clear window when they may be called to the ring. The exhibitor is responsible for keeping track of the ring and taking into consideration that, in some cases, a few dogs (or maybe an entire breed) may be absent and they must be at ringside regardless. When judges get behind schedule, for any reason, it may affect the Group judging. When this happens, Groups start later or have gaps that keep the show running longer than needed—causing many of today’s shows to rarely finish Best in Show before 6:00 PM.
by Walter Sommerfelt
“EXHIBITORS ARE QUICK THESE DAYS TO BE CRITICAL OF JUDGES FOR NOT SPENDING ENOUGH TIME ON THEIR DOGS DURING JUDGING, WHILE NOT ADMONISHING THEIR PEERS WHO ROUTINELY KEEP THE JUDGES WAITING.”
16 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2022
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