[sabrina]

I have only done 4 shows this summer but friends who have been to more have come away with some unusual remarks from the judges. 1, I only like black Shetlands so he placed the grey stallion last, an animal that is rarely beaten. 2, I am only placing fillies today so your colt is last. Got chatting to a judge who was watching the class I was in but not the judge that day. He knew of someone who gave the Championship to a pony that dished badly because they were friends with the person showing. He then asked this judge what he thought of the pony as people were talking at the ringside, the answer he received was shame on you. Showing is costly and a lot of time and effort goes into getting your animal looking their best but classes are getting smaller and when I hear remarks like the above I can understand why.

[ellisr]

I am so glad that there is only me to judge my baby and he gets 1st from me everytime.

I would be devestated if I had spent time preparing to find out the judges really couldn't care less if the horse/pony is outstanding but more that they know the owner.

This is the reason I will not show any of my animals ever.

[doganjo]

I am a dog Champiosnhip Show Judge and I would be absolutely horrified if I thought anyone considered me corrupt.  Surely there is a controlling body that this can be reported to?  The Kennel Club takes all complaints of corruption seriously.

I love showing my dogs, I loveorking them, I love Juging them, I love breeding them, I love putting that pleasure back into the world of dogs by giving my services as a Secretary, Treasurer, Steward, Area Organiser, Judges Assessor or any other way I can help.  I would not do that if I thought it was all being wasted on judges who said the above things. This makes me so angry>

[Sandy]

 ALL walks of life there is corruption and doganjo, you may be amung the few that are not corrupt. well done for that!!!

I don't like competitions anyway!!!

[sabrina]

I am afraid its part of showing the ponies. You can report a judge to the Shetland Pony Society but people tend not to bother. its not about winning for most of us but a window to let others know what sort of stock you do have. For me its a day out, time to catch up with friends, showing is just the bonus and I do not let myself get upset by it. to me if a judge makes a fool of themselves then there is not much I can say or do to change that. What does happen is people just do not bother showing under that judge again.

[doganjo]

The problem is if you want to report ANY judge in ANY discipline you must be able to prove your words, and a judge just needs to say 'That was my judgement on the day as to how I placed them'   No-one can challenge judgement.  They can however challenge if a remark is heard but only if witnessed.

Then again, just because a Judge doesn't place animals the same way as a 'ringsider' does not mean the judge is corrupt.  It just means he/she is the one who has examined the animal in detail using all their senses not just their eyes, and can therefore make a more informed choice.  I have come out of the ring thinking that a judge has made mistakes in placing, but would never assume they were corrupt unless I had gone over the dgos he/she had done.  That said I have been known to utter 'It's about time that judge did one of our Seminars and exams'

Incidentally, I am NOT the only Judge in dogs with integrity, many of us prize that quality greatly.

[NLL]

we show horses all over the county and sometimes you have to just take it on the chin and remember not to go under that judge again.we just experienced an interesting time showing sheep so I think it is in any animal.we do it for fun and thats how we want to keep it.if it gets too serious and it gets to be life or death then it will be time to stop.

[doganjo]

Absolutely agree!

[robert waddell]

showing should be for fun initially       then to show the quality of your stock and possibly increase the value of your stock
what can and does win at one show does not and should not influence the judging at another show
it is easy as a ringsider to place first second and third by looks alone some times you get it right and others well maybe the judge has one blind eye and the other stuffed with shavings it is a great disservice to competitors for them to come into the ring and no deliberation on selecting the order of merit
with shows it is the judges decision in sport it is referees       it is only when the judge selects a three legged  odd teated twisted mouth and with one eye going for the messages and the other comming back with the change  that the aforementioned animal should raise eyebrows
all top quality animals should be at the pinnacle of that breed
i have been involved in other pursuits where cheating was rife and indefferent adjudication they get caught out and they did not like it when they were proved to be forking idiots

[Sandy]

Here here!! I remember friends that had competitions fixed!!


To show you show to others and those who want to be judged ARE

[Roxy]

The judges decision is final (so it says in the rules!)

We would have given up years ago, if we had taken to heart some of the comments the judge makes.

We show native ponies, and where we are based, there are a lot of welsh ponies, so quite often we stand out like a sore thumb with our ponies in among the welshies.  And quite often the judge is a Welsh pony judge, and we know they will not look at our pony .....they should of course, each pony should be judged according to its breed standard.

You do get to know which judges like your pony, and which don't, and you just do not show under them again.

[doganjo]

The judges decision is final (so it says in the rules!)

We would have given up years ago, if we had taken to heart some of the comments the judge makes.

We show native ponies, and where we are based, there are a lot of welsh ponies, so quite often we stand out like a sore thumb with our ponies in among the welshies.  And quite often the judge is a Welsh pony judge, and we know they will not look at our pony .....they should of course, each pony should be judged according to its breed standard.

You do get to know which judges like your pony, and which don't, and you just do not show under them again.

Exactly the same as dogs, but I'm sorry, it's just differing opinions, not corruption.  I'm not saying the whole of dogdom is squeaky clean, and I must admit there are some judges I wouldn''t waste my money on entering under, but in the main, judges are just ordinary people like you and me, and there's not moeny to be made in cheating at dog shows.  Perhaps I am naive, perhaps I have too much faith in human nture but it's got me to 67 so far with a lot of friends in dog showing, so I'll carry on believing.