The first occurred from what many have considered to be an unlikely
source. While trying to get that last point on my bitch we ended up with
8 reserves. Each one became more frustrating than the one before! But
the day AFTER �Hailey� got that blasted 8th Reserve we were in the ring
when I heard the handler on the dog in front of me say �No don�t bait
her like that, she doesn�t look as nice�. Then I heard �don�t be so
nervous you do a very nice job with her�. After my individual exam the
Judge told me to go to the head of the line. This put my �coach� behind
me. The encouragement continued and of course there was some �Don�t do
that�do it this way� or correct her (____) she moved it.
The last exhibitor in the class was told to go into the second spot. Now
my �coach� was in the third spot � but the encouragement and �yelling�
never stopped! The handler in the second spot looked at the handler in
the third spot like an extra head had suddenly appeared out of my
coaches neck.
�Hailey�, my coach and I won the class! My coach was not in Winners but
stayed close by me the whole time we were � always with encouragement
and corrections. It was clear that my coach was determined to make sure
I never did anything to make my bitch look ugly! When I got that point
from the judge and the words Winners Bitch � I lost it! The tears were
instant as this was a long time coming and all those emotions spilled over.
I should add that I had handled �Hailey� through all 14 of her points
(including 3 majors) Because of ALL the reserves we had decided that I
would hand her off on this day. The problem�.no one was available to
take her. My �coach� was unaware that this had been my plan. I doubt my
coach will ever know how much I really appreciated the help and support
this day! When I thanked my �coach� the response was a very sincere �Oh,
you�re Welcome, she is a nice bitch and I wanted to see you finish her�.
This from one of our competitors, who makes a living handling dogs �
someone who took sportsmanship to a new level in my estimation.
Now on to the other Sportsmanship.
Recently I witnessed a respond to someone offering congratulations for a
win in a very unusual way. After the congratulations were issued the
recipient began saying thank you until they turned around and saw who it
was that had congratulating them. Then the response changed drastically.
The recipient SPIT, yes, I said spit towards the ground in the direction
of the person offering the congratulations. An interesting way to
respond! While it was a bit of a surprise this is what I would expect
from someone who does not truly grasp the concept of sportsmanship. One
can only wonder the reasons behind why this happened. Perhaps what
everyone who saw this and those involved should keep in mind this could
have ended with the �Spitter� losing the points won that day! Making it
a wonderful day for the Reserve Winners!
What many people fail to realize is that actions like this border very
close to grounds for a Bench Show Committee Hearing. It clearly states
in "Rules Applying to Registration and Discipline" that a test to
determine IF this was a chargeable offense would be � �whether a family
attending their first event would decide, after witnessing such an
incident, that the sport is not for them�.
If someone is found guilty of an offense prejudicial to the best
interests of purebred dogs, dog shows, AKC events, or the American
Kennel Club. The accused would be suspended from all privileges of the
AKC. They would not be able to participate in any events starting at the
time of being found guilty. That means no shows: no puppies can be
registered: Ownership�s can not be transferred: Dogs that are CO-owned
can not be shown; If any of those CO-owned dogs had pups they could not
be registered�..And the list goes on. Imagine a family seeing a
competitor spit at a fellow competitor! Would you want to expose your
child to behavior like that from an adult?
I decided to write this because of the drastic difference in types of
Sportsmanship. In a perfect world the first type would be all we ever
saw in the dog show game. Instead it often becomes a game of who can I
put down while I try and get my way. Not exactly what the sport of
purebred dogs was supposed to be. What is truly a shame is that people
forget why we breed and show out dogs. It should be for the betterment
of the breed not for our own egos. And above all else we should all
remember�..
THIS IS JUST A DOG SHOW!!!
Inf. on Bench Show Committee taken from �Dealing with Misconduct at The
American Kennel Club Events Guide for Event Committees� AKC publication