Seminar Overview

On Sunday the 18th April, the Society once again held a Breed Judging Seminar. This one was slightly different to the others, which the Society has previously offered. It was decided that we would provide the opportunity for a small number of candidates, who were at the appropriate level, to carry out one of the three Assessments they require to be considered for the A3 Judging List. For this purpose, the Assessment had to be conducted under Kennel Club Rules and by a Kennel Club Accredited Assessor. We were unsure what the response to this new dimension would be, but it proved to be very popular and had we had the space and capacity, we could have filled another group at least and probably more.

In total, twenty-five candidates attended the seminar, which was held at the Highroyds Sports and Social Club in Menston. After a welcoming coffee and biscuits, we were all privileged to listen to a breed talk ably given by Virginia Barwell. This included an in depth description of the breed standard, and the use of her own dog Harry to demonstrate the finer points. At the end, there was time for questioning and discussion and there was some lively debate about relevant issues. (See separate article for details of talk).

Then, it was time for those who were participating to sit their written examination. Twenty-three of the twenty-five candidates sat the examination, which consisted of an objective type test completed under real examination conditions. Out of these twenty-three, twnety-one passed the exam, which is a huge 91.3% pass rate.

After the hard work of the morning, everyone relaxed to enjoy a delicious and plentiful buffet lunch. As people enjoyed their lunch, it was really good to hear much chattering and discussion as people compared their answers to the exam questions and considered what the afternoon held in store for them.

Promptly at 1.30 p.m. the candidates were split into five groups of five people. Two of the groups i.e. ten people were to be assessed as part of the requirements towards inclusion on the A3 list. Each of these groups was allocated a Team Leader who was an Accredited Kennel Club Assessor. They were provided with five dogs and five handlers, a Ring and a Steward and they were asked to judge the dogs as if they were judging at a show. The candidates were required to place the dogs in order and to complete a critique for each dog. They then had to justify their decisions with their Team Leader. 80% of these candidates passed the hands on session, whilst 75% passed both the exam and the hands on sessions.

The remaining fifteen candidates were being assessed for the Part Three Kennel Club Judging Requirements and they were split into three groups of give people. They were allocated a Team Leader who was an experienced Championship Judge. Within each group, there was one handler who exhibited five dogs individually. The candidates were able to individually assess each dog on the table and on the move. Finally, they were given the opportunity to compare all five dogs together at the end of the session. They were then required to place the dogs in order and write a critique on each dog. 86% of the candidates passed the hands on session and out of the fifteen candidates, eleven (73%) passed both the written and the hands on sessions.

By 4.00 p.m. all the hard work had been completed and there was a very welcome cup of tea and biscuits provided. The raffle was drawn and Mr. Shail won the special raffle of a bottle of Scotch Whisky. There was then just time for the certificates to be handed out and the evaluations forms to be completed before the day drew to a close.

Lynn Crane