Judges Training
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The Midland Cairn Terrier Club runs regularly judges training courses in a format agreed by all UK Cairn Terrier Clubs . See Future Shows and Events page for details.
Early days
The best grounding for judges is a few years experience of shows of all types, Open and Championship, both breed and general. Listening to experienced exhibitors, breeders and judges and having the opportunity to go over good stock and bad is invaluable. Some sort of administration experience on a Society, i.e. by joining a committee, is useful and the most favoured learning experience, stewarding, must not be forgotten.
Nowadays there is a choice of Seminars organised by local general Canine Societies. The ones it is preferable to attend before you start judging are;
- K.C. Rules and Show Regulations
It is advisable to know a bit about this subject before attending such a seminar. There are leaflets available at the Kennel Club and you should have already learned a bit by attending shows, stewarding etc. There is a test to take at the end of the training and you will be given a certificate to say you have passed.
- Conformation and Movement
There is no test on this seminar. It is not breed specific but most useful because it covers anatomy and movement in general.
Both courses are taken by Kennel Club Accredited Trainers. These are people who have are considered by The Kennel Club to be knowledgeable enough to present this information. Both courses are considered mandatory if you wish to progress in your judging career.
- Novice Training Courses
are generally available form the breed clubs. They are Breed Specific and are organised in small groups. The Midland has organised several of these events and would be interested to learn if there is a demand for another Novice Course. The course covers;
- Conformation of the Cairn
- Breed Standard & Interpretation of it, using one dog.
- Assessment of the Cairn according to the Standard.
- Movement
- Workshop with small groups and a Championship Show Judge and assistant to move the dogs so that judges can discuss with the students.
- Hands on experience
- Question & Answer Session at the end.
Hand-outs are provided on the history of the Cairn, glossary of terms and report writing. A booklet and certificate are given at the end of the course. There is no pass or fail marking and no tests to take.
It is advisable to keep records of all seminars, training courses attended, stewarding done etc. as you may need to refer to them later.
U.K. Cairn Terrier Club’s Working Party (U.K.C.T.C.W.P. for short)
We, in Cairns, are fortunate, in that this group has been formed under the Chairmanship of Ferelith Somerfield. The group is made up of “A” List Judges elected by each of the six breed clubs. It meets every November and its main work is to;
- Set and monitor criteria (following K.C. recommendations) for the various Judging Lists.
- Consider applications by judges for elevation to the B, A3, A2 & A1 Lists.
- Advise on the content of both Novice and Advanced Judges Training Schemes.
- Produce Combined Cairn Terrier Judging Lists, which are circulated annually, by the U.K.C.T.C.W.P.’s Secretary, Fiona Cameron, to general Championship Show secretaries.
CRITERIA FOR PLACEMENT OF JUDGES ON
CAIRN TERRIER JUDGING LISTS
BREED SPECIALISTS
C List
Candidates should have:
a 3 years experience of owning and exhibiting Cairns
b attended a seminar, not necessarily breed specific
Other involvement in dogs eg stewarding/administration will be taken into account
B List
Candidates should have:
a 5 years experience of owning and exhibiting Cairns and the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party
b judged approximately 20 classes and 50 Cairns at Open Shows or Championship Shows without CCs. Overseas judging appointments below CC level will not normally be taken into account
c gained some stewarding experience
d attended a breed specific seminar
Other relevant experience in the breed will be taken into account
A3 List
Candidates should have:
a a minimum of 7 years experience of owning and exhibiting Cairns
b a minimum of 7 years experience of judging Cairns and the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party
c judged 50 classes and 175 Cairns, at Breed Club Limited Shows, Open Shows or Championship Shows without CCs, with an adequate geographical spread. Overseas judging appointments below CC level will not normally be taken into account
d judged one breed club Open Show. Judging at breed club supported entry shows and Championship Shows without CCs will be taken into account
e stewarded at 12 shows
f attended a seminar given by a Kennel Club Accredited Trainer and passed the relevant examination on Kennel Club Regulations and Judging Procedures
g
attended a seminar given by a Kennel Club
Accredited Trainer on Conformation and Movement and passed a “hands on”
assessment on completion
h attended at least one breed specific seminar run in accordance with the relevant Kennel Club Code of Best Practice and passed an examination and/or assessment on completion
i owned or bred 3 dogs when they gained their first entry in the Kennel Club Stud Book (save in exceptional circumstances)
In order to progress to the A2 list, judges will need to have 3 assessments
which should be carried out:
i at a breed club Open Show, where judges may have 2 assessments carried out at the same time by 2 different Championship Show judges from the official KC approved list
ii at a general canine society Open Show, where judges may have 2 assessments carried out at the same time by 2 different Championship Show judges from the official KC approved list provided there is a minimum of 12 dogs present. If, however, there are between 5 and 11 dogs present, it will count as one assessment.
iii at a seminar or breed club assessment day. Only one of the 3 required assessments may be carried out in this way. There will need to be a minimum of 5 dogs used and the assessment will require to be organised as a class in the usual way. The assessor will have to be from the official KC approved list
iv at mock classes set up in accordance with the Kennel Club Training Board Code of Best Practice. Details of requirements can be found in the note given at the end of these criteria.
Clubs should arrange for assessment to take place as the judge undertakes a club Open Show appointment, if the judge so wishes.
A2 List
For persons who fulfil all the requirements for the A3 list and who have been assessed in accordance with Kennel Club requirements and accepted by The Kennel Club for inclusion on an A2 list, and have the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party.
A1 List
For persons who have previously been approved by The Kennel Club to award CCs in the breed and have the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party.
Achievement of the above criteria will not mean automatic selection to a list
NON SPECIALISTS
C List
Candidates should have:
a 5 years experience of owning and exhibiting any breed
b attended a seminar, not necessarily breed specific
Other involvement in dogs eg stewarding/administration will be taken into account
B List
Candidates should have:
a a minimum of 5 years judging experience in any one breed, and the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party
b judged approximately 20 classes in this breed at Open Shows or Championship Shows without CCs (save in exceptional circumstances)
c judged approximately 50 dogs in this breed. Overseas judging appointments below CC level will not normally be taken into account
d attended 2 seminars, not necessarily breed specific
e gained some stewarding experience
Other relevant experience in this breed will be taken into account
A3 List
Candidates should have:
a a minimum of 7 years judging experience (to include 5 years in this breed) and have the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party
b judged a breed club show, or attended 2 breed club shows, one of which should be a Championship Show
c judged a minimum of 40 classes in this breed at breed club Limited Shows, Open Shows or Championship Shows without CCs, with an adequate geographical spread
d judged 175 dogs in this breed. Overseas judging appointments below CC level will not normally be taken into account
e awarded CCs in at least one other breed (save in exceptional circumstances)
f attended at least one seminar specific to this breed run in accordance with the relevant Kennel Club Code of Best Practice, and passed an examination and/or assessment on completion
g owned or bred 3 dogs in any breed when they gained their first entry in the Kennel Club Stud Book (save in exceptional circumstances)
In order to progress to the A2 list, judges will need to have 3 assessments which should be carried out:
i at a breed club Open Show, where judges may have 2 assessments carried out at the same time by 2 different Championship Show judges from the official KC approved list
ii at a general canine society Open Show, where judges may have 2 assessments carried out at the same time by 2 different Championship Show judges from the official KC approved list provided there is a minimum of 12 dogs present. If, however, there are between 5 and 11 dogs present, it will count as one assessment.
iii at a seminar or breed club assessment day. Only one of the 3 required assessments may be carried out in this way. There will need to be a minimum of 5 dogs used and the assessment will require to be organised as a class in the usual way. The assessor will have to be from the official KC approved list
iv at mock classes set up in accordance with the Kennel Club Training Board Code of Best Practice. Details of requirements can be found in the note given at the end of these criteria.
A2 List
For persons who fulfil all the requirements for the A3 list and who have been assessed in accordance with Kennel Club requirements and accepted by The Kennel Club for inclusion on an A2 list, and have the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party.
A1 List
For persons who have previously been approved by The Kennel Club to award CCs in the breed and have the support of the United Kingdom Cairn Terrier Clubs Working Party.
Achievement of the above criteria will not mean automatic selection to a list
Note re Item iv of A2 assessment procedure - Mock Classes
Aim
This procedure enables the assessment of judges prior to inclusion on an A2 list to take place in a situation other than a licensed show. It is essential that this procedure reflects exactly all the other aspects of assessment that would occur at a licensed show. The mock classes should be run exactly as they would be at a show. The assessment will take into account:
· Ring Procedure
· Appreciation of Breed Type
Requirements
A minimum of 12 dogs, preferably including dogs with enough variation in age and quality to enable the formation of at least two classes. It is helpful for some dogs to be in more than one class to see how the candidate copes with repeat entries.
· One steward
· Two assessors
· Ring laid out as it would be at a show
Procedure
This should in all ways follow standard show procedure.
The candidate will judge the dogs in exactly the same way as they would at a licensed show. This will include placing five dogs in order and writing a critique on the first two.
Assessment
The assessors will report their findings to the Kennel Club using the standard assessors’ form.