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One Man's Opinion of the 2013 NARC in Mondovi, WI

8K views 34 replies 18 participants last post by  forhair 
#1 ·
A week has passed so I think I can aptly dispose of my emotionalism and give a succinct appraisal of the 2013 National Amateur Retriever Field Trial Championship in Mondovi, Wisconsin.

This is my one man's opinion, and only my opinion, and you can take it for what it is worth. I was there from beginning to end and saw at least 80% of the whole trial. I attended three National events back in the late 1970s, and haven't attended any since. That is my only frame of comparison.

GROUNDS: Un-Be-Liev-A-Ble. I died and went to retriever training heaven. What do you want? They offer it. Terrain, cover, constant changes of both. Technical water to choose from. This is a dream. It has to be a dream. The grounds crew planted trees, mowed different heights in the cover at various angles. The judges had a world of choices for bird placement and factors to the fall on both water and land.

WORKERS: Absolutely fabulous on every level. The marshals were informed, trained, and professional. The set-up and grounds crews were pro-active, fast, accurate, and on the ball. The hostesses were circulating in the gallery almost every thirty minutes handing out candy, sunscreen, band-aids, and more. The guns and especially the birdthrowers were exceptional. The game stewards were well organized, the birds were well cared for, shaded and away from flies. Traffic crew often got the news last, but did a good job and could answer questions when asked.

JUDGING: I heard some complaints about the "clock" on early series -- handlers had a certain number of seconds to set their dog and signal for the birds or the judges would call for them on their own. From the gallery I only saw one dog of over 120 struggle with it. I thought it was fair. I thought all the judging was fair. Tough, tough, tough tests, and generous callbacks. That is what I hear FTers say they desire at weekend trials. They got it here. Small dings got carried. But two big mistakes and you were out. The judges were consistent. That is what most of us desire.

DOG WORK: A lot of impressive work. Some remarkable. But sadly no one stepped up and took the trial by the balls. Maybe it was the overall difficulty of the trial? Maybe it was the competing dogs? Whatever the case, they had the chance. Any one of them could have ran away with it, and none did. There was no clarity, even through ten. There was no standout. The judges had to find him.

CRITICISMS: Only two. First, to the traffic committee, if I get up at 4am to catch the caravan at 5am, please do not make me park a thousand yards farther away from the test than the person who sleeps in and gets there at 9am. Show some deference for the person who gets there earlier. This was a repeated problem.

Second, and this is a biggie. The placement for the gallery was AWFUL. Hundreds of yards from the line? For real?? More than half the time we couldn't even see the line. Sure, the overall view from the top of a hill was pretty good, but it really took the gallery out of the event. Back in the day, and this can be substantiated by reading the various books recounting, the judges set the tests with the placement of the gallery in mind. There is NO WAY you can convince me they did that this year. We LITERALLY needed binoculars to see the action.

And the worst? The tenth series. The showcase series. We applaud the finalists as they caravan to the site. There is a celebratory bird throwing by the four gun stations. The finalists are announced over a loudspeaker by name, owners, and handlers. The gallery? We couldn't see a thing! We couldn't see the line, nothing. We were over a hundred yards away and this time not even on a hill where we could see. The tenth were water marks, the dog were swimming and we couldn't see the dogs in the water. We could see the dog hunt up a bird or two but that was it.

SUMMARY: If you are a field retriever junkie, doesn't matter if you participate in HTs or FTs, doesn't matter if you like British or American, don't EVER miss an opportunity to spectate a National event when it is within your grasp. It is special. VERY special. Even better when you can see the action.
 
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#4 ·
Thanks for your take on it. It was honest and maybe just maybe placement of the gallery will be considered. I have attended some trials and gallery placement is interesting.IMO Thanks again.
 
#12 ·
I am just going to make a response that gives "the other side of the coin"...

DOG WORK: A lot of impressive work. Some remarkable. But sadly no one stepped up and took the trial by the balls. Maybe it was the overall difficulty of the trial? Maybe it was the competing dogs? Whatever the case, they had the chance. Any one of them could have ran away with it, and none did. There was no clarity, even through ten. There was no standout. The judges had to find him.
It's funny, but I was getting texts from people who had identified the possible winning teams early. Team Ivy was mentioned early and often. And by the 9th, I was hearing that no one could touch them. Such a staetment, although I know it wasn't meant that way, it is kind of a kick in the proverbial nuts to the winner. Kevin, you used to attend more field trials, and I hope to see you back out there to develop your "dog eye" again. I know in 2011, the National Open, I had Emmit pegged by the 5th. I'll be judging the open at AA this fall, please come and take birds, or apprentice with Kurt and I. would love to see you again.

CRITICISMS: Only two. First, to the traffic committee, if I get up at 4am to catch the caravan at 5am, please do not make me park a thousand yards farther away from the test than the person who sleeps in and gets there at 9am. Show some deference for the person who gets there earlier. This was a repeated problem.
I didn't care where I parked, as long as I got to be there in 2011. People who were running dogs should park closer. I went wearing my comfortable shoes, etc. In Mondovi, you had Rain, making parking more challenging in a hilly area. Randy Spangler bought the property where the parking was put, and he cleared it. They fashioned stairs, bridges, etc, so virtually, you could walk anywhere. I thought this was terrific.

Second, and this is a biggie. The placement for the gallery was AWFUL. Hundreds of yards from the line? For real?? More than half the time we couldn't even see the line. Sure, the overall view from the top of a hill was pretty good, but it really took the gallery out of the event. Back in the day, and this can be substantiated by reading the various books recounting, the judges set the tests with the placement of the gallery in mind. There is NO WAY you can convince me they did that this year. We LITERALLY needed binoculars to see the action.
while I agree it is always great to see the event, wind and sun coupled with the terrain dictate where the even will be set up. Also, if you have a gallery too close, even whispers can be distracting to the handling team. Like in a weekend event, sometimes it is just difficult to get everything visible, but the first priority must always be the contestants.

And the worst? The tenth series. The showcase series. We applaud the finalists as they caravan to the site. There is a celebratory bird throwing by the four gun stations. The finalists are announced over a loudspeaker by name, owners, and handlers. The gallery? We couldn't see a thing! We couldn't see the line, nothing. We were over a hundred yards away and this time not even on a hill where we could see. The tenth were water marks, the dog were swimming and we couldn't see the dogs in the water. We could see the dog hunt up a bird or two but that was it.
I am sure it was disappointing not to see the 10th.

It is special. VERY special.
Agree!
 
#18 ·
I am just going to make a response that gives "the other side of the coin"...






while I agree it is always great to see the event, wind and sun coupled with the terrain dictate where the even will be set up. Also, if you have a gallery too close, even whispers can be distracting to the handling team. Like in a weekend event, sometimes it is just difficult to get everything visible, but the first priority must always be the contestants.



i was there and was disapointed in the gallery also, being new to the sport i was excited just to be there, and i figured that the gallery was that way due to the contestants and to help from distractions, but if that was the case why in the 10 th series id say 50 yds 75 at most behind the line was a patio filled with people, sitting and watching, not sure if it some workers relaxing after long week or some hnadlers out already or what, but i actually left the 10th series early due to the lack of viewing. n like said earlier we were clapping for people and dogs we couldnt see. still a great event and im lucky i could have made it, maybe i had just built so much hype up in my head for it. None the less great dog work and great handling. Really gives the guy the itch even more
 
#15 ·
So Mr. Shih, as one of the judges, would you care to comment on where the gallery was positioned? To all other judges on the forum, are you concerned with the experience of the spectators?

I have attended several trials, and usually the judges try to accommodate the gallery. I realize that grounds/test don't make it easy for people to watch, but I have also noticed some judges really don't care if the gallery can see the test.
 
#23 ·
Kevin is right with his quote from the book, although "consideration" and "dictation" are two different things.

My opinions

- I THINK we can all agree that if we were ever fortunate enough to be called back to the tenth, the judges would give ALL things appropriate "consideration," yet ultimately let the TEST that found the best dog be the the deciding factor, IF sacrifices had to be made because of wind/ terrain etc.

Kevin has every right to make polite observations and add constructive criticism. We that worked the trial appreciate it. We are thankful to the spectators who traveled to watch the event. I think anyone who witnessed any of it would have their own ideas as to how things might be done differently.

We all want the same thing. The opportunity to watch the best dogs in the country showcased in an event where the best dog (for that week at least) week wins.
We would all prefer to sit between the judges. :)

We all know that everyone can't everything they want, all the time.

As a side note, A personal observation I made in regards to gallery- I thought the best " official, bannered, mowed, roped gallery area" was the 5th series. Beautiful Test. Beautiful weather. Plenty of dogs still playing. 40 yds almost directly above the mat-front and center as you can get............. yet no point during the day did I see more than a handful of people using it. As a whole the "gallery" chose to sit 250 yds away across a valley near their vehicles and watch from a distance (still an okay view) as opposed to making the walk to the closer viewing. I can't say that I blame them. I probably would have sat at the trucks too, had I had the opportunity to sit down. My only point is, that series showed me that the "crowd" practices their own "special consideration" with regards to What is the most convenient? vs What is logical? It's only fair that we allow Marshalls/Judges the ability to practice the same judgement when there's a scenario where everybody can't be happy.
 
#31 ·
A personal observation I made in regards to gallery- I thought the best " official, bannered, mowed, roped gallery area" was the 5th series. Beautiful Test. Beautiful weather. Plenty of dogs still playing. 40 yds almost directly above the mat-front and center as you can get............. yet no point during the day did I see more than a handful of people using it. As a whole the "gallery" chose to sit 250 yds away across a valley near their vehicles and watch from a distance (still an okay view) as opposed to making the walk to the closer viewing.
For most of the 5th, Traffic offered rides up the hill and down the hill and over to the 2nd hill where with the superb view. As Lester noted, there were very few people taking advantage of the best view. I do recall that most people had taken their vehicles up the first hill and parked there, and that is probably why they didn't leave the area--they wanted to stay close to their dogs and I would do the same.
 
#26 ·
Yes sir I was unaware of your experience as Cheif Marshall at the national level. I have never been involved in a national. My experience has been at weekend trials and at these events I have always observed the marshall ask the judges, "Where do you want the gallery?" Also, I witnessed judges have the marshall move where the gallery chose to sit. This was due to the possibility of interference. It was my assumption that judges controlled the gallery placement. I guess, "responsibility" was the wrong term.

As a judge, have you been asked where you would like the gallery seated?
 
#32 ·
The 2013 US National Amateur had 122 starting dogs and that was after the scratches. That is a large number. Given the size why did the trail committee not start on Sunday thereby giving the judges one extra day to deal with the 122 dogs?
We had that extra day in 2012 at the Canadian National and it was good for us judges, contestants and workers.
 
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