The judging threads have been great. Thanks to those that "have been there and done that." How about a thread on making the FT or HT run smooth? We have all been to events where it was great and other events that were just short of a train wreck. Tips on making great would be appreciated.
Marshall Question
Dave Farrar
1 - 1 of 16 Posts
Joined
·
200 Posts
So I am new to trials having only ran one derby and one Q. I have run several hunt tests. It seems the expectations are different with each venue I've participated in. I have served as a marshal at both HRC and AKC hunt tests, but never at trials. I assume there is no rule, but my question is regarding the running order.
My experience:
HRC- They couldn't care less about what order is printed in the catalog. Marshal's job- get dogs to the line in any order - most understand that pros and folks with dogs in multiple stakes have to be weaved in early.
AKC- Varies, but most of the time, especially in master tests- by golly we are running the order printed in the catalog. Some marshals do in fact understand that pros have to be worked into the lineup, but clubs usually tell pros to go to the lower stakes first- run all your junior dogs then go to senior then come to master- hope the junior and senior marshals understand the catalog order can't always be followed.
Field Trials- Again, I've ONLY RAN TWO, so I don't claim to know, but the derby I ran adhered exactly to the running order and instead of starting with dog number 1 in the second series, dog 5 was first and then dog 9 in the third etc so tha dog one, if carried was not running first every time. The running order was placed in the first holding blind for each series- as an am who was lost anyway, I really appreciated it. That said, this was a Friday derby with no other stake running so, I realize that is much easier to deal with from a marshaling perspective. The Q I ran this past weekend did not adhere to the running order. As a matter of fact, dogs were lined up and number written on a board by one of the participants, who was asked to do so by the judges, and then when I guess the person who was supposed to marshal arrived, that order was scrapped and she attempted to run dogs in order...which was impossible due to folks at other stakes.
Lastly, I ran a master test one weekend and I personally heard one of the judges announce to the marshal and participants after the first series handler's meeting that he wanted the flight to run in the exact order printed in the catalog because he had his sheets prenumbered and "I am not flipping around all over the book trying to find a dog's sheet."
All that said- serving as marshal ensures that 50% of the crowd is going to hate you for a day or two lol. I'd love it if we could make a rule- dogs are running in order. Period. However, we all know that won't work and the responses to mitigating circumstances are all unique to the individual tasked to solving the problem at hand. When a marshal decides "we are running in order no matter what", we are setting ourselves up for a long wait for a couple of handlers. At the same time, marshals are approached by handlers all the time with requests: "I have a dog in another flight can I go ahead and run?" "Man...I have an 8 hour drive, I need to run so I can get on the road." And then of course SOME marshals, certainly not all, play the buddy system and succumb to the requested order of their favorite pros or running buddies.
I don't know if there is a viable solution. As I said, a rule would be simple to create: Dogs run in the order printed in the catalog. In reality, it would cause nightmares for all involved.
My experience:
HRC- They couldn't care less about what order is printed in the catalog. Marshal's job- get dogs to the line in any order - most understand that pros and folks with dogs in multiple stakes have to be weaved in early.
AKC- Varies, but most of the time, especially in master tests- by golly we are running the order printed in the catalog. Some marshals do in fact understand that pros have to be worked into the lineup, but clubs usually tell pros to go to the lower stakes first- run all your junior dogs then go to senior then come to master- hope the junior and senior marshals understand the catalog order can't always be followed.
Field Trials- Again, I've ONLY RAN TWO, so I don't claim to know, but the derby I ran adhered exactly to the running order and instead of starting with dog number 1 in the second series, dog 5 was first and then dog 9 in the third etc so tha dog one, if carried was not running first every time. The running order was placed in the first holding blind for each series- as an am who was lost anyway, I really appreciated it. That said, this was a Friday derby with no other stake running so, I realize that is much easier to deal with from a marshaling perspective. The Q I ran this past weekend did not adhere to the running order. As a matter of fact, dogs were lined up and number written on a board by one of the participants, who was asked to do so by the judges, and then when I guess the person who was supposed to marshal arrived, that order was scrapped and she attempted to run dogs in order...which was impossible due to folks at other stakes.
Lastly, I ran a master test one weekend and I personally heard one of the judges announce to the marshal and participants after the first series handler's meeting that he wanted the flight to run in the exact order printed in the catalog because he had his sheets prenumbered and "I am not flipping around all over the book trying to find a dog's sheet."
All that said- serving as marshal ensures that 50% of the crowd is going to hate you for a day or two lol. I'd love it if we could make a rule- dogs are running in order. Period. However, we all know that won't work and the responses to mitigating circumstances are all unique to the individual tasked to solving the problem at hand. When a marshal decides "we are running in order no matter what", we are setting ourselves up for a long wait for a couple of handlers. At the same time, marshals are approached by handlers all the time with requests: "I have a dog in another flight can I go ahead and run?" "Man...I have an 8 hour drive, I need to run so I can get on the road." And then of course SOME marshals, certainly not all, play the buddy system and succumb to the requested order of their favorite pros or running buddies.
I don't know if there is a viable solution. As I said, a rule would be simple to create: Dogs run in the order printed in the catalog. In reality, it would cause nightmares for all involved.
1 - 1 of 16 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
