kristie said:
Who cares??? This is so nit-picky. I don't wear gloves, but for God's sake, what's the big deal???
I care. Look at the results so far. It is like clipper said, some allow it, some are against it. I agree it shouldn't be a big deal, but for some judges it is.
I was training Belle yesterday on a 200 yard water blind. (Granted, that is not a distance we would see in an AKC HT.) I was wearing a green shirt, standing in the shadows along the shore in front of green bushes. There were casts she was not able to see, and I couldn't help but wish I had my black gloves on.
Some judges fear that unscrupulous trainers/handlers will make the gloves not only a "training tool" but also an instrument of enforcement. But trainers that are determined to shirk the rules will find some way of doing it anyway. In HRC I knew a trainer that ear-pinched with the keys on his keychain, so all that he had to do to aid in control was jiggle his keys in his pocket.
Sure, it is very unlikely that a handler would ever
need to use black gloves at HT distances. But if I am wearing camo, standing in the shadows in front of a green background, I know I would be a lot more comfortable wearing mine.