Saturday, June 4, 2016

Havanese Club of America, Saturday, June 4, 2016 Concord, NC

Sweepstakes
#5 - Absent - Ring Conflict
Thank You Judge Ms. Delene Travella

Regular Classes 
#5 - 2nd
TAFFY - Best of Opposite
Thank You Judge Peggy J. Hauck

Mrs. Hauck is definitely on our DO NOT SHOW TO list, at least with Havanese in the South East United States, or any place Harry Bennet may show up.  I just did a quick check on Infodog, and going back to 2005, checking 29 times that Peggy Hauck judged Havanese (at an MB-F show), EVERY time Harry Bennett has shown to Mrs. Peggy Hauch, HE WON, from Ohio and Pennsylvania, across the Southeast, and of course, in Florida.  I did not take the extra time to check the other show results through AKC.  How many judges, do you know who YOU can go to for a guaranteed win, no matter what you show, or whomever your competition?  I checked another breed as well, and results were the same for this pair.  THIS IS NOT JUST MY OPINION - THIS IS FACT BASED ON RESULTS POSTED ON THE INFODOG.COM WEBSITE.  Peggy Hauck & Harry Bennet have taken up enough of my time for tonight, so do not feel like documenting any more stupid judge moves.  It's not Harry's fault.  Heck if I had a judge who I knew would put me up, I'd be showing to them all of the time too!  But maybe not, because I wouldn't like the appearance of impropriety that would be projected upon the judge.  At some point the judge should say something to the handler, not necessarily face to face, as that could create it's own problem, but by the awards given in the ring.  Even if we didn't have a dog in this game, and we didn't at most of shows that I checked,  the facts are the facts, there were many, many great dogs, dumped by this judge in favor of a particular handler.  This is not the only handler/judge combo like this, and won't be the last.  This is not the first time I have mentioned this, and I am sure it won't be the last.  

The following is from the AKC Rules, Policies, and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges, page 5.  Perhaps it should be posted on the judges tables in the ring, just to remind them that we are watching:

A HANDY RULE OF THUMB
There will always be “gray areas” that perplex
judges. When faced with such a dilemma, ask yourself
whether the situation, however innocent, projects an
outward appearance of impropriety. A good rule of
thumb is:
If you have concerns about whether something
is inappropriate, you probably should avoid the

situation.