May I ask how many chins you have, how many have you bred and shown and why you think you are a expert at showing and breeding chins?
I have never claimed to be an expert at anything chin. I have attended shows, though, and I have listened to the judges and asked questions. What I say is what I learned at the three shows I’ve attended (2010 CA State Show, 2010 Spring Field Day, and 2010 Washington Show), and I can certainly share what I have learned. That’s what forums are for.
As far as the quality at the field day which is what you seem to be questioning, all one had to do was listen to the judge. Gary Neubauer was the judge. He started the show by telling everyone he would be inflating scores from what they had been at the state show just a few months before. In other words, a first at the field day would not necessarily have equated to a first at the state show. Then, as he went through judging, he actually identified for those in attendance which might have placed first at the state show by stating something like “This one might have placed first at state.” I think there was even one that he stated something like “This one might have placed first at nationals.” So he was very open in telling everyone the rest of them were most likely lower than first at those levels of competition.
People on the forum had warned me that this happens, and it’s a new concept for me. I was happy to see that Gary openly stated what he was doing and said he was doing it to encourage the newer breeders whose animals weren’t yet up to first at state or national levels. He also clearly stated that many animals should never have been there even if it was a field day. One chin he actually had taken off the table saying it wasn’t worth judging it even at a field day. Others got fourths and fifths, and he again asked people to quit bringing such animals to shows – even field days.
Those on this forum who were in attendance can verify all of this. It was no secret, and you didn’t have to be an expert to hear and understand. I was happy to see that this was openly stated to ensure everyone understood the rules of the field day and weren’t under the illusion that their animals would have placed at those levels at other shows.
To me it is very important for people to understand that the show really matters. If you’re buying a breeding animal and want top quality, find out how it placed and definitely know what kind of show it was. Field day scores can be inflated and mis-leading. Even winning a class at a field day needs to be seriously questioned. We saw classes with only a couple of chins and only one first place. The judge did not say the first place animal might have placed first at state, yet he still gave it a 1A in keeping with his stated goal of encouraging the newer/smaller breeders (some of which as you say have been breeding for years). So if I’m looking to buy, a first place at state, even if it was the lowest first in the competition, could be a better buy than a 1A at a field day.
I learned that knowing the judge also makes a big difference when buying animals. Jack Humphries came down from Canada and judged the Washington show. He gave more firsts than I saw at the California shows. I was told that he scores a chin as a first place if he believes it can be a productive animal in a breeding program. (Of course it has to be paired properly before it’s productive, but that’s a different question.) This made sense when I listened to his comments. So a first place under his judging must be viewed differently than the CA State Show. The Washington show was also an MCBA show, and there were a lot of classes many of which were very small (sometimes one animal). So again, placing 1A or 1B at those shows needs to be understood in relation to the class size and quality which isn’t easy to do if you’re not in attendance at the show.
Linda
P.S. The word “hamster” does not have a “p” in it.
