Hypothetical question

[Riven]

I personally would not use the video method as a replacement for attending shows or seminars that I could otherwise make, but for something that is not feasible, it would be great to have the video. For shows I think it would be great to watch after showing, review comments on my animals, watch how they moved in comparasion to other animals etc.

 

[lilchinchilla]

As to the original topic of this thread, I have been to a couple shows before, where one or two color classes/sections had no 1st place or 1A or 1B animals in it(I remember once a violet section had one 1A violet in it and no 1B or 1st place violets.).

I remember an NCBC show where there were none in one color section, just 2nd and 3rd places, and a couple animals removed off the table completely for being too young in that section. I believe the judge will only give a first place or better, if the chinchilla truly is a first place or better.

 

[jags]

I do not think anyone on the MCBA board is rigid on having the MCBA Shindig and National show in Auburn. I know I am not. On the other hand I am rigid on a couple of aspects of moving it elsewhere.

First of all is the dollar figure, we are not looking to spend more.
Then the building must be animal friendly with easy access and of the size we need with air conditioning, tables and chairs of the number we require and everything else we need to do what we do. The location needs to have food and motels nearby.

Second is if we move to a different location and depending on how far from where we are now, who is going to step up and make all the arrangements, get the equipment to the show or Shindig location and set up and then deal with making sure cleanup is done right and completely.

Third is where can we have the show or Shindig and still maintain our current number of attendee's and animals. Where is the happy medium that will satisfy everyone or at least the majority.

As far as video or cd's go, this is something that would have to be looked into by more than myself as I have little knowledge of the technology or the issues that would come with it. I am not sure of what legal issues may have to be dealt with and then comes the issue of the judges and presenters of the educational materials. I have wanted for years to be able to put mics on the judges so we all could hear everything that was said during the judging and so far that idea has gone over like a lead balloon. I cannot imagine what they would say to everything being taped.

Now do not get me wrong if I could have these events somewhere so that all who wanted to attend could without any hardship I would make it happen. I just do not know how or where to make that happen. I know all about the time and money issues as I have them myself. If anyone has any good idea's please do a little research on them and send them my way.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

I personally would not use the video method as a replacement for attending shows or seminars that I could otherwise make, but for something that is not feasible, it would be great to have the video. For shows I think it would be great to watch after showing, review comments on my animals, watch how they moved in comparasion to other animals etc.

Agreed...I write fast but like the last time, I got distracted and missed most of my comments

"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,"

Linda, just because you went to one show and the judge made those comments doesn't mean all of the chins at those type of shows are poor quality and "suspect" just because of the type of show they are at...Like Tab said, show shape that day and age have a lot to do with it. And frankly the number of chins in a class has nothing to do with the number or awarding of first places or any place for that matter...

On the subject of score inflation - what's the point of that, really? I mean why tell a small breeder or a new breeder this chin is a 1st place or whatever "to be nice" or so there actually are 1st places that day...so they can go out and breed a chin who's "subpar" thinking its good quality? Why waste people's time imo? I understand every competition needs a "superbowl" ie nationals, to work up to but I mean I'd rather get the honest dirt truth about an animal rather than a pat on the head any day, regardless of the show Im at...:hmm: I felt like Jim was pretty tough at the Ohio claim show in Oct and frankly I like that.

 

[chinsNdobermans]

It'd be nice to be able to buy a DVD after the fact for those shows where I'm observing at the show table and relying on my husband to take notes on what is said - he's fantastic but he doesn't hear as well as I do and he is easily distracted!

I would never choose to watch or buy something over going to a show that I can make it to - going to the shows is the only travel we get, ever! I look forward to the ones I do attend for months.

 

[Riven]

I mean why tell a small breeder or a new breeder this chin is a 1st place or whatever "to be nice" or so there actually are 1st places that day...so they can go out and breed a chin who's "subpar" thinking its good quality? Why waste people's time imo?

Exactly. Even for, and probably especially for newer or smaller breeders, it's important to try to produce the best you can. New people are learning, and if they learn was top quality is to start with, it'll save them years of screwing around with subpar animals in their program, small breeders don't always have the room to mess around with animals that just aren't going to give them nice animals. I've had a judge tell me after the show that they would breed an animal that got a low 3rd... A breeding tool and a top winner aren't always the same, but if animals that don't deserve a first are getting them, then why bother going to shows? Why not just assume everything I have is a first or better. Save me time and money of going to the shows! Yea for me!

ETA: For me, most of the best educational parts of the show are before and after the show, talking with other breeders or ranchers. Not always what I see or hear during the show.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Exactly. Even for, and probably especially for newer or smaller breeders, it's important to try to produce the best you can. New people are learning, and if they learn was top quality is to start with, it'll save them years of screwing around with subpar animals in their program, small breeders don't always have the room to mess around with animals that just aren't going to give them nice animals. I've had a judge tell me after the show that they would breed an animal that got a low 3rd... A breeding tool and a top winner aren't always the same, but if animals that don't deserve a first are getting them, then why bother going to shows? Why not just assume everything I have is a first or better. Save me time and money of going to the shows! Yea for me!

ETA: For me, most of the best educational parts of the show are before and after the show, talking with other breeders or ranchers. Not always what I see or hear during the show.

I totally agree. :thumbsup:

 

[lilchinchilla]

As far as video or cd's go, this is something that would have to be looked into by more than myself as I have little knowledge of the technology or the issues that would come with it. I am not sure of what legal issues may have to be dealt with and then comes the issue of the judges and presenters of the educational materials. I have wanted for years to be able to put mics on the judges so we all could hear everything that was said during the judging and so far that idea has gone over like a lead balloon. I cannot imagine what they would say to everything being taped.

In 2007, we had a seminar where we did tape Jack Humphries and Bruce Kenworthy demonstrating/explaining priming, swabbing, grooming, fur quality, husbandry, and much more.
It was about 6 hours worth of discussion and very fascinating to hear from them. As far as legality issues, everyone was content to know that the information would be of help to new breeders/pet owners and everyone agreed to the taping, that was there.
We had put the discs to DVD and we found that no one was truly interested in purchasing them however, after the fact. Anyhow, just wanted to mention that there has been videotaping before and it turned out to not be very lucrative at the time for the chapter. Hopefully times have changed though and if this was done nowadays, people would be more interested in purchasing and seeing what long term breeders have to say.

 

[saphire]

A 50% deposite on the DVD before hand will assure you one and will allow the chapter to know how many to produce and possibly add a couple. If by any chance one choses not to take it, well at least the chapter wouldn't lose everything.

This way everyone is covered...

 

[mark miller]

Many, many aspects figure into how animals place at shows and what the true quality of each animal is. First there is the judge or judges, and although they are trained the same to judge uniformly, every judge has their favorite attributes of an animal that rank above the rest when judging whether it's fur quality, color, size, belly, etc. Secondly, its the animals themselves. Only a small number of animals are in perfect prime and looking their absolute best at any given show. Other animals at the show may be better overall quality but not in good show shape that day, so they don't place as high as a lesser quality animal in perfect smooth prime fur. Thirdly, the judges only have the overall quality of the animals at the show to compare to that day. What this all means is no two first place animals are equal and it is very possible for a second or third place animal at a show like Nationals to be better quality then a first place animal at a state show or field day because of overall competition, strictness of judging, and animal condition. The best breeders of quality chinchillas learn to evaluate their own chins on the qualities they most want to breed for, are able to recognize that in animals they evaluate and make their decisions on whether or not to keep and breed an animal based on that and not how an animal placed at a show. I've kept and mated second and third place animals and I've sold grand show champions based on what I saw when I evaluated the animal myself. Learning to be a good judge and being hardest on your own animals when selecting which ones to keep and breed will pay off the most in the long run of producing top quality chinchillas.