>I went to the Warm Fuzzy show this weekend and was frankly disappointed.
>The same few people won all the trophies-as if they were the favorites.
>I don't go for the trophies myself, but I spoke to several people who felt
>some of the judges were not impartial.  What bothered me was there were
>two
 
Hello All:
I am a member of the WarmFuzzy Ferret Club.  I have acted as chief steward
several times at our shows and acted as a regular steward for two judges at
this show.  My observations are that the judges are extremely fair.  Often
the scores between first and last places per ring vary by only a couple of
points and there are frequently ties.  By and large all of the judges I
have observed at our shows have done their best to accurately score an
animal.  Unfortunatley only one fuzzy can win first place.  In our last
four shows I have known any number of people that won first place that had
never been to a show before and knew no one before they entered the show
hall.  It is also certainly true that some of the more well known ferret
people, like Mary McCarty-Houser may be more predisposed to win.  Part of
this may be due to the fact that the some owners have been around a while
and know what other judges look for and prepare their personal pets
accordingly.  Other people who frequently show fur snakes also learn what
to do and what not to do.
 
From my personal experience at the last show, I was accidently forced to
get up from my steward's seat, grab one of my ferrets and give it to the
judge, then sit down and write the scores she gave for my fuzzy.  In that
ring my fuzzbutt came in thirteenth place.
 
In another ring, one of my fuzzies came in last place.  The judge
specifically tried to find the owner (me) to point out why it came in
last place.  I appreciate the effort of that judge.
 
Of all of the shows I have attended, counting many of the judges friends
of mine, giving them bribes, cleaning their cars, buying them drinks,
breakfast, lunch and dinner <g>, I have never won first place.  I suspect
the fuzzies who came in first, or otherwise scored high, deserved it.
 
But, we of the WarmFuzzy Ferret Club want to put on the best show that we
can.  If there are any complaints about judges, we would like to know
about them.  So, please feel free to e-mail me directly.
 
Dale
[Posted in FML issue 3323]