Anonymous posted:
>... I was shocked that only certain people seemed to win everything.
>
>If I were to show there, would I have to be a member of the group to win?
 
I was at the show as well and to answer a few of your questions with my
opinions only (no flaming, just opinions).  Yes, you can win as a first
time shower.  I showed my Sammy last year for the first time and he took
first place in two rings in Companion, and didn't place at all in the
third ring.  The ferret who took best in show for companion at that show
had biten one of the judges, but didn't get disqualified and should not
have gotten best in show, especially for companion, but it did, even
though it bit a judge.  Kind of funny how that works.
 
At the Ohio show, there was a vet at check in who did a quick once over
on all the ferrets before me and the few people after me, so I'm not sure
why your's didn't get checked over.  That was the first show I had been
to where someone did check them over.  That was also my first time out of
MD or PA.
 
To an extent as I was warned when I first started showing, it is a
popularity contest, or at least it seems to be.  The same people always
seem to win certain things.  There is a breeder who has absolutely
beautiful black sables, and I don't enter my black sable because I know
that this person always wins, which is fine, like I said, she's got
gorgeous black sables, and for that, she should win that ring.  The
people who have been judging and showing for a while do get to know each
other, and many of the judges are breeders so they sort of know who goes
with who.  That said, I was a steward last year, and they only have the
ferrets number, no names, no owner or breeder names to associate with the
ferrets, so if they know the ferret because they are close with someone,
then that's how it goes.
 
What I don't like is how instead of ranking the ferrets like they should,
they look at other ferrets rankings on the paper and take a ferret up or
down based on the other ferret's stats.  I don't know how they remember
which ferret they are comparing the current one to, so I don't know why
they do that.  Actually, I was told it was because two ferrets can't have
the same exact score.  My feeling is to score them individually, not
looking back to fabricate numbers, and then if two have the same score,
rejudge them, and then it can be done against each other to break the
tie.  I don't think that how they do it currently is really very fair to
the ferrets being judged.
 
They do check ears in the specialty rings, just not as closely.
Specialty rings are usually for color, although some are for shelter, etc
in which they really should be paying attention to that more probably.
Hope this helps.
 
Jen and Archie
The Magnificient Seven Fuzzies
and their dog and cat
http://jenandarchie.tripod.com
[Posted in FML issue 4987]