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 MEET THE
JUDGES
As we look around ringside and note the vigor
and health of elder judges, we should be grateful to a part of showing dogs. Dogs keep us healthy
if not wealthy and wise.
HAPPY, HEALTHY and WISE
Editors Note: July 2006 - In updating this 1996
article, it came as a shock to realize that so many of these judges are no
longer with us. It had been less than ten years. How quickly
greatness slips away.
“ALL
ROUNDERS.” How few they are, only about two dozen.
Yet at a small show in North Carolina in 1996, there was Joe Gregory chatting with the newest inductee,
Charles "Chuck" Herendeen from Ohio.
I was
intrigued with how vital and strong they were as they shared a funny
story at ringside. It was the end
of a long day but they were standing up when they could have been
sitting, laughing when they could have been frowning, and after all those years,
just as interested in the dogs, the people, and the sport.
Mr. Herendeen passed away
November 2004 but his son Skip is a popular judge.
Is
longevity inherently connected with becoming an All Breed Judge?
Something that keeps a person physically and mentally sharp?
Medical science has proven that caring for pets can improve one’s
health. Anyone that’s spent a few minutes with Chuck, seen Wally do the
Tango, admired Miss Dorothy's beauty, or noted Joe
unconsciously do that dancer’s step even at the end of the day would surely
know that the sport of dogs is good for us. I looked around ringside at the end-of-the-day crowd.
My
eye was drawn by the glow that always surrounds Anna Wanner. Quite,
dignified, always the height of fashion, she exudes presence.
With all but Herding Group, Anna is not far from joining that short list of All Rounders and it
struck me as she walked over to join the two guys that perhaps some of her
radiance came from Joe’s good humor and Chuck’s sharp wit?
That
same weekend brought in Betty Moore, who, like Mrs. Wanner, was so beautifully turned
out she could have been the star of a Texas soap opera.
While many women shuffle through the day in house slippers, our
judges are not only stylish – they set the style!
Looking
around the ringside, it was easy to recall other great and gifted judges
who were physically able to continue what they loved so much.
I remembered Roy Ayers as he
pointed to the Scottie for BIS at a show in Georgia.
I applauded his decision which confirmed our own opinion of George Ward’s dog
and made some utterly stupid comment about Roy’s uncanny eye for quality.
A lady sitting behind tapped me on the shoulder and said in great
exasperation “Of course she’s great, that is “Shannon!” Even from
ringside, I could see the sparkle in Roy's eyes as he looked down at her and it was
obvious he would have liked to scoop her up in his arms.
Roy Ayers and George Ward are now deceased.
I
remembered Lina Basquette sitting on a bale of hay in Lumberton, NC. Puffing her cigarette,
she indignantly looked around the tin roofed in a tobacco barn and lifting one
imperious eyebrow said “What am I doing here?”
She pointed to Jack Funk as he hurried by with King Boots (record-setting
OES), and sweeping her bejeweled arm left to right she laughed “Look at all these great
dogs! Who cares that the judges
can’t see them through all this dust, I can see them!”
A decade later in Cleveland she was just as excited about her
competition. “BJ, look at that
Group!” She pointed out two Top Ten dogs and told me they were
“sprinked with stardust.” As the judge made his choices, Lina haughtily told me where
he went wrong. Then rousing "Special
K" from her plush mattress, she swept into the Working group. Enthralled, I watched
as Lina and "K" held court
and conquered, neither missing a cue. It was easy for the Great Dane but I
wondered then how many more miles around the big rings her
strong dancer's legs could endure?
Another decade passed and Lina moved on to judging.
Her legs finally failed her but not her indomitable will. She completed her last
assignment in a wheelchair. I knew
how frustrated she was when those “better than Gable’s” legs failed
her and soon after, we lost her.
Lina and Jack are both deceased.
Taking a weekend off to judge a fun match (typical!!) Bob
Finnie told me that he didn’t want to be the best "All Breed" judge,
he just wanted to live long enough to be the best Working dog judge. To many who knew him, he
was close to his goal when fate took him from the sport. Bob
Finnie is deceased.
When
it’s been a long week, look forward to your weekend getaway.
Your friends. Your
competition. The involvement and excitement that keeps us all Happy, Healthy
and Wise. Treasure your "dog show friends" and honor the judges who serve
the fancy through good weather and bad, putting aside their personal
tribulations to do what they love.
And hope you can be just like them someday because dog shows are good for
us!
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