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A little about me as printed in Canadian Dog Digest. 1) Where are you from originally, where have you lived and where do you reside now? Originally I am from England and moved to Canada in 1956 and have lived in Hamilton, Toronto, Oakville, Wainfleet, Crieff and Burlington in Ontario as well as Halifax, NS. Currently reside in Burlington. 2) Did you come from a 'dog family" if so what kinds of dogs were you around, did you show them? If not how did you get involved in dogs? I did not come from a dog family per se but there was always a dog in the house. I got involved in dogs in 1963 when I imported a German Shepherd from England. 3) What year would that have been if not already answered? 1963
4) What is your original breed and/or your favorite breed? Original breed was a German Shepherd as for favorite breed I have been privileged to have owned and or showed so many it would be hard to pick just one but would say in no particular order Golden Retriever, Irish Setter, Beagle and Rottweiler. 5) Do you currently have any dogs now or other pets? Currently do not have a dog or pets but no doubt will in the future. 6) Do you still breed? No. 7) Did you have another profession aside from Handling? What do you do currently? I was in the elevator business for some 45 years and worked in all facets from mechanic to President. Currently I am retired but consult from time to time.
8) When did you become a professional handler and how long were you one for? Started to handle in about 1969/70 and retired from handling in 1984. 9) Tell us about some of the great dogs you have shown. Tell us about some of the dogs you have bred. Some of the top dogs are Irish Setter Can/Am/Bda Ch Dunholms Finn McCool he was top sporting two years in a row as well as winning the ISCC specialty three years in a row. Irish Setter Can/Am Ch Shannons Laird Shane my first BIS dog. Irish Setter Can/Am/Bda Ch Bertraghboy Baron of Redcoat also top sporting dog. Beagle Can/Am/Bda Ch Wagonwheels Wisecrack top hound Rottweiler Can/Am/Bda Ch Northwinds Ingo.
The above only represent a small portion of dogs shown and no disrespect is meant or intended to those omitted. In breeding I did breed some top winning goldens along with my ex wife Judith Taylor. However I will say most of that was her doing with just a little input from me. I also bred Irish Setters but did not get anything I liked well enough to show so that is how the decision to concentrate on Goldens was arrived at..
10) Did you have a favorite dog to show or group of dogs? What would have been your 'best moment" as a handler? With so many top dogs shown it is difficult and probably unfair to pick one, but the ones listed above certainly bring back many fond memories. Although I showed a lot of sporting dogs I did handle All Breeds and have had BIS in all groups except Toys. Best moments as a handler probably BIS at Credit Valley with 1000 plus entry, BOS at the US Beagle National in Aldie Virginia, Finn McCool’s third national specialty in a row .
11) Do you miss handling at all? Sometimes, but when I get the urge I go to an Irish specialty with my daughter Jill (Captiva Kennels) and help her out when she wins two or more classes. My main concern then is that I do not fall over in the ring !!!
12) When did you decide to become a judge? and why? I decided to start judging in 1983 due to business commitments which were becoming more demanding and did not leave me enough time to properly devout to the dogs in my care.
13) What are you currently licensed to judge?
Groups 1/3/4/7/2 The latter of which I am on permit for.
14) Who is/was your greatest mentor and why?
I would say I had many mentors and would not pick out just one. Certainly in Goldens it would be John McNicol as well as Joan Gill and Daphne Philpott of (Westley Kennels in England). In Irish it would be Betty Crawford ( Shannon Kennel Ohio). In dogs generally it would be Eve Whitmore and Shirley deBoer I spent many hours with these ladies not only at shows but also traveling to and from with nothing but dog talk the whole time !!.
15) Since you have been in dogs for a long period of time what changes have you seen and do you feel they have been for the better or detriment to our sport? Certainly many changes. The demise of benched shows was, I feel, replaced quite well with cluster shows and the advent of camping or trailering which affords a lot of time for after show discussions in an informal and relaxed manner. Today’s handlers and exhibitors certainly have, in general, better grooming skills now than in days gone by. The detriment has to be some of the rules i.e. not being able to talk to Exhibitors. This and not requiring critiques certainly must mystify the newcomers. I would like to see it be a requirement for judges to be available after judging for some informal discussion with exhibitors. Additionally I think that with entries dropping some thought should be given to having less shows which could lead to bigger shows and make some of the wins more meaningful. Lets face it a BIS at a 1000 dog show means a little more than one at a 175 dog level. I am not suggesting that limited entry shows in remoter areas be dropped but rather those in more populated areas could be combined into bigger shows. Also sanction shows where many of us honed our skills and trained our dogs are virtually now a thing of the past due to the number of shows and perhaps it would be better to eliminate some shows and encourage the return of sanction shows where people could lower their costs. The net return to CKC should remain constant if this results in larger championship shows. 16) What would you like to see more of at shows and less of as well? More educational features. Perhaps a breed or handling seminar following BIS. Less bad sportsmanship.
17) What would be some words of advice you would offer to someone interested in either judging or simply getting into showing dogs? Get a good mentor or two and listen listen listen and ask ask ask. After a few years you can then speak and offer a much better and more informed opinion.
18) What are some of the dogs of the past you would have liked to either shown or judged? My favorite sporting dog of all time English Springer Ch Salilyns Condor shown by Mark Threlfall. Close second Golden Ch Camrose Cabus Christopher a top winning English Golden.
19) If there is one thing that stands out in your mind that you have yet to accomplish what would that be? Outside of winning the lottery I would love to judge a Golden Specialty in England or Europe.
20) Any parting thoughts or comments. Would like to see the CKC recognize the accomplishments of top handlers by altering the requirements to judge. In the US top handlers are given a group or half a group which enables them to start judging frequently right away. In Canada with our small shows it is not viable for clubs to travel judges long distances unless they have several groups which sometimes takes many years. I think we have lost the services as judges of many handlers who do not have the time or money to go through the whole process.
Surely a fair and equitable system could be evolved. |
