Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Whole Thing's Rigged
I got a complimentary email from a rabbit breeder on my Precious Pet Rabbits website this past week. When people take their time to write to me, I try to take a little of my time to write a personal note back. When I did, I found that he refused to show his rabbits, especially at ARBA shows, because "the whole thing is rigged anyway."
He told me to ask around and find out what a "57" is. I still have no idea about that, but I can tell from his tone that we've managed to turn some people totally off showing rabbits.
I would have to agree with him that I have sometimes had judges that I felt were less than professional at the table. One judge I once had was pretty hostile, it seemed to me. But by and large, I've met judges who try to do their best, hone their skills constantly, and make an effort not to know whose rabbit is whose.
We could always use more good judges, of course, but we are lucky to have some really good judges.
I love to see judges turn their backs as rabbits come to the table. I appreciate it when a judge shows the first place ear number to the writer instead of reading it. That way, the ear number is still confidential as he picks the specials.
But what if you lived in an area where there were a few judges who knew everyone, thought they knew everything, and abused their authority? Add to that clubs that don't bring in judges from outside very often. I can see how that would turn exhibitors off, especially if they didn't end up on certain judges' favorites lists.
I've heard the argument that our local judges are someone else's exotic judges and that we should be pleased to have the same ones over and over - they are just as good as the ones from elsewhere.
I would argue that I would rather have the same quality judge from outside our area than the same ones over and over again. I might even go for one with slightly less skill, in fact. (Poorly skilled judges should not be hired at all, in my opinion.)
Judges are human. They may try to wipe their mind's clean and judge each table afresh. But our minds try to categorize information for us. It's human nature. It's hard to forget that the best broken senior buck you've ever seen is from this area.
And no judge is perfect. One judge does a killer job evaluating hindquarter, but poses every rabbit like a commercial rabbit. Another judge knows wool inside and out, but doesn't evaluate according to the points allocated in the standard too well. Another judge lines up the rabbits well, but doesn't give thorough comments. The list of ways judges vary can go on and on and on.
I don't happen to believe that the "whole thing is rigged." If I did, I guess I, too, would stop showing rabbits. I have to believe that the vast majority of the time, my rabbits are given their due consideration based on their merits.
But I also have to believe that we are all better served by constantly having a variety of judges evaluate our rabbits and give us opinions. We get a better, more well-rounded set of comments from 12 different judges than we do from 4 judges, given three times each. We get a fresher opinion from a judge who doesn't see the same set of rabbits over and over again.
Is the whole thing ever rigged? I can't speak for all shows in all places at all times. But I think it is rare, if it happens.
Are show results sometimes predictable? Yes. I've seen several breeders get together and predict accurately that when Judge A has rabbit B on the table, it will win, even when it doesn't win under other judges the same percentage of the time.
Does predictable mean that something is going on that shouldn't? I don't think so. It could simply mean that a certain rabbit or rabbits happen to fit a judge's internal picture of what the breed should be.
Let's all work to keep our rabbit shows fresh, objective, and politics-free. One way to do that is to work hard to keep variety in the judge lineups. Suggest judges, ask for recommendations from breeders in other areas, and support shows that work hard to bring in a variety of judges.
Laurie ¶ 1:24 PM
He told me to ask around and find out what a "57" is. I still have no idea about that, but I can tell from his tone that we've managed to turn some people totally off showing rabbits.
I would have to agree with him that I have sometimes had judges that I felt were less than professional at the table. One judge I once had was pretty hostile, it seemed to me. But by and large, I've met judges who try to do their best, hone their skills constantly, and make an effort not to know whose rabbit is whose.
We could always use more good judges, of course, but we are lucky to have some really good judges.
I love to see judges turn their backs as rabbits come to the table. I appreciate it when a judge shows the first place ear number to the writer instead of reading it. That way, the ear number is still confidential as he picks the specials.
But what if you lived in an area where there were a few judges who knew everyone, thought they knew everything, and abused their authority? Add to that clubs that don't bring in judges from outside very often. I can see how that would turn exhibitors off, especially if they didn't end up on certain judges' favorites lists.
I've heard the argument that our local judges are someone else's exotic judges and that we should be pleased to have the same ones over and over - they are just as good as the ones from elsewhere.
I would argue that I would rather have the same quality judge from outside our area than the same ones over and over again. I might even go for one with slightly less skill, in fact. (Poorly skilled judges should not be hired at all, in my opinion.)
Judges are human. They may try to wipe their mind's clean and judge each table afresh. But our minds try to categorize information for us. It's human nature. It's hard to forget that the best broken senior buck you've ever seen is from this area.
And no judge is perfect. One judge does a killer job evaluating hindquarter, but poses every rabbit like a commercial rabbit. Another judge knows wool inside and out, but doesn't evaluate according to the points allocated in the standard too well. Another judge lines up the rabbits well, but doesn't give thorough comments. The list of ways judges vary can go on and on and on.
I don't happen to believe that the "whole thing is rigged." If I did, I guess I, too, would stop showing rabbits. I have to believe that the vast majority of the time, my rabbits are given their due consideration based on their merits.
But I also have to believe that we are all better served by constantly having a variety of judges evaluate our rabbits and give us opinions. We get a better, more well-rounded set of comments from 12 different judges than we do from 4 judges, given three times each. We get a fresher opinion from a judge who doesn't see the same set of rabbits over and over again.
Is the whole thing ever rigged? I can't speak for all shows in all places at all times. But I think it is rare, if it happens.
Are show results sometimes predictable? Yes. I've seen several breeders get together and predict accurately that when Judge A has rabbit B on the table, it will win, even when it doesn't win under other judges the same percentage of the time.
Does predictable mean that something is going on that shouldn't? I don't think so. It could simply mean that a certain rabbit or rabbits happen to fit a judge's internal picture of what the breed should be.
Let's all work to keep our rabbit shows fresh, objective, and politics-free. One way to do that is to work hard to keep variety in the judge lineups. Suggest judges, ask for recommendations from breeders in other areas, and support shows that work hard to bring in a variety of judges.
Laurie ¶ 1:24 PM
