The Retriever Advisory Committee Meeting was held at the Douglas
County Fairgrounds Complex. Chairman John Russell, Jr. called the meeting to
order at 2:00 pm. He started the meeting by thanking John Goettl for being an
outstanding member.
Present at the meeting were:
John Russell, Jr. – Chairman
Julie Cole – Board Member
Loren Morehouse – Board Member
Larry Morgan – Board Member
Larry Morgan – Board Member
John’s first order of business was to talk about the issue
of the same dog running first twice due to rotation. There is certain
unfairness in having to run twice. A comment was made to rectify this problem
would be to skip the dog and run the next number. John stated that there was “nothing wrong
with the system” and we have to avoid the perception that it's unfair.
Fred Kampo questioned about accessibility and
maneuverability of the handlers at the line. He stated marks 350-400 yards is
difficult for the handler to show the marks to the dog. Marks on side hill or
back of mounds – handlers struggle to handle or stand over the dogs due to poor
footing. “It’s a team sport, but the dogs are being judged and the handlers are
struggling to stand next to their dog. Mr. Russell commented “Handler’s who
have to worry about balance or footing can’t handle their dog as well.” A
suggestion was made the line is should be on level ground. Another comment was to use common sense. This isn’t about disabilities and this can’t be
legislated because of too many specifics, this is about safety. John Russell
stated “A level of awareness is the best thing we can bring forward, not
rules!”
Bobby Smith mentioned balancing yourself is not the intent
of the game.
Mention of water deteriorating the line as the day
progresses.
Judy Rasmuson suggested using common sense for safety
concerns: “It comes down to safety.”
New issue: A situation where an apprentice taking side against the two working judges, reporting back to the
pro’s and involving themselves in the judging of the field trial. John Russell stated the rule book
isn’t totally clear and/or useful telling what the role of the apprentice is or what they can or cannot do. Judges have to sure to tell the apprentice
what his or her parameters are.
A question was asked of Entry Express can do anything to
avoid a dog from being assigned the same number in both stakes: Open and Amateur? The answer is
"no," but the field trial secretary can reassign them a new number for fairness.
