Judges Mentoring JEP
Who are the mentors?
Maxine Bennett Sue Dolan
Linda Firth Dawn Inett
Sue Kinton Julie Petts
Chris Roberts Linda Saich
Margaret Shopland Elaine Short
Ann Waugh David Winsley
What qualifications do they have?
Have bred/owned at least 2 UK champions in the breed (Champion or Show Champion) and awarded CCs at least 2 times or persons who do not meet criteria 1, but are supported by at least 50% of breed clubs (except where there is one breed club and they have the support of that club) or by the breed council and the KC Judges Committee.
Anyone who wishes to become a mentor should contact the Breed Education Co ordinator.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person in that breed. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with a wealth of experience and someone who wants to learn.
In the context of the Judges Education Programme (Breed Shows), mentoring is a learning and development experience where a Mentee is assisted by a Breed Mentor in developing breed specific skills and knowledge.
A Mentee must undergo a minimum of three mentoring sessions, with a minimum of a year between the first and third session, before they can be observed in a judging scenario. If more than three sessions are felt necessary by the Mentee, or based upon feedback from Mentors, the BEC and Mentee will come to a consensus about additional mentoring sessions.
Who can be mentored?
In order to be eligible to undertake a mentoring session, Mentees must meet all the requirements and be registered (once the online system is available) at Level 2 for the respective breed.
How can I be mentored?
Mentoring may take place in 4 different scenarios:
- Group mentoring with a hands-on element, organised by a breed club. Ideally group mentoring should be the first mentoring activity undertaken by the Mentee, especially if they are a new judge. A mentee can only use one group mentoring opportunity as part of their mentoring sessions. These sessions are usually held in conjunction with a BAD.
- One-to-one at the ringside. This usually takes place at a show where the entry is reasonable. A mentoring session should encourage a two-way dialogue between Mentor and Mentee to
ensure that the Mentee has a good understanding of the knowledge of the breed discussed by the end of the session. Mentees should be encouraged to express their thoughts and ask questions of the Mentor.
- As a judge for Special Award Classes at a breed club show. A maximum of 3 classes per judge may be scheduled. Prior to judging the Mentor may request that the Mentee makes detailed notes for certain predetermined dogs (for example 1st and 2nd in the Open class) which they can review on completion of the judging. Once the judging of the classes is complete the Mentor should discuss the Special Awards Class Judge’s placings, their opinions of the dogs placed and their overall thoughts on the dogs present whilst they are both at the show, and in a private area.
- As a Student Judge in the ring with Mentor/Judge at a show. One or more mentoring sessions may take the form of a Student Judge, assessing an entry alongside a Challenge Certificate judge who is included in the agreed list of breed Mentors in the respective breed, who will act as a mentor for all or part of the judging.
It is recommended that only Mentees who have attended at least one other mentoring session in the breed and/or who have significant judging experience themselves undertake the role of Student Judge.
NB Arrangements have to be made with the Club or Society holding the show, advance notification should be made well before the schedules are printed.
The process of conducting the ‘going over’ of dogs can take a number of formats, including but not limited to:
- a) The Mentor Judge assesses the dog by ‘going over’ the dog as normal. This is then followed by the Student Judge performing their ‘going over’. Both Mentor Judge and Student Judge should then assess the dog’s movement at the same time.
- b) The Mentor Judge undertakes the ‘going over’ of the dog and both Mentor and Student Judge observe the dog moving. The Student Judge will perform their ‘going over’ of dogs selected by the judge, including where the judge wants to emphasis a particular point, prior to the dog moving.
- c) The Mentor Judge undertakes the ‘going over’ of the dog and both Mentor and Student Judge observe the dog moving, with the Student Judge ‘going over’ the dog on a separate table or area of the ring once the dog has been moved. This method may be beneficial if there is a strict judging timetable to abide by, and may be more appropriate in coated breeds.
You can read further information from the KC by clicking here KC Mentoring