IN MY previous article entitled “Champion Lines,” I wrote about how purebred dogs attain their respective Philippine Champion title and what the title essentially entails. Halfway-through, I realized that I was already more than 1000 words. I decided to write two independent pieces, instead. You may consider this one an extension of the article published on February 20, 2019.
Having laid down all of the salient issues to consider when using the championship title of a dog as a determining factor when making the decision to choose and acquire a puppy, it occurred to me, what if I were to judge a Specialty Show and the dogs (and bitches) competing are those presently gunning for a senate seat?
Before we start, let me tell you what a Specialty Show is. A Specialty Show is a conformation show which reviews a single breed as opposed to an All-Breed Show that reviews all breeds recognized by the sponsoring kennel club.
A Specialty Show is more prestigious than an All-Breed Show. The judge would be a breed specialist – someone who has distinguished himself or herself in the breed (he/she would be judging) because he or she is knowledgeable about the breed. He or she would have achieved outstanding results for a considerable period of time in the conformation ring and in breeding sound and healthy dogs. The number and depth of quality dogs competing in a specialty show is usually large because breeders are encouraged to show to a breed specialist judge. For these reasons, winning a Specialty Show is more coveted than winning an All-Breed Show.
And because I am involved with golden retrievers, our make-believe specialty show would be the Golden Retriever Philippines National Specialty Show.
Having said that, let the breed judging begin.
I am quite sure that Imee Marcos will not even make it to the holding area of the ring. She will be disqualified right away. You see, all dogs competing now are micro-chipped and on the day of the competition, they will be scanned and the information read will be fact-checked against its (certificate of) pedigree.
If she were a dog, there is a great likelihood that her microchip reading will be different from what the information in her pedigree states. If that happens, I will be both sad and happy. Sad, because I will not have a chance to scrutinize her bone structure, and happy, because I do not have to make that embarrassing decision to excuse her from the ring.
Those who will not make my final cut.
Juan Ponce Enrile (JPE) and Larry Gadon. I will have to make the difficult decision to excuse JPE from the ring because breed judging requires a lot of gaiting. I would expect a Golden Retriever to do more gaiting than I would an American Bulldog and I am already horrified just by thinking of what would happen if I require JPE to do just that. But I would gladly make the decision to excuse Gadon out of the ring. Even when unprovoked, he has displayed hostility towards other dogs and their respective handlers.
Sonny Angara, Pia Cayetano, Grace Poe, Bong Revilla, and Francis Tolentino. One of the qualities I look for in a Golden Retriever is trustworthiness and reliability. It appears that trustworthiness and reliability is not a virtue present among them. As a hunting dog, a Golden Retriever is expected to exhibit a behavior that is consistent in various situations and companions (other dogs and humans). Furthermore, according to the breed standard, the Golden Retriever’s ideal eyes is medium large with dark; close-fitting rims, to achieve a kindly expression. Revilla’s eyes do not actually make him “guapo” if he were a Golden Retriever. The kindly expression is one of the hallmarks of this breed.
Lito Lapid, Jiggy Manicad, and Cynthia Villar. One of the reasons why the Golden Retriever is a popular dog is because it is one of the most intelligent among purebred dogs. This intelligence coupled with its eagerness to please makes it a highly trainable companion animal. It seems that Lapid, Manicad and Villar do not exhibit this quality in the confirmation ring.
Bong Go. One of the attributes I look for in a Golden Retriever is good temperament. Go may appear to be obedient; in the down-and-back and side gaiting, his tail may be wagging happily, but an experienced judge would easily see that there is no spark of joy in his eyes, he is not really happy in the ring, he is just being blindly obedient to his handler.
Bato dela Rosa. I would heavily penalize him for his movement. A golden retriever is expected to do a lot of running, swimming and retrieving. When trotting, Dela Rosa’s gait is limited, rough, weak and un-coordinated. He will then tire easily working in the field. There is also the question of his ability to make sound decisions when retrieving hidden game (birds).
My final cut.
Gary Alejano, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, Neri Colmenares, Chel Diokno, Samira Gutoc, Pilo Hilbay, Romy Macalintal, Mar Roxas, and Erin Tañada. This group would have already passed my judging criteria in this order of significance: type and structure, temperament, movement, and showmanship (includes grooming and presentation).
This means that this group has already exhibited strong virtues of a Golden Retriever: “symmetrical, powerful, active, sound and well put together, not clumsy nor long in the leg, displaying a kindly expression and possessing a personality that is eager, alert and self-confident”. This group possesses the working ability and intelligence to fulfill what their breed purpose requires.
In this final cut, only one dog will emerge as the Best in Specialty Show (BISS). But before that, at my discretion, I may bestow a number of Awards of Merit (AOM) to outstanding dogs other than the BISS.
For this group, I will be awarding five AOMs. One will be for Binay, I felt that although she may be to the small side, she is maturing nicely (several Golden Retriever bloodlines mature rapidly and then “fall apart” skeletally and mentally at a very young age). The second one will be for Diokno for displaying a strong presence in the ring even as a veteran.
The third one will be for Samira Gutoc. Although Gutoc has displayed self-confidence and eagerness in the ring, she is still young. I will award the fourth AOM to Tañada whose strides are ground covering and his side-gait is the epitome’ of the so-called “no wasted movement”. The last AOM will be for Alejano. Alejano would have been my BISS, but he narrowly lost to another veteran.
My BISS has matured nicely and has not fallen apart despite all the years of work and challenges he has met while fulfilling his purpose. Who do you think is my BISS?
According to Mar (York University) and Oatley (University of Toronto), “the function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social experiences”. What I have shared only resides in my mind. But my hope is that you, as a voter, will apply my process of judging in a Specialty Show when deciding whom to vote in the coming elections.
For feedback, email to noblepinegoldens@gmail.com