Ring Stewarding

The Golden Retriever Club of Columbus Ohio’s specialty is over for 2005 and seemed to go quite well. Our sweeps judge was Vicki Seyler and our regular conformation judge was Linda Robey. I had the pleasure of ring stewarding for Vicki and Linda’s ring stewards were Kathi Repka and Susan Leese.

Results for the show can be seen at: http://www.infodog.com/RESULTS/2005260001/2005260001128.HTM

Harborview Winning Ticket was Best of Opposite sex in sweeps (results are not listed on this win).

Other than the unseasonably dreadful weather (snow mixed with rain and wind at the end of April is not very welcome!) all seemed to go well. I did not have anything to show personally so I was quite happy to assist my club by ring stewarding, and I’d like to touch on a few hints in this area for those who may be planning to steward as well. This is an important service we should all volunteer to do for our clubs and a good ring steward can really help move a ring along smoothly as they assist the judge.

STEWARDING

First of all, it is most important that you know that this is the judge’s ring, not yours, and you need to do as they want to try to help them in their assignment. Your job is to keep things moving along smoothly and efficiently for the judge and a good ring steward can mean all the difference, as I’m sure most judges would agree.

So in the next couple columns, I’d like to share with you what I learned as I studied the best way to do a good job ring stewarding. I have only stewarded twice now (once at the National and once for my local club) but I did spend time studying the notes shared by a renowned ring steward and thought perhaps sharing the things I learned will help others do a better job, and ultimately allow the judge to concentrate more on judging instead of the organizational issues required in a ring.

TO BEGIN WITH…

Before you even come to the show, there are things you may want to bring along just in case they are not available for you. Rubber bands and a baggy to put them in as well as tape to put them on the gait are good to have. Also a couple ink pens. A small clock is handy as well so the judge and you will know when to start the classes and how things are progressing.

On the morning of the show, one needs to arrive at the ring early. I’d suggest getting to the show site an hour or more before classes start and making sure everything is in place in the ring. You never know what will happen with traffic and parking so give yourself plenty of time.

Go to your ring an hour before show time and check on things. Is there a chair for the judge and the ring steward? Is there room for the table far enough from the matting so as not to have interference when the dogs are gaiting and examined? I had this problem at our specialty and moved the gaits out a bit so as to allow the table to be a little further from the mats. Are there beverages for the judge and ring stewards?

Also, check the ring and matting. If inside, be sure the mats are taped down well and there are no areas to trip nor debris on the floor. If the show is outside, look for debris and holes or dips in the ring. Once the judge arrives, if there are areas in the grass that have problems, you may want to let the judge know about them. Many judges will also want to examine the ring for any such problems and it is a good idea if the steward goes with them.

Also, you need to know where the lunchroom and bathrooms are for your judge as well as the superintendent’s office.

RING BAGS

About a half hour before ring time, the ring bags will be available to pick up. Since people can move up dogs and make changes up to a half hour before the show starts, bags will not be available until then, I’m told. So you should be ready to get the bag then since exhibitors will want to get their numbers.

When you get to the superintendent’s table, be sure that you get a badge to say you are a steward, a walkie talkie so you can call for clean up and pictures, and check your bag for the armbands, judge’s book, steward’s book or catalogue, and any prizes that will be given out. In my case, this was the sweepstakes money.

Once back at the ring, you will want to set up the table. It is best to give the judge an area of the table away from the exhibitors to have their judge’s book. Some judges like to have notes and should be allowed some privacy in this area. The judge should be given an area that is not near the gaits and the stewards should set up armbands to be distributed near the ring entrance. You will want to get your armbands out and put the rubber bands in a bag on the gait near where armbands are being distributed first as exhibitors will most likely start coming for them when you get back. You should mark the catalog as the steward’s catalog and mark what dogs have picked up. I like to circle the number.

There will be a ribbon holder with pockets for the classes you will want to put the ribbons in. Check the classes for the number entered and put the correct number of ribbons in that slot. During this half hour, you will need to sort ribbons and put them in their slots in the bag during the time you are distributing armbands. You will need to organize your table so you can hand out armbands and assist the judge.

Take care of the radio as it is your responsibility to turn this back in to the superintendent when the judge is finished. Many times, the ring bag will only be for the first half of the day (before lunch) with the afternoon bag not available until luch break. Again, stewards should be available before judging starts after lunch to hand out armbands also. At our specialty, when I picked up the rings bags, I was given three bags; one for sweepstakes, one for junior showmanship, and one for the regular comformation classes. Since I was only doing sweepstakes, the other bags were set aside for the stewards doing those assignments. The radio and ribbon holder were for all of the assignments.

Hang the ring bag behind the judge’s chair. Have the steward’s catalog at the other end of the table and do not make it obvious for the judge to see. It is the steward’s responsibility to not show the judge the catalog so as to not raise suspicions that the judge knew who a certain dog was.

Also, be sure to look in the judge’s book for any move ups or corrections but DO NOT have a pen in your hand when you are near the judge’s book. Any changes will only be marked in the judge’s book, so as the ring steward, you need to see if there are any additions and corrections, and make note of them in your book as well. It is also a good idea to compare your markings to the judge’s markings as judging goes along to be sure placements, absentees, and any notations are in agreement. Your job is to assist the judge and that includes helping them to be sure their markings are correct.

THE JUDGE ARRIVES:

When the judge comes to the ring, it is time for you to focus on them. Before the show, you should find out where they are from and ask them how their trip from <their city> went. This helps to make things a bit more personal. You should introduce yourself and ask a few basic questions that will help your teamwork.

To make things go smoothly and progress as this judge likes things done, ask some basic questions. One is do they want the dogs brought into the ring in catalog order. Also find out where they want the dogs lined up. You should also ask if the judge wants to check off armband numbers as they come in the ring or if they want you to call the next class as they are handing out ribbons and trophies. The latter is a time saver and the judge can just go down the lineup and check off armband numbers.

You will want to ask the judge how they want to handle late arrivals to the ring also. Some judges have very set ideas on this and you need to abide by their wishes. If a competitor arrives late, you should tell them the judge’s wishes and then ask if they want you to ask the judge anyway should what they want not be what the judge requested. Then you would ask the judge, pointing out the exhibitor asking this. And of course, you need to check with the judge for bringing in any late arrivals.

Finally, ask the judge when they want to do photos. It is your job to get the photographer to the ring when the judge wants the photographer there, provided the photographer is available at that time. Sometimes pictures are done right after the breed and other times after several breeds. You will need to know this, and may also need to share this with exhibitors.

So at this point, hopefully the judge and you will feel the ring is ready to go and you are ready for the show to begin. In the next column, I will go into the job of the steward once the judging starts.

As always, I encourage anyone with ideas on issues I’ve discussed, or issues they would like to see addressed, to please share their thoughts with me. I can be reached at shilogr@yahoo.com  Thanks so much!

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