Ring Stewarding Part 2

By Jennifer Krawsczyn

In the last column, I discussed preparation of the ring and communication with your judge before judging starts. I left off with the minutes ticking down for the show to begin and the dogs to come into the ring. There were a few things that should probably also be clarified before classes begin that I didn’t mention and would like to now.

The table is typically set up with the ribbon holder in the center, the judge’s area away from the gait with the judge book, a chair, plus some room they may need for writing notes, etc., and the armbands, rubber bands and steward’s book should be at the opposite end near the entrance. Remember that you do not want the catalog open and visible to the judge. It is your job to keep the catalog’s details where the judge cannot see them so no one will accuse the judge of favoritism. And never have a pen in hand when near the judge’s book!

So considering the table set up, one thing you may want to discuss with the judge is the issue of ribbons and absentee armbands. I like to ask the judge if a given area near their chair is okay for laying the ribbons and any awards for each class, and if the judge wants to hand out the awards (like a toy or memento) or if they would like me to go with them and hand them out. If there is more than one steward, this help for the judge with any trophies will save time. If there is only one steward, it may slow things a bit. Also, you should talk to the judge about armbands for absentees. It helps to place them in an area the judge knows about, such as having them protruding from under the ribbon holder near the judge’s end of the table, so the judge can double check that all absentees are marked as such once the class is finished.

Also, you should have asked the judge how they want their BOB dogs called in. Many judges want all the champion dogs, then the champion bitches, followed by the winner’s dog and winner’s bitch. If this is the case, you can mark a B or D by the specials to call them in.

CALLING IN THE DOGS

The clock says it is time for the judging to start and it is now your job to get the dogs into the ring. You should have a fairly good idea of how many will be coming into the ring based on the armbands picked up, but you cannot assume that the absentees are actually absent until the class is completed. I like to have the rest of the armbands for that class pulled out and in hand as the class is coming in.

So with catalog in hand, you should go to an area of the ring where you can direct exhibitors to stand (this area is where the judge told you they want the class to begin lining up) and sometimes exhibitors will cue to you going to this area that the class is being called in. You should announce in a loud voice so all can here; the name of the class, either catalog order or any order (again, this is something you have asked the judge their preference on before judging started), and call out each number. Your catalog will have the numbers circled of the dogs that picked up. You will need to also check that all of those dogs actually come into the ring. Once you have the class in, you should repeat the numbers of the dogs that did not come into the ring, holding up the absentee armbands as you do so. It is good to call out the name of the class again along with the unclaimed numbers a third time, then you can retire to your table, placing that class’ unclaimed armbands in the predetermined area, but having them available for any late arrivals. After the class is over, the judge can then see which numbers were not in the class, and make sure absentees are correctly marked. If a number was picked up but did not come into the ring, you may want to tell the judge this as well. You should also mark all absentees in the steward catalog as well.

As the judge is judging the class, you need to get the ribbons ready. Hopefully you have them in a pocket for each class so you can just pull them out (pre-counted for that class and you should remove the extras if absentees make it so there are more ribbons than dogs in the class) and lay them where the judge can pick them up. I put the extra ribbons under the ribbon holder to be turned back in afterwards. You will also intersperse any awards, like sweeps money, toys, or whatever is designated for those placements, with the ribbons to be handed out. Once the class is completed, the judge can pick up the ribbons and trophies to hand out.

When the class is finishing, placements are selected, and the dogs are standing in front of the number of their placement, you should take your catalog to mark and announce the numbers. It would go something like, “Number 24 is 1^st, number 28 is 2^nd, number 15 is 3^rd, and number 30 is 4^th.” You should be marking this in your book while saying this and announcing it in this way will also help spectators mark their catalogs as well.

At this point, you can call in the next class as the judge is handing out the ribbons, assuming this is how the judge wants it done. This was covered in the last column and some judges may want to mark armbands as the dogs come in. If the latter is the case, then you will wait for the judge to finish handing out ribbons before calling in the class.

So once again, you are calling in the next class. You will stand in the same place, near where the judge wants the dogs to begin lining up and call out the class and the numbers as you did before, being sure to mark the dogs present in your catalog. Having the class coming in as ribbons are handed out is a time saver, but we need to remember that this is the judge’s ring, not yours, and the ring steward needs to do as the judge asks.

We will repeat this procedure for each of the classes. As the placements are made for each class, you will need to also be keeping a little chart of your class winners and second place. You may want to make the chart with each class and 2 rows. Your classes will be from open down to 6-9 puppy with 1^st place listed in the top row and 2^nd place below it. So as each class is completed, you will enter the 1^st and 2^nd place under its class from right to left. Then when you call back the first place dogs for winners, you will read the top row from left to right (open down to 6-9 puppies). You will also do the same thing for the bitches. Your chart will look something like this:

        OPEN   AmBred   BBE   12-18   9-12    6-9

2^nd    39             27           21       15        11        5

Once all of the classes are finished for the dogs, you will then need to call in the winner’s class. Your chart will help you have the numbers of those classes to call out and in the proper order without having to flip pages and slow things down. When the winner is selected, you will announce it, with something like “Number 35 is winner’s dog” and then look at your chart for the 2^nd place dog under that number on your chart to call in for reserve. In the above chart, that dog would be #39. Once reserve is selected, you will also announce that to the exhibitors.

Then we will do the entire procedure again for bitch classes.

The exception to this order is in sweepstakes where all of the classes are done for both sexes before the winner’s class is called in. For this chart, you will need to set up your numbers slightly differently as you will not be calling in the last class judged first but rather all of the dogs, oldest to youngest, then all of the bitches, oldest to youngest. This is followed by veterans in the same format.

So let’s get back to our regular classes. We have finished both sexes, winners have been selected, and it is time for Best of Breed competition. You have communicated with the judge about if they want the specials dogs before bitches or not and if they are to be in catalog order. If the dogs are to be before bitches, you have marked a D by the dog names and a B by the bitches. You will again announce the class, whether it is catalog or “any order” and if it is dogs first. So all of the specials are in the ring now. At this point, you should already know if you are going to be doing pictures directly after this class or if you will be moving on to another breed. It is important that you have cleared this with the judge so you can call for a photographer during Best of Breed when it is near completion, or if you should wait until later. Exhibitors will probably be asking about pictures, too, so if you know when pictures will be done, you will have an answer for them.

Okay, so now you have completed the breed. It may be that you are only stewarding for one breed, or you may be moving on to another immediately. In the next column, we will discuss how to handle lunch and finishing up the assignment as well as some special situations you may encounter. I also plan to make a little chart to help in stewarding that you can use to sort of check off things in the ring.

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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