In October, a group of five Deutsch Kurzhhar Formrichter apprentices traveled to the DKV Kleemann gathering in Germany. Diane Calandra, John Calandra, Dan Myshin, Jamie Atkins, and Mark Peasley spent anywhere from two to five years apprenticing to become FR judges. FR judges are able to judge DKs in the Zuchtschau. To receive final approval, the apprentices were required to be tested in Germany.
Over the last several years, all five apprentices had to work with many established FR and SZR (A senior version of a FR judge) to learn how to properly evaluate DKs. Some of the esteemed judges who served as mentor judges: Jorg Kaltenegger, Jeff Martin, Francois Aldrich, Dagmar Heydeck, Uschi Scriba, Antje Engelbart-Schmidt, and Todd Waite. Their time and expertise was essential in passing along the necessary knowledge.
In Germany, the apprentices were greeted by several members of the DKV presidium and made to feel very welcome at the gathering. There were over 100 dogs, along with their handlers and spectators, so it was a really large event. DKGNA’s German representative Uschi Scriba was most helpful in showing the group around the event, making introductions, and explaining the schedule.
To pass the DKV FR test, each apprentice had to pass a written exam. Jeff Martin and Dagmar Heydeck gave a presentation and review of the relevant subjects before the test and gave explanations to any questions that the apprentices had. The test was not easy, but each apprentice was able to pass the written exam.
For the practical part of the exam, each apprentice had to evaluate five Kleeman dogs in the Zuchtschau ring. Each had to explain his or her evaluation of the dogs and it was reviewed by a senior team of judges. Aside from the final grading of each dog, the apprentices had to explain their evaluation of the dogs movement, structure, and temperament.
The next morning, the club allowed the new FR judges to watch a group of dogs run the Kleemann test. The grounds were wonderful, the dogs were very good, and it was interesting watching the experienced group of field judges evaluate each dog’s performance. Special thanks must be given to Uschi and the Franken club for allowing the group of FR judges to be so close during the test and during the judging of each dog.
