ADOPTED: 2010

Being accepted on to the ABNA Apprentice Program, completing all apprenticeships or any other part of the program does not ensure final acceptance as an ABNA Judge. All expenses relating to an apprentice appointment are to be covered by, and are the responsibility of the apprentice.

ABNA Apprentice Judges must always act in a professional manner; ABNA Judges are seen as the public face of the ABNA by the people attending its shows and as such their integrity and professionalism should be beyond reproach. This also applies to ABNA Apprentice Judges. ABNA Judges and Apprentice Judges should always keep in mind that their actions reflect upon the ABNA and its show hosts.

ABNA Apprentice Judges should be aware, even while not in the role of Apprentice, that people may pay extra attention and give extra credence to their words. ABNA Apprentice Judges should refrain from being a source of ‘gossip’ and not publically: discuss, give details or offer their opinion as ABNA Apprentice Judges of dogs they have assessed as part of their apprenticeship in the ABNA show ring.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge attending an ABNA show as either, an apprentice, an exhibiter or just as a spectator must never publically question the decisions or call into question the ability or integrity of an ABNA Judge.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must never offer any details or information including the name, breeder, breeding, owner or past placements of any dog that will be judged.

ABNA Apprentice Judges must always act in a polite and courteous manner when examining dogs in the show ring.

ABNA Apprentice Judges must strictly follow all ABNA rules and procedures at all times and must immediately report any breeches of these rules and procedure by themselves or by others to the ABNA.

Any queries regarding the correct procedure or what they should do in a certain situation should be addressed with the ABNA.

Any queries arising whilst apprenticing or whilst at an ABNA show should be addressed with an ABNA Representative in attendance at the show.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must apprentice at all classes for the type they are to apprentice, including the Best Overall, Working and Champion classes, and cannot step out of the ring, except in extreme circumstances such as illness, family emergencies, etc which forces them to leave the event..

Only one apprentice can apprentice under a judge at any time

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must sign an official ABNA ring form for every class they apprentice in, ensuring that the apprentice has completed a full apprenticeship and apprenticed in every class.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must follow the Judges instructions and must examine dogs and offer opinions when instructed by the Judge to do so.

ABNA Apprentice Judges must not, in the case of very serious or disqualifying faults being found by the Judge, openly inform the other handlers in the class that any serious or disqualifying faults are present in a particular dog; these faults should only be discussed by the Judge with the handler of the dog in question.

Any breaking of ABNA rules or procedure witnessed by the Apprentice should be discretely relayed to the Judge and left to the Judge to deal with.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must not use food as a way to attract a dog’s attention in the ring, and other items such as keys, clickers, etc may only be used if instructed to do so by the Judge.

Any ABNA Apprentice Judge wearing items such as a hat or sunglasses does not have to remove them at the request of a handler because of a dog ‘not liking’ such items, but should follow the Judges instruction should any issue arise.

An ABNA Apprentice Judge must leave all explanations of any decisions made to the Judge judging the show and should offer no explanations themselves either during or after the show.

ABNA Apprentice Judges should not be drawn into public debates regarding any judging decisions made by the Judge during an apprenticeship following a show. Any ABNA Apprentice Judge being questioned regarding a Judges decision should explain that ABNA rules do not allow him to comment, and should advise the interested party to contact the ABNA directly.

All requests re apprentice placements at all ABNA shows must be forwarded to the ABNA Judges Committee allowing enough time for the request to be considered and processed.

The Apprentice must arrange with the host of the show they wish to do an apprentice placement at that it is ok for them to do so & must contact the ABNA directly to request / apply for permission / obtain approval from the Judges Committee to apprentice at a particular show.

The ABNA judges committee co-ordinate all apprentice judge placements at ABNA shows, So, for instance as only one apprentice can apprentice under a judge at any time they can ensure  that another Apprentice has not already obtained approval and is scheduled to apprentice at  a show under a particular judge.

The ABNA judges committee have and will make the final decision as to either approve or not approve a request. Therefore as per the criteria of the Apprentice Judge Program only those apprenticeship placements at a show where the apprentice has obtained permission / approval from the Judges Committee prior to a show taking place will be acknowledged as an authorized apprenticeship placement .

The Apprentice is there only to learn from and to be evaluated by the Judge of the show. All dogs irrespective of their relationship to the Apprentice are eligible to be shown at an ABNA show, because the Apprentice has no input into any decisions made by the Judge. If a dog appears in the ring that has some relationship to the apprentice, the Judge should remain unaware of this.

 

Please forward any questions / queries regarding the ABNA Apprentice Judge Program

to the ABNA Judges Committee Chairman