What it takes to be a Top Dog Judge
On a cold February day more than two decades ago, Texas dog breeder Ted Eubank stepped into the ring for the first time at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. It was the first year that Cavalier King Charles spaniels—the silky-eared, saucer-eyed dogs that were Mr. Eubank’s specialty—were allowed to compete in the prestigious dog show, then held at Madison Square Garden. The crowd around the ring was 10 people deep, he recently recalled.
“Talk about adrenaline, oh my god,” he said.
In the years that followed, Mr. Eubank has become a seasoned Westminster competitor; his Cavaliers, including an indomitable champion named Rocky, have been voted the best of their breed several times.
But on Monday, Mr Eubank will be a rookie again when he makes his debut as a judge in Westminster. He expects to feel a familiar flutter as he steps into the ring. “I will have butterflies,” he said.
More than 2,500 dogs — Miniature Pinschers, Mastiffs and more — will compete this year at the Westminster Dog Show, the second oldest sporting event consistently held in the United States. Westminster is a show for winners; only dogs that have accumulated points at other competitions are eligible.
For a dog show judge, receiving an invitation to judge these dog champions is an award in itself. “I felt like I won the lottery when the letter came,” said Michael Faulkner, of Center Cross, Virginia, who first judged at Westminster in 2001. “I really cried.”
When Sharon Redmer, of Whitmore Lake, Michigan, received her invitation, she was so excited she “almost dropped the envelope,” she recalls. And Betty-Anne Stenmark, a judge in California, was unprepared when she was tapped to judge Best in Show in 2018. “I was sorry there wasn’t any champagne in the fridge,” she said.
Choosing the best of the best is both a science and an art, said the Westminster judges. The job requires the application of exacting, rigorous (sometimes seeming arbitrary) standards, but in the end it also often comes down to personal taste.
“We all see things differently,” says Cindy Vogels, who will judge for the ninth time in Westminster this year. “That’s the beauty of it. And that keeps people coming back.”
Purebred preparations
Westminster is what’s known as a conformation show, and a conformation judge’s job is to judge how well a pedigree dog illustrates its breed: Is that curly-coated dog the platonic ideal of a poodle? Does that golden retriever look like he can fetch?
“You look at the dogs and try to determine which dog is giving you the signal that he could have done his original job description,” he said. Patricia Craige Trotter, who judged Best in Show in 2021. “What we’re doing is trying to get to a level of near perfection in creating a working animal.”
Conformation judges must have a thorough familiarity with the breed standards, which articulate the ideal version of each breed in great detail, specifying everything including the desired pigmentation of the nose and desired facial appearance.
In the United States, becoming a licensed judge usually requires more than a decade of participating in dog shows, breeding and raising multiple litters of dogs, producing several champions, completing courses in canine anatomy, passing at least two tests and an interview and attendance at a testing institute, among other requirements.
“It’s harder to become a dog judge than a brain surgeon, to tell you the truth,” Mr. Faulkner said.
Some judges only work a few shows a year; others work over 40 and travel on assignments to Europe, Asia and Australia. To earn a spot at Westminster, which sends out invitations up to two years in advance, there needs to be a judge and experience, said Donald Sturz, who judged Best in Show in 2022 and is now chairman of the Westminster Kennel Club. A Best in Show assignment, in particular, is “the pinnacle for a dog show judge,” he said.
Judges can spend months preparing for Westminster. Mr Eubank, who will be judging eight breeds and varieties of toy dogs this year, has been reviewing official breed standards, watching videos from judges at past shows and reconnecting with some of his mentors, who first helped him master the art of judging of dogs to master. .
Being a good judge also requires quick, clear analytical thinking, said Houston’s Britt Jung, who will be judging for the first time at Westminster this year. Ms. Jung, a former footballer, feels a responsibility to be in top form for the dog owners and handlers who have put so much effort into coming to Westminster, so she prepares for the event like an athlete.
“How would I prepare to be ready for a big game?” she said. “I eat well. I make sure I sleep well. I make sure I stick to a routine.”
Dogs prime time
When doomsday finally arrives, the occasion can feel momentous. The crowds in Westminster dwarf those at many dog shows. “You just felt the electricity in the air when you walked onto the carpet to examine,” said Ms. Vogels, who judged Best in Show in 2012.
A television audience raises the stakes. “You hope you don’t fall on your head or get left behind and become famous for all the wrong reasons,” Ms. Stenmark said.
But jurors said their nerves calmed down and the buzz of the crowd faded once they started doing what they’d trained to do: measuring dogs.
Because the dogs at Westminster are already seasoned champions, a Westminster title can come down to small details: the condition of the coat, the precision of the haircut, or the synchrony between the dog and its handler as they move around the ring. “Was it just pure poetry in motion?” said Mr. Faulkner.
Often it is the more unspeakable qualities that win the day. “It’s that little bit of extra sparkle,” Mrs. Stenmark said. When she judged Best in Show in 2018, she chose the bichon frisé Flynn, a true dog cloud, as her winner. “This dog asked for it,” she said. “Every time I looked at him, he’d walk out on the end of his leash and wagged his tail at me and tilted his head and said, ‘It’s going to be me, right?'”
When dr. Sturz judged best in show, he knew he’d found a winner when a bloodhound named Trumpet — who commandeered the spotlight “in his own way, in a way befitting a bloodhound” — gave him goosebumps, he said.
Another night, another dog is said to have risen to the top. “You know how great athletes can have a bad night? Well, big animals can do that too,’ said Mrs. Trotter.
While the breed standards provide blueprints, judges have their own preferences and priorities. For some judges, said Mr. Eubank, judging a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is primarily about finding a pretty face. (The race standard calls for a “sweet, soft, melting expression.”) But for Mr. Eubank, who grew up with very athletic sporting dogs, a winning Cavalier must also be able to move beautifully in the ring.
The public, which can be boisterous in Westminster, often has its own preferences. But if there is wisdom in the crowd, an exterior judge cannot rely on it. Spectators “just sniff something, and they like it,” Ms. Vogels said. “They don’t have the expertise to know if it’s great or not.”
Judging dog shows has its downsides. The journey can be grueling. Dog bites are an occupational hazard. And where there are winners, there are also sore losers. “You’re brilliant when the dog wins, and you’re an idiot when the dog doesn’t,” Mrs. Stenmark said.
Still, judges said they couldn’t imagine giving up the chase, which they’re drawn to for several reasons. “I think it’s my drug of choice,” said Ms. Stenmark, who said she “got a kick” when she saw a superlative new dog enter the ring.
For Mr. Faulkner, who is also an artist, judging dogs engages the creative parts of his brain. “I like the whole gestalt approach of parts to whole when evaluating breeding stock,” he said. “And I like the balance and symmetry.”
And then of course there are the dogs. Although Mr. Eubank remains a Cavalier man, he loves all the breeds he will be judging on Monday.
“I like pugs, I like Miniature Pinschers,” he said, referring to Miniature Pinschers. “I like Pekingese.”
Pomeranian? “They’re the cutest.”
Havanese? “I love them,” he said. “I love them all.”