Amazing Kari Järvinen
I have written two books about judges. The other one is the story of Kari Järvinen. He is one of the smartest! And I really don’t understand FCI for not selecting him.
And oh, the Pug in the pics has nothing to do with the story below. The show pics are by Revaz!
Other side of judging – Kari Järvinen
The spark
“The dogs were bred to serve people, to warn and help in hunting. Then they became pets and we started to get interested in doing different kind of things with them. Nowadays dogs are most common pets, and the hobby has been brought into every area and all over the world. Dogs bring people together and connect them to the nature, and they can be the only grandmoms’ friends. Dogs are a warm and fine thing!”
Father Christmas gave me a riding class as a present, in the other words my father wanted me to know how to ride a horse. Then he noticed that as a busy businessman he had no time to take me to the lessons. ”What if Santa changed the present into a dog?” That was just fine with me! So I got a dog when I was eight years old. The dog was a Lakeland terrier. I went even to a show with him. Just once, because the dog bit the judge bleeding. But the judge was merciful and gave the dog a yellow ribbon.
Honesty
A judge should be proud of one thing most – that he/she is honest. I’m not interested who owns the dog, just the dog itself matters at that moment. Dogs are used in breeding, so we have a responsibility. I will do the right thing!
I was in a country judging 150 Golden Retrievers. Then the ring steward came slowly near me and whispered that we have a small problem: “the Presidents’ dog is in the ring.” I answered that we don’t have a problem, let’s just make the ring right.
Then my mobile peeped, but I decided to check it during the brake. When I looked at the screen, there was a message from the local KC. It told me that I had to pay attention to a certain number and give that particular dog “Excellent”. “Unfortunately” I had already judged the dog with a red ribbon “Very Good”. That dog belonged to the Presidents’ son. I was happy because of just judging the dog. Even after I don’t read the catalogue, but put it into the waste paper basket in the hotel.
Mistakes
I am also very focused in the ring. When we travelled with colleagues by train towards Birmingham, they reminded me: “Kari, keep smiling”. But in the ring I forget those words and I’m the wrinkle forehead myself.
Maybe because of my face only once I have got a furious feedback. It happened in Pori, Finland. I was judging Pugs and I had a dog on the table. I went through the dog with my hands and I felt that the dog was not clean. I stated to the Madam that a dog should be clean when it’s shown to a judge. “You have quite a nice Pug, but you could have washed it!” “Listen Mr. Judge. I washed it yesterday and after that it only has been in my car!” Then words slipped from my mouth: ”Listen Ma’am, maybe you should wash your car then!” The Lady made a written protest.
Oh, another one too, when I judged a Harlequin Danish. The owner was correct but complained literally when I abandoned the dog because of the color. The Breed Standard tells however that the fault is not worth zero. My mistake!
Travelling equipments
We were travelling with another judge to Sweden. I try to travel as light a possible so my things fit into the hand luggage. But Hanna had a huge suitcase, the biggest one. Because I tried to be a gentleman, we changed the bags at the Helsinki airport. From Copenhagen we had a ferry to Malmö. There I had with Hanna’s suitcase a customs check. When I opened it, the bag literally started bursting with twigs, bras, panties… The custom officers were at first quiet, but then I heard some whispering!
