Not to take anything away from Rufus. (He was who I had been hoping would win.) I got into showing my Belgian Sheepdog last May. Pretty clueless when I started (gettin' better though), my dog showed himself.
"It'll be fun. We'll run around the ring and have a good time." Haha. So naive, so stupid.
After a few really pathetic performances on my part, some very helpful people provided guidance out of the kindness of their hearts. (They knew we had a good dog and that our ignorance was holding him back, and we were especially humble and grateful for their help.)
They made it very clear it is all about who you know. At a recent show, our agility coach told me, "You had the better dog. You should have won. But you're not well-known, nationally-recognized professional dog handler." And that's the way it goes. What the judge says is not to be refuted. Every dog handling book will tell you that. Question a judge's decision and you can flush your entry fees down the toilet. You're done now.
We invited a couple of friends who are heavily into politics to see a show. When we lost (to one of our mentors who said we should have won), my friend said quite loudly, "You should have won. You had the better dog!" I cringed. Her husband asked, "How do you know the judges aren't drunk?" I told her she was now privy to the political machinations behind dog shows. That's just
the way it is. Everybody knows it, everybody plays by those rules. Unlike our current political system (in theory, anyway), there are no checks and balances, no reform laws, just unquestionable acceptance. The books we've read say the judge's decision must be accepted without refute. Also, any dissent is looked upon unfavorably and will earn you the label of "pariah". Sound familiar?
Here's my dog, Dante, just three points away from his championship.