National Owner-Handled: Separate, but Equal? 犬主牵引比赛–不一样的比赛，能平等吗？

National Owner-Handled: Separate, but Equal?

犬主牵引比赛–不一样的比赛，能平等吗？

Since its implementation in 2013, AKC’s National Owner-Handled Series (NOHS) has been accused of illuminating the widening gap between the professional and the owner-handler. Adversaries feel the division creates the illusion that NOHS participants aren’t as competitive as those in the regular groups. The exhibits need a separate competition because they do not possess the quality of those shown by professionals and need their own inferior placings. Speaking from personal experience, this is certainly not true. On several occasions, I have seen dogs win or place in their NOHS group and go on to do the same in the regular group. However, despite the quality of the entrants, many clubs do not give the NOHS competition the same treatment as the regular group and the BIS competition.

自从AKC的全国繁殖者牵引赛（NOHS）在2013年实施以来，广受争议，很多人认为这种比赛使得专业指导手和犬主之间的差距更加明显。许多选手认为，这种差距说明NOHS的参赛者不如常规

赛的选手有实力。 NOHS参赛者需要单独的赛制，因为他们不具备专业指导手的素质，需要另辟疆场。 从我的个人经验来说，这种观点当然是不正确的。我有好几次，目睹过在NOHS组获胜的犬

只在常规组比赛中蝉联了胜利。 然而，尽管NOHS参赛者的水平不错，但是许多俱乐部给NOHS比赛的待遇和给常规赛与BIS比赛的待遇并不一样。

For example, I have noticed several clubs do not offer the same-sized ring for NOHS groups as they do for regular groups. According to AKC’s NOHS Regulations as of April 1, 2017, “larger rings must be used for NOHS Group competition. It is advisable to convert two adjacent rings into one large ring as is often done for the regular groups.”It is only advisable to combine two adjacent rings; the clubs can make the ultimate decision as to how much ring space NOHS groups get. From my experience, more times than not the NOHS group rings are not large enough. There certainly are occasions when the entrant numbers are low, so it’s understandable not to combine rings. However, this competition is becoming more popular, and I have seen a growing number of dogs participating. Sometimes the NOHS group siae rivaLs the regular group, yet its ring is not nearly as big as the regular groups. AKC’s NOHS Regulations should set a minimum number of participants to require the combination of two or more rings.

例如，我注意到，有不少俱乐部给NOHS比赛准备的赛环不是和常规赛一样大小的场地。根据AKC协会在2017年4月1日发布的NOHS比赛相关规定：NOHS进行犬种群比赛必须使用较大的赛

环，建议将两个相邻的赛环合并成一个大赛环，就像常规组比赛时那样。合并两个相邻的赛环这种做法是可取的，这样一来俱乐部就可以做出关于NOHS比赛究竟应该有多少赛环空间的最终决定

了。从我个人的经验来看，NOHS组赛环的赛环很多时候还是不够大的，当然有时候参赛者数量较少，所以不合并赛环是可以理解的。但是这个比赛变得越来越受欢迎，我也见证了越来越多的狗

参加NOHS。鉴于NOHS的赛环任然不是和常规赛同样的尺寸，所以有时候NOHS比赛与常规赛之间会产生对抗。 AKC的NOHS比赛相关规定应设定最少参赛人数，这样就能顺理成章合并两个

或者两个以上的赛环了。

Another concern is the qualification of NOHS judges. According to AKC’s regulations, “a judge must be approved (including permit judges) for at least one breed in the group to judge the AKC NOHS group, unless they are approved for one full group. Then they may judge any AKC NOHS group.” I find this lenient rule concerning. For example, if someone has been a breeder/owner-handler of Beagles for 25 years, is a world-renowed breed expert and receives approval to judge the breed, how is it safe to assume that they are qualified to judge the whole NOHS Hound Group? They may have the Beagle standard memorized, but how would they be expected to know the subtle distinctions that make a Pharaoh Hound separate from an Ibizan Hound, or distinguish each of the five Coonhounds? AKC recommends that clubs “use a judge approved for … preferably many breeds within the group,” but I have seen occasions when a NOHS group judge only had approval for one brood in that group. The dogs in the NOHS group rings deserve judges who arc qualified to judge more than one breed.

NOHS比赛另一点令人担忧的是审查员的资格认定。根据AKC协会的规定，“担任NOHS审查员（包括已经认证的审查员）要求熟知至少犬种群中的一个犬种，如果熟知一个犬种群则可以担任

AKC协会下NOHS任意一场比赛的审查员。”我认为这个规则实在过于宽松。我们假设，如果有人成为比格犬的繁育者或犬主或指导手已经有25年了，是世界知名的比格犬专家，并有资格审查比

格犬了。但是怎么能断定他们就能审查NOHS比赛的整个猎犬组了呢？他们可能对比格犬的犬种标准烂熟于心，但是他们是否知道法老猎犬与伊比赞猎犬的微妙区别，更甚至他们是否能区分五个

猎犬的种类？ AKC协会建议俱乐部“选审查员时挑选尽量了解该犬种群中多个犬种的审查员”。但事实是我就亲眼见过一位执裁NOHS比赛的审查员只有一个犬种的审查资格。NOHS比赛值得了解

多个犬种的更高水准的审查员。

Recently, I was personally involved in a situation that made me question the stewards’ knowledge of NOHS rules. I had entered a show with two breeds, and, as luck would have it, they both went into their respective rings at the same time. I had handed off my champion bitch to her breeder/co-owner to show, so she was still eligible for NOHS. However, my dog’s breeder had entered a champion dog and ultimately handed him off to a friend to show, therefore making him ineligible for NOHS. The judge and steward were obvioasly not aware of the handler change and ended up giving BOBOH to the dog. (At this point I’d like to say, yes, one of the handlers in the ring should have said something, but NOHS isn’t exactly a priority to them and they hardly paid attention to the extra ribbon that was handed out.) I didn’t get to the ring until judging had finished, so I explained the situation to the steward and asked if anything could be done at that point. She responded by asking, “Doos it even matter?” Her question seemed to come more from a naive perspective than an apatlictic one, but either way it certainly does matter! How do they know the dogs handler wasn’t actually paid to show him?

近来，我本人参与了一次NOHS比赛，这次体验让我质疑主办方是否了解NOHS比赛的规则。我很幸运地有两只很棒的狗狗，那次比赛它们都晋级了。 我把两只狗狗中的母犬的所有权转交给了她

的繁育者兼共同所有者，所以她是有资格获得NOHS比赛的。然而，另外一只公犬的繁育者在晋级后将那只公犬转交给了他的一位朋友，但那位朋友本没有资格参加犬主或繁殖者才能参加的

NOHS比赛。但主办方和审查员显然都没有意识到场上的指导手换人了，最后把奖花给了公犬。 （在这一点上，我想说，是的，同样参赛的指导手对此也许有一些疑议，但NOHS比赛并不是他们

的首要目标，他们几乎没有注意到比赛的细则。）在评审结束之前，我本人并不在赛场上，所以我后来向审查员解释了情况，并询问比赛结果能更改吗。她却疑惑的说：“这种事重要吗？”她的问题

似乎来自一个天真的外行人，而不是一个专业人士。但无论如何，这当然是重要的！指导手们为了每一场比赛都付出了时间金钱！

I had never given this a second thought, but after this particular show I now wonder how many times a mistake like this has happened? I’m not proposing an official identification check, but I think it should be protocol for the steward to ask the handlers of the dogs designated for BOBOH if they are, in fact, an owner as they check numbers for BOB/BOV. I hope we could assume honest answers if the exhibitors are asked.

我以前没有细思过，但现在想来，这种错误是不是在不知不觉中已经数次发生过了呢？我并不是想发起官方的检讨或申斥，但我确实认为NOHS比赛的主办方需要在颁发BOB和BOV时确认参赛者

是否是犬只的繁育者或所有者。当然我也希望选手们诚实配合举办方。

For NOHS participants to get the recognition they deserve, clubs should make more of an effort to respect the rules and recommendations from AKC. Owner-handlers can present the same quality dogs as the professionals and present them just as well.

各个俱乐部应该要尊重AKC协会发布的比赛规则和建议，这样NOHS比赛的参赛者才能获得应有的尊重。这样犬主指导手们也能够像专业指导手一样展示他们的爱犬。

转自DOG IN REVIEW,中文由犬界网编译，未经允许不得擅自转载。