202 — Mentoring the Future LIVE at the Copper Classic
Mentoring people in the sport will keep it alive
PureDogTalk host Laura Reeves moderated a LIVE Saturday Symposium sponsored by the Copper Classic in Prescott, Ariz. on the topic of Mentoring the Future. Judges Joyce Vanek, Cindy Vogels and John Wade headlined the panel.
Become the change you want to see
Anna Mysliwiec, Prescott Arizona Kennel Club, said, “We are the start of the change.”
“As a judge if I have a novice in the ring I try to help them,” Wade said. “We have to encourage people. Maybe the dog they have right now isn’t show quality, but they’d like to continue in the sport. Encourage someone so they are here tomorrow.”
Juniors speak up
Juniors attending the Seminar asked great questions, including one that prompted this response from Vogels:
“What’s the hardest part of being a judge?” asked by Julia, age 9.
Vogels: “…we realize each of you love your dog. We get to please very few people by the end of the day. The hardest part of judging is 5 dogs, 4 ribbons.”
Another junior attending, Kyle, age 14, asked, “What’s the first thing you notice about a dog when it comes in the ring.”
Vanek said, “The overall presence of the handler and dog.” Vogels added, “Correct silhouette.”
Workable solutions
Suggestions for clubs, breeders and exhibitors to “mentor the future” included:
- Encourage young people to be apprentice ring stewards
- Offer a Peewee Handling Competition at the show
- Advise all-breed clubs to offer Junior Showmanship as a FREE class
- Hire former junior handlers to judge Junior Showmanship classes
- Offer “best of the best” Junior Showmanship competitions with monetary prizes
- Support scholarship programs like those offered by PHA and other organizations
- Organize a potluck at the show for exhibitors in your breed
- Focus on the positive instead of the drama when counseling new exhibitors
- Show courtesy to ring stewards
- Encourage local and national breed clubs to offer junior memberships and junior showmanship competitions.
- Remember that the ribbon, the win, isn’t everything
“Welcome people to the sport,” Wade said. “Welcome people to your clubs. We need club members. The “greying of our sport” is apparent everywhere.”
98 – Cindy Vogels: Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, Westminster BIS Judge, Take the Lead and AKC Canine Health Foundation Treasurer
Cindy Vogels: Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, Westminster BIS Judge, Take the Lead and AKC Canine Health Foundation Treasurer
- Cindy Vogels and her mother, Jackie Gottlieb, have bred over 100 Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Champions.
- Selected to judge Best in Show at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in 2012
- Board Member of Take the Lead
- Founding Member and Treasurer of AKC Canine Health Foundation
- Past President of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America and helped breed from Miscellaneous to AKC Recognition
Are You Impressed Yet?
Listen as Cindy Vogels tells of her journey with her beloved Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers and a special win with one of her veterans.
Listen to the beginnings of Take The Lead started during the time of the AIDS epidemic and the strides to ensure privacy.
Listen to how $40,ooo,000 has been granted in AKC Canine Health Foundation research and how your breed club can participate.
Mrs. Cindy Vogels
Cindy Vogels, of Greenwood Village, Colorado, has bred more than 100 champion Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers, and champion Norfolk, Kerry Blue, and Welsh terriers, and Brittanys. These include Best in Show, specialty Best in Show, and group winners, and top producers, including the top terrier dam of all time.
Mrs. Vogels judges all terriers, all sporting breeds, Junior Showmanship, and Best in Show. Career judging highlights include Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and Norfolk Terrier national specialties, and the Westminster Kennel Club Show.
Mrs. Vogels is a past president of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America and now serves as the club’s AKC delegate. She is secretary and show chair for the Evergreen Colorado Kennel Club.
One of America’s leading writers on canine subjects, Mrs. Vogels is a winner of the Dog Writers Association of America’s Maxwell Medallion for her akc gazette “Better Breeding” column. She sits on the boards of the AKC Canine Health Foundation and Take the Lead, and feels that “both these organizations are fundamental to the well-being of the sport.”
Mrs. Vogels raises and shows champion Morgan horses. AKC
Article on Cindy Vogels and AKC Canine Health Foundation
Cindy Vogels is the treasurer of AKC Canine Health Foundation. Read More …