I have been invited to judge my breed at a premier open show.  It will involve a round trip of over 600 miles and over 10 hours driving.  I am always honoured when asked to judge and usually I am more than happy to make my way there and back at my own expense.  The official invitation has now arrived in the post and it states that this a an Honorary appointment and therefore no expenses can be paid.  My vehicle does around 37 mpg and to cover this amount of mileage it will use in the region of 17 - 18 gallons of diesel (around £90 - £95).  Train ticket is coming in at just under £90 and the only way to get there in time is to travel the day before and involve staying overnight at further expense.  I could fly a) if I drive 2 hours to the nearest airport and b) if I stay over the night before and the night of the show (no flights to the location at the weekend).  So I am thinking that I am going to write back to the secretary and politely explain that I do not want to judge.  No contract has been signed yet.  Am I being selfish?  Would anyone out here be prepared to incur this sort of expense (I haven't even thought about the cost of putting my dogs in kennels).  If you were the secretary would you understand my reasons for saying no?  Any thoughts/views appreciated.

I incurred such cost last year and like you had to stay overnight and took my mum with me as I don'[t like driving such a distance on my own. 

I suppose I would do it again but due to costs etc, of everything these days I would think more than twice about it.

I would do it.. I travelled from Scotland to judge at Guildford.. a 16hour round trip, stayed overnight in a lovely farmhouse B& B  and then 6 weeks lated another 14hour round trip to judge at Malvern, again staying overnight in similar farmhouse B&B.. both appts. were honorary.. in fact I have never expected any re-compense for an appointment.. and I would do it again.. my december Apt.is only an 9hours round trip, so no overnight

I think my Appts cost me in the region of £200 each, fuel costs, B&B, meals etc..

My appt in Ireland cost me considerably more lol.. a I got a lovely bottle of wine (I don't drink) for doing it :-)

I don;t see the problem..

Like Kay I have never asked  for expenses and have judged all over the country, I consider it an honour to be asked and my way of giving a bit back to my hobby.

Having said that I'm sure the secretary would understand your reason for declining.

Many years ago, I drove from Canterbury to SKC to judge my breed (without CCs) with no expenses. Obviously an overnight stay was necessary. It's up to you - you should do what is right for you :)

I don't judge, my husband does but I have been a show secretary.
My thoughts are that it is an honour to be invited to judge a breed and in this day and age all judging appointments are few and far between as there are too many fast trackers ready to take the appointment :( I'm afraid that I view it as part of the process  to go through to fulfill all the requirements imposed on judges.
Just think you may be rewarded with a number of new dogs to go over which will help you on your way to give CC's and maybe a nice overnight stay when you achieve this :)

Having said that, it depends how plentifull appointments are in your breed and a secretary would understand your reasons.

Good luck whatever you decide.
It would be nice  to open a schedule and not see the same names which appear to have landed against different breeds on each occasion :(

I can see both sides being both a show secretary and a judge. I have to admit to turning an appointment down last year due to the distance involved, it would not just have been the diesel and overnight stay but my husband would have needed to take two days off work to look after the dogs at home. After weighing it all up it just wasn't viable. The person who did the appointment in my place received an entry of 4 dogs, 3 of which were absent on the day.
I would not be at all offended as a Show Secretary if someone was to turn down an appointment for whatever reason.

> The person who did the appointment in my place received an entry of 4 dogs, 3 of which were absent on the day.
>

I think this is something that does need to be taken into conderation.. I went to Ireland knowing I was judging 19 classes.. I think I had more classes than all the other judges combined lol.. I went to Guildford knowing I only had the 5 classes of my own breed. but I had a fantastic entry.. from memory I went over 43 dogs out of 48entered under me.. certainly worth the journey..

>it would not just have been the diesel and overnight stay but my husband would have needed to take two days off work to look after the >dogs at home

this is also something else to consider, which I had forgotten to add into my costs.. I dont have anyone to leave at home.. so I also need to pay a sitter to stay the weekend with my dogs while away

Crikey, it really does mount up doesn't it  (cringe)

I would contact the secretary, either by accepting the appointment or prior to & say that you will accept the appointment but with the committee agreement, you would want a contribution  to your travel costs, of say £20/£30(depending on what entry you think your breed get at open shows). The worst that can happen is they say no, the best they agree & you have a good day judging.
I dont think I ever claimed any petrol costs at any open shows I have judged(I didn't travel 600 miles though), if so it was only one of half the cost many years ago.

Depends how much you enjoy judging.

I regularly travel that far to show and judge so dont really see the difference.

Or how often your breed is classified at shows, or how much funds someone can afford to travel great distances to judge...everyone has a limit on what they can afford, even though they might really enjoy judging.

i turn two apppointment for same thing

i cannot afford the cost at the moment plus time off work with no pay.

This is becoming a real problem particularly for minority breeds, the societies staging shows are torn between giving a breed a breed specialist and having to ask a judge to travel a distance for what may only be a handful of entries. The only other way is to appoint an all rounder to do several of the minority breeds and pay expenses, not what the exhibitors would prefer but sometimes the only way.

yes for a club show,  defo no for an open show .

I agree with everything the others have said.

My OH judges and is the Secretary for our Club, I am a Committee Member, so see it from both sides.  The OH travels all over for his judging appointments coz he is fighting to get his numbers for our B List ( not an easy task when we have been re-banded this year ), but he thinks it's an honour to be asked anyway.  I get most of the judges for our show, we don't pay travelling expenses, most of the clubs can't afford to nowadays.  We make up for it with hopefully giving our judges a good day out with a nice meal. You will be an out of area judge at a Premier Show so you should get a good entry.  However if you decide that you can't take the appointment up I would ring the Secretary asap so they can find another judge.  I'm sure they'll be understanding after all we're all in the same boat with fuel costs etc.  Not a cheap hobby this one lol !!!!!  My OH has had judges turn him down this year for various reasons and as long as you haven't signed and sent back the letter then there is contract to speak of.

I'm sure you'll make the right choice for you

Thank you all for your responses. They are all most useful.  As I said in my original post, I have always been happy to travel at my own expense and have never asked for, or expected, recompense.  It was only when I worked out the journey and approximate costs involved that I started to have a few doubts.

kayc - I wish I was financially able to undertake the sort of expense you incurred for your appointments.  Sadly, I'm not.  Living alone with one salary which mostly gets spent on the canines, I am even restricting my show entries. This year I have only done four shows and I find myself being more and more selective about entries. 

crinklecut - good point about the size of the potential entry.  Whilst it is a premier show, it is also a fairly remote location and is also during the depths of winter.  Another consideration for me if I have to drive.

jovigirl - I haven't signed a contract yet.  I also don't need to worry about getting my numbers for the B list as I am already on it.  Your point about dog-showing not being a cheap hobby is so correct.  However, the way things are going financially in this country at the moment, I can see it once again being the privilege of the wealthy only.  I think I will be contacting the secretary and explaining that this is one judging appointment too far for me at the moment. 

Once again, thank you all for taking the time to reply.

I'm sure there will be other appointments in the not to distant future, which you will be able to accept. Quite often after accepting an appointment, I had other invites which I was unable to accept, as they fell within the time/distance requirement.

Good luck for any future appointments