A DISCUSSION-JUDGING THE SHOW KING

Note-The following article by Mr. W. B. Schroeder was delivered in the form of an address at the Fourth Annual American Pigeon Fanciers Convention held July 28-29 1973 at St Louis Mo. And printed in the American Pigeon Journal December 1973.


Properly applying the American King Club Standard of Perfection for exhibition Kings, to Kings in the judging theater, requires a thorough knowledge of this Standard and the understanding that a good show King must be a balanced pigeon; having the station, conformation, weight, measurements, appearance, show manners, and points of perfection described in the official Standard. The degree to which each individual King, in the judging theater, has these desired qualities determines its placing position in the class being judged.

There are no points allocated in the official Standard of perfection for station and conformation but the Standard does say that the official picture is the ideal for the station of the exhibition King. Neither does the official Standard list points for weights and measurements although it does say that the weights must be adhered to. The Standard also says that the cocks should be masculine in appearance and that hens should be feminine in appearance and that birds of unkempt appearance, or birds that refuse to show good station or proper show manners may be cut up to 10 points in a floating penalty that is not considered in the 100 point total of the Scale of Points. All of which means that a King in the judging theater must have the general appearance of the king shown in the official picture; and must approximate the weight, measurement, and appearance of the exhibition King, as set forth in the written preamble to the Scale of Points in the Official King Standard of the American King Club, if it is to receive serious consideration for top placing in its class.

Station can be defined as the desired position of the bird when in its proper stance. Conformation can be defined as the form of the King resulting from the symmetrical arrangement of all items of perfection described in the official Standard. Balance is a state of equal relationship of station, conformation, weight, measurement, appearance, and the items of perfection described in the Scale of Points of the official King Standard.

With an official Standard that sets out the desired station, conformation, weight, measurement, and appearance of the exhibition King, without giving point credit for these items of perfection, per se, it becomes apparent that an ideal King is a balanced King scoring high in all items of perfection rather than in points listed in the Scale of Points of the official Standard. Therefore, a judge should not attempt to total points in his mind, of the various items of perfection listed under the Scale of points of the official Standard, for each individual King being judged, but instead, should use these points to determine the degree of perfection of each item listed in the Scale of Points as he compares one King against another.

A judge should begin his assignment by looking at each individual King in the class to determine how closely it resembles the station and conformation of an exhibition King as it is shown in the official picture of the exhibition King that has been adopted by the membership of the American King Club.

When looking at the profile view of a King a judge should see legs that are straight, and show no sign of cow hock*, and that are balanced in the center of the body at a point where a vertical line would run at a right angle from the floor up to the center of the legs to a point at the top of the neck where it begins at the back of the head. The breast should curve down from the front of the neck in a full curve to the front of the legs with that curve picking up the rump behind the legs, at the same level and continuing in a smooth line, showing no fluff, until it reaches the tail which at its tip is 15 degrees* above the horizontal level of the back. The wing flights should be reasonably short and rest smoothly on the rump and tail with the tips held approximately one-inch apart and approximately three-fourth of an inch shorter than a reasonably short tail. The wings should be deep with the body showing well below the wing butts. The neck should be full and balanced with broad shoulders and well rounded body and it should be carried perpendicularly. The neck should not cut back excessively under the beak and the beak should recede slightly from the extremity of the protruding breast and be carried in a horizontal position; and be short, stout, and pinkish white in color. The head should be moderately large with a well-rounded skull that is in proportion to a full neck and a broad body. The eyes should be prominent, round and bright and set approximately three-fifths forward from the back of the skull at a point where a line running up from the center of the beak would intersect through the center of the pupil of the eye. The eye cere should be perfectly round, fine in texture, and not over one-sixteenth inch wide, visible between eye and the feathers, and be beet red in color.

The front view of the King should show a broad skull, and a prominent breast that is broad and well rounded and shows well beyond the wing butts. The legs should be stout and straight, with greater width than height, and set at a width of two and seven-eighths inches from the center of one shank to the center of the other and showing two and five-eighths inches clearance between the floor and the bottom of the keel. The legs should be free from feathers and beet re in color. The toes should be straight, clean, well spread, and beet red in color.

The top view of the king should show a broad skull, a short, stout, beak; pinkish white in color, with a wattle in keeping with the size of the face and being small, smooth, powdered or frosted in color. The back should short, wide at the shoulders, and taper smoothly into a broad and thick rump and on to a tail not over two feathers wide at the tip*. The wing flights should rest flat on the rump and tail and show no sideboards and there should be no break or hinge in the rump.

When a judge takes a King into his hands to get the top view of the bird he should also get the feel of the bird and make a preliminary judging determination by segregating the King into one of three groups, namely, group number one for Kings that look and feel as the official Standard describes an ideal King to be. Group number two for Kings that show the station and conformation desired in an ideal King but lack the feel of a good King, and Kings that have the proper feel but lack the desired station and conformation. Group number three for Kings that neither show the station and conformation of an ideal King nor have the feel of an ideal king.

A King that feels good in the hands of a judge is one that has a short, broad, firm, deep, well-rounded body, with a short back that is broad at the shoulders and tapers into a full rump, and that has a rocker shaped keel that is straight and deep and ends as close as possible to the vent, with a full breast, and with feathering that is close and smooth. A King with this feel can score a maximum of 45 points, of the 100 points listed in the Scale of Points of the Official King Standard, for perfect body, back, keel, breast, and plumage. With head and neck elements of items in the Official King Standard receiving maximum total of 30 points, and all other parts of an ideal King 25 points, the King with good feel must be given preliminary priority consideration in judging for the same reason station is given that consideration: the Official King Standard places the most emphasis on these two items of perfection by picturing the ideal station of a King and by crediting a maximum number of points to those items that go towards the good feel of the bird. Kings that have a good feel are usually birds that feel larger than they look to be.

It is in the preliminary judging that a judge gives full consideration to the point credit of the 15 items listed in the Scale of Points of the Official King Standard. He does this as he handles the bird for the first time and places those that total the highest number of points into group one or two, depending on their station, conformation, weight, measurements, and appearance: as these items are set out and described in the preamble to the Scale of Points in the official Standard. After the preliminary judging has been completed, with all Kings having been segregated into one of three groups, the judge uses the point credits for the various items listed under the Scale of Points of the official Standard to help him determine the degree of perfection of each item which is established by the number of elements of that item that meet the description of the official Standard.

After each King has been handled and placed into one of the three groups enumerated above the elimination process begins in group three with the judge discarding the least desirable King in that group first, and then the second least desirable King when judged in accordance with the official Standard of perfection, and continuing in this manner on through that group into group two and through group two and then through group one until all Kings have been placed down to the last bird in the class which is then the first place King. While working through group three a judge will sometimes find a bird showing excellent station that it was not showing the first time he looked at it and this bird might then be judged against birds in group two and go on to place higher in the class than some of those Kings originally placed in group two. When working through group two it is always good practice for a judge to be slow to eliminate a King from further competition that has exceptionally good feel. This bird may not be showing when the judge first looks at it because of fright, which may come form rough or unfamiliar handling in being transported from the holding pen to the judging pen or from having been cooped in a lower tier in a dark corner of the showroom before being brought out into the bright light of the judging arena, and after it grows accustomed to the new surroundings it begins to show station and will hold that station for the balance of the judging. When the judge reaches a point in his judging where he feels he should eliminate from further competition a King that is outstanding in feel, but lacks proper station, he should move forward to grade the rest of the Kings in group two by lining them up in proper order in their judging cages. He should then go forward into group one and follow the same procedure of grading Kings and lining them up in proper order in their judging cages. He should then come back to group two and if the King with outstanding feel is still not showing proper station it should be eliminated from the class because no matter how good the body and feel may be it is not a good King if it has not by this time shown proper station as portrayed in the official picture of the exhibition king. We sometimes hear exhibitors say that they had a King place high in its class at one show and then had it eliminated early in the class at a second show. When this happens, assuming the judge of the first show placed the King properly, and the quality of the competition was the same, it results from one or two things: Either the bird was not in the same body and feather condition at the second show or the judge eliminated it too quickly from the class and before he had given it a fair chance to show.

A King is not necessarily a good exhibition King because it has outstanding body and feel, or because it has breath-taking station, or superior leg setting, or a beautiful head and neck. To be a good show King it must score high in all the items listed in the official Standard of perfection in a manner that blends them together to create a bird of perfect beauty.

There are 15 items listed in the Scale of Points of the Official King Standard and each of these items is made up of a number of elements with each element receiving equal credit toward the total points listed for the particular item of perfection. These 15 items added to the 6 items set out in the preamble to the Scale of Points give the judge a total of 21 items to consider as he compares one King against another in the elimination process. Which means that the King that is best in 11 or more of the 21 items would eliminate the bird against which it is compared and go on to be compared against another King where the same method of determination would be used to eliminate one of the Kings from further competition in the judging. By following this procedure down through the class the judge determines the relative excellence of each King and winds up with the best balanced bird in the class as his first place bird.

A judge starts the elimination process by comparing the birds in group number three, picking what appears to be the poorest King in that group and placing it in the end coop of the judging theater, and then comparing it against what appears to be the next poorest King and continuing on in that fashion to line the birds up in their proper order in the judging coops with the poorest King in the end coop and the second poorest King in the next to the end coop and continuing this order of placement down through the group but not eliminating any of them from competition until all Kings in that group have been compared. When this has been done the judge returns to the end coop in which he has placed the poorest King in the class, and the elimination process then goes quite quickly as the birds have been lined up in their proper order and it now becomes a matter of the judge checking his original judgment of each King to be sure it was correct. If he finds it was not correct he moves the bird or birds up through the class until he finds their correct position and then goes back to the bottom of the group to continue the elimination process. When the judge gets down to the last bird in group three he compares it with birds in group two and it then becomes a part of that group until eliminated from further competition. He follows the same procedure of comparing Kings in group two and lining them up in their proper order and then going back over the group to eliminate birds from further competition until he is down to the last bird in group two which then becomes a part of group one. The Kings in group one are then compared for the number of items of perfection they possess and are lined up in the judging coops accordingly. The judge then goes through this group of birds from the poorest to the best, checking on his original judgment as he proceeds with the elimination process, to find the best balanced King having the greatest number of items of perfection as those items are described in the official Standard.

In comparing one King against another the judge should first of all determine which of the two Kings has the best station and then continue by determining which of the two kings has the best conformation, whether the Kings fall within the weight limits, whether they answer the measurements, which King is masculine or feminine in appearance, and which King has proper show manners. A King with proper show manners will be alert, yet unafraid, and will be well poised, showing no sign of fear or aggressiveness as the judge reaches into the coop to pick it up. After the judge has compared the two Kings on the items of the perfection listed in the preamble to the Scale of Points of the Official Standard, he proceeds by comparing the first item listed in the Scale of Points which is the beak. He determines if the beak of the two Kings he is comparing against one another are short, stout, pinkish white in color, and carried in a horizontal position: as the official Standard says they should be, or if these beaks are long, narrow, stained, and down faced. If the beak meets the description of the Standard it will receive 5 points or 1 and ј points for each of the four elements that go to make up a perfect beak. And it will be cut 1 and ј points for each element of the beak that does not fit the Standard description. The King having the beak coming closest to what the Standard calls for will be the beak having the greatest number of elements of perfection. The judge then compares item number two in the Scale of Points, which is the wattle. He examines the wattle on the beak to determine if it is small in keeping with the size of the face, smooth, and powdered or frosted in color. If it meets with this description it receives a credit of 3 points. If it lacks any of these elements it would receive a one-point cut for each lacking element. The judge follows by comparing the head, eyes, eye cere, neck, breast, body, keel, back, wings, tail, shanks, toes, and plumage of the kings, keeping in mind the number of elements that go to make up the number of points listed in the Scale of Points for each of the above named items, and then crediting or cutting items on each King in accordance with the manner in which the elements answer or fail to answer the official Standard description.

The judge will not try to remember the point totals of the items of perfection of the Kings he compares against one another, but, instead, will remember which of the two Kings scored highest in a majority of the items of perfection to help him select the best balanced bird of the two. He then eliminates the King with the fewest items of perfection from further competition and goes on to compare the other King with another bird in the class, eliminating the poorest of these two Kings from further competition as determined by their number of items of perfection, and continuing on with this practice until he has eliminated all but one bird in the class which is the top placing and first place bird in the class.

With an Official King Standard that sets out 6 desired items of perfection without giving them point credit and then lists 15 items of perfection which do receive point credit. It becomes obvious that a good exhibition King is a well-balanced bird that scores high in all desired items of perfection rather than being outstanding in some and poor in others.

Judging Kings, if done properly, is hard work and it requires an intense concentration of the eyes and mind of the judge to the point where he does not see or hear anything in the showroom other than the birds he is judging. A judge should be thoroughly familiar with the wording of the Standard and have a mental image of what an ideal King should look like as he goes into the judging arena to pass on the birds. He should be well rested as he begins his judging assignment as intense concentration can be tiring and a tired judge will not be as observing as he otherwise can be and this could cause him to misplace birds in judging competition. Judges sometimes travel hundreds of miles to fulfill an assignment and traveling can be tiring, and sleeping in a hotel or motel can be anything but restful, so a judge must be in good physical condition and mentally alert if he is to do his job properly.

A judge must not visit with exhibitors or talk to individuals, other than show officials, while he is performing his judging duties. He should not attempt to explain each of his decisions to exhibitors and spectators watching the judging as this often involves him in a discussion and becomes too time consuming in large classes of Kings and it serves little purpose as most exhibitors today are as knowledgeable as the judge is on what constitutes a good show King and they are usually only interested in reasons for his decisions on the top placing birds in each class. The judge may tell his Steward, in a few brief words, as he hands him a bird being eliminated from further competition, why that bird is being eliminated and the Steward can pass that information along to the bird carrier for the benefit of any interested party. Doing this makes it possible for a spectator to know why a bird was eliminated and it serves the purpose of educating the Steward, who may be interested in becoming a judge, in judging procedure. In classes where the competition is exceptionally good the judge may explain why he has picked the first place bird over the second place bird and the second place bird over the third, but to go beyond that takes more time than the judge usually has available to him and it may unduly tire the judge to the point he is not as effective as he should be on the balance of the classes to be judged. An exhibitor who has a question concerning a particular decision or bird can always see the judge after he has finished his judging assignment and will usually find the judge more than willing to talk to him.

A judge should never break faith with those fanciers who have honored him, in selecting him to judge their birds, by drinking any form of intoxicating beverage while carrying out his judging assignment even though he is invited to do so by the exhibitors. Doing so may not affect his judgment but it will certainly lesson the respect that some exhibitors have for him.

Most judges make a personal sacrifice of time and money when they judge a pigeon show and the only rewarding compensation for judging any pigeon show comes out of the personal satisfaction of knowing you have done a good job in placing the Kings in their proper positions in each class. Do not jeopardize that personal satisfaction by reporting for a judging assignment in anything other than a well-rested physical condition and an alert mental condition. Do not get involved in time consuming and judgment distracting conversations with exhibitors or spectators and, above all, do not say or do anything that could reflect on your personal integrity. Keep faith with those who have honored you, and who have devoted much time and effort in breeding, conditioning, and training the Kings you have been assigned to judge, by selecting the best birds in each class as the first place birds and by picking a Champion that on that particular day and at that particular time was truly the Champion of the show.

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