I'm approved to be a Barn Hunt judge

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I was notified my application to be a Barn Hunt judge was approved. I'm not in the judges database yet, but my number will be BHAJ-283B. As a B judge, I need a mentor to be assigned and I have to get approval before accepting any assignments. My first assignment can not be at my home club.

The judge application process according to the rules must be completed within a year. The two biggest hurdles on time are finding a judges seminar and having a Fun Test. I started the process just before the Covid shutdowns came along. Then the shutdown and the judges seminar I wanted to attend was cancelled. In the meantime, my club kept running trials and I completed my work experience and had my Fun Test by September, 2020.

After the shutdown happened, Robin announced that for judge applications, 2020 didn't happen, and all experience will be considered as of January 1, 2021. So I had until December 31 to complete my application.

The halt on judges seminars ended in mid 2021 and I was able to attend a two day seminar in August. I passed the written test in October and finalized my application before Thanksgiving. Colin told me that all my work experience was in one club, and my application would be looked on more favorably if I worked other places. Jessica Edgerly was kind enough to allow me to apprentice judge at her trial on December 4 and that satisfied Colin. He wanted to make sure I saw how other clubs ran their trials. I worked at other clubs before the application process started, but the other nearby club shut down just before I started and other clubs weren't running trials due to the shutdown.

My last hurdle was cleaning up my paperwork. I rushed doing my application because judge applicants get priority over the handlers for acceptance into the seminar. The rules state the paperwork can be fixed only once if rejected. I had errors that were rejected, so I went over my paperwork with my club's president who is a judge and the club's trial secretary. It was really an eye-opener how many errors there were in my paperwork. The judge applicant has to fill out the paperwork at the end of the trial and then get the Judge Of Record to sign it. The JOR is in a rush to get out of there and sometimes was reviewing and signing my paperwork while she was walking to her car. I had to do this during end of year things I had to do for a United Way agency which had year end audits by the state and county, and while my much abused spouse wanted to do holiday shopping. I finally managed to complete a couple eight hour days and uploaded my application again.

Then the nerve wracking wait began. A couple weeks ago, I heard my name was put on the judges list for a one week comment period. That ended last Wednesday and then today I was notified.

For almost two years, whenever I met friends at a trial, the first question was, "Are you a judge yet?" I can finally answer, "YES!"
 
At long last after the long wait. Congratulations! You must have been so totally over that wait!
Oh yes, living in Limbo for two years really was a drag!

Congrats!!!! Hopefully it doesn't cut into your own trialing time ;)
I hope I get more trial time if I'm invited to judge. As a provisional judge, there's limitations. But once I become an A judge, I can trial where I judge as long as there's a backup judge available. My first assignment as a backup judge will be February 5-6. My club's judge can finally run her dogs!

I'm now in the BHA judges database.

BHA Judge.jpg
 
Maybe our club will start doing Barn Hunt one day and we could get you to come to northern Minnesota. Right now they're so new that they're mostly doing weight pull, rally, conformation and other titles like CGC and Farm Dog.
 
Maybe our club will start doing Barn Hunt one day and we could get you to come to northern Minnesota. Right now they're so new that they're mostly doing weight pull, rally, conformation and other titles like CGC and Farm Dog.
I hope so! I think I'd enjoy a trip to MN. I'd like to see the Greyhound museum, a working ore pit, shipping on the Great Lakes and other things.
 
I think I'd enjoy a trip to MN. I'd like to see the Greyhound museum, a working ore pit, shipping on the Great Lakes and other things.
And they're all very close to us; especially the bus museum and the working ore pits. Lake Superior is about 1.5 hours away but that's still not far.
 
Way to go! It's been a long wait, but now you can look forward to all the new experiences coming your way.

Yes, it's coming fast. I just got my first invitation to be a backup judge and the Barn Hunt judge development chair asked me to set aside a three day weekend in March while he arranges a possibility for me to be mentored. I need at least one mentored trial, so hopefully I'll no longer be Provisional in a few months.
 

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