AS: Do you actively take part in recruiting and educating newcomers? What are your “teaching” methods?
EE: I am worried about the lack of new, young breeders and
judges coming up in our sport and try to do my best to encourage
the up-and-coming generation. I am happy to be an active mentor
for a couple of promising young talents in the sport and find that
inspirational. We meet up, talk and discuss quite frequently. I also
lecture at seminars on breed standards, breed history, judging,
breeding and genetics, and sometimes on veterinary matters, as I
am a vet by education. My teaching method is to try to stimulate
people to think for themselves, giving them pause for thought
rather than just providing them with “my” answers.
Espen judging
Best in Show at
the 2014 Leeds
Championship
Show in the
UK. He chose
the Shetland
Sheepdog
Edglonian
Singing the Blues
for BIS.
were much more eager to give feedback and to discuss dogs
than they are today. During my first appointments, I had some
well-respected judges ringside watching me, afterward offering
me comments and advice. I found this very helpful and useful.
I love to discuss dogs, and there are fortunately still some colleagues who will enjoy a good discussion. The aim should, however, not necessarily be to agree. Agreeing is fine, but disagreeing is probably even more fruitful when it comes to learning.
AS: What do you think was the key to your becoming one
of the world’s most popular and acknowledged judges?
EE: Those are your words, not mine. But I have been very
privileged as a judge, having officiated at so many of the important shows around the world. Luck has something to do
with it, but as another downhill legend, Ingemar Stenmark,
said, “The more I trained, the luckier I got.” I got a lot of important assignments early on in my judging career. This was
partly luck, partly that I already had a reputation as a breeder
and partly that I was the son of a famous mother.
I judged at shows like Windsor in England, the American
Whippet Club specialty in Pennsylvania and Santa Barbara in
California, while I was still a youngster. Those were my “sink
or swim” appointments. If I had screwed up, my career as a
judge would have ended almost before it began. But I did not
screw up, and instead many doors were opened. I take judging
very seriously. I spend a lot of time and energy on it, and I have
an ambition to do it well. And I never play any games, knowing
that integrity is the most precious capital of any judge.
AS: Which past show would you love to relive, and why?
EE: The Afghan Hound Club of America National Specialty,
held in conjunction with the Afghan Hound World Congress in
San Diego 1995 was and still remains the most memorable dog
show I have been to, and I would love to relive it. Everything
was just fabulous: the show site and ring, the quality of the
best dogs sadly never to be seen again, the judging of the BOB
judge, the enthusiasm. It was just magical.
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AS: During your 50-plus years in the canine world, what
has changed the most?
EE: Wow, what has not changed? And most of it for the better, too! The access to information is enormous compared to
yesteryear. The possibilities for traveling and communicating
have vastly improved. Globalization has given us potential
access to bloodlines, stud dogs and semen that was impossible 50 years ago. The health testing that we can do on our
dogs today means that we can combat diseases much more
effectively than before. On the downside, [there is] the disappearance of the big kennels and the true strains within the
breeds, probably never to be seen again.
AS: Finally, what wisdom that you have gained over
your more than five decades in the sport would you
like to share with us?
EE: The more you invest in something, the more you will
get back. Think positively. Focus on what you can positively
achieve and contribute. Do the very best you can in any situation and in any position.
Next month: Part II of this interview with Espen Engh,
focusing on breeding. DIR
Espen Engh’s Essential
Reading List
• After Bar Sinister, Raymond Oppenheimer
• McGuffin & Co, Raymond Oppenheimer
• Advanced Labrador Breeding, Mary Roslin William
• The Inheritance of Coat Color in Dogs, Clarence Little
• Born to Win, Breed to Succeed, Patricia Craige Trotter
• Hutchinson’s Dog Encyclopedia
• Canine Terminology, Harold R. Spira
• The early fundamental works by Leighton and de Bylandt