Chapter 6
DCA Road Trial Regulations -- 2001

CHAPTER 6 - Regulations for Performance and Judging

SECTION 1. Requirements for Judges.
The Host of any Road Trial must secure a Judge or Judges, as provided in Chapter 6, Sections 1, 1A, and 1B, and a Veterinarian or Veterinarians and/or Veterinary Technician, as provided in Chapter 5, Sections 1 & 2. A Course Judge shall not be required. At the option of the Host Club, the Club may provide both a Mounted judge and a Course Judge; or, if the terrain permits, the Mounted Judge may judge all exercises (Hock, Distraction, Stay, Recall, and Speed). If the layout of the course does not permit all exercises to be held in succession and in a timely manner, the Host must provide a second judge, as provided in Chapter 6, Section 1B. At the discretion of the Host, the Mounted Judge or the Course Judge may serve as the judge for the CC Test, or another judge with the same minimum qualifications. Persons considered for an assignment to judge a Road Trial should have the following minimum experience:

SECTION 1A. Mounted Judge. 1) Must be an experienced equestrian. 2) Must have earned an AKC obedience title or other AKC Performance title on a dog. 3) Must have a complete working knowledge of the Road Trial Regulations. 4) Must have experience with Dalmatians, either in owning, breeding, showing (conformation or performance), or having been a member of a Dalmatian Specialty Club for at least two years. The Mounted Judge will judge the Hock, Distraction, Recall, and Stay exercises, and may judge the Speed exercise as denoted in Chapter 6, Section 1.

SECTION 1B. Course Judge. 1) Must have earned an AKC obedience or other performance title on a dog. 2) Must have a complete working knowledge of the Road Trial Regulations. 3) Must have experience with Dalmatians, either in owning, breeding, showing (conformation or performance), or having been a member of a Dalmatian Specialty Club for at least two years. If a Course Judge is assigned, the Course Judge will judge the Speed exercise, and will announce the scores and prizewinners at the close of the Trial.

SECTION 2. Standardized Judging.
Standardized Judging is of paramount importance. Judges are not permitted to inject their own variations into the exercises, but must see that each handler and dog executes the various exercises exactly as described in these Regulations. A handler familiar with these Regulations should be able to enter the course under any judge without having to inquire how the particular judge wishes to have any exercise performed, and without being confronted with some unexpected requirement.

SECTION 3. Standard of Perfection.
The Road Trial Judge(s) must carry a mental picture of the theoretically perfect performance in each exercise and score each dog/handler/horse team against this visualized standard which shall combine the utmost in willingness, enjoyment, and precision on the part of the dog, and naturalness, gentleness, and smoothness in handling. Lack of willingness or enjoyment on the part of the dog must be penalized, as must lack of precision in the dog's performance, aggression by the dog, and/or roughness in handling or commands by the handler.

SECTION 4. Qualifying Performance.
The Judges' certification in the Judge's Book of a Qualifying Score for any particular dog constitutes his certification to the Dalmatian Club of America that the dog has performed all of the required exercises at least in accordance with the minimum standards, and that this performance would justify the awarding of a Coaching Certificate title, Road Dog title, or Road Dog Excellent title. A qualifying score must never be awarded to a dog whose performance has not met the minimum requirements, not to a dog that attacks any other dog, person, or horse met along the course, nor to a dog whose handler abuses the dog on the course, nor to a dog whose handler offers food to the dog on the course, except food that has been arranged at the Mid-Point Vet Check.

In deciding whether a faulty performance of a particular exercise by a particular dog warrants a Qualifying Score, the Judge shall consider whether the awarding of a Road Trial Title would be justified if all dogs in the class performed the exercise in a similar manner. The Judge must not give a Qualifying Score for the exercise if he decides that it would be contrary to the best interests of the sport if all dogs in the class were to perform in the same way.

SECTION 5. Judge's Directions.
The Judges' orders and signals should be given to the handlers in a clear and understandable manner, but in such a way that the work of the dog is not disturbed. The Mounted Judge shall take care that his horse does not come so close to any of the dogs as to interfere with any Exercise. Before starting the Recall, Hock, Long Sit or Down, and Distraction exercises, the Judge shall state, "This will be the (particular) exercise, are you ready?" The exhibitor should then respond, "Yes," or "No." If the exhibitor is not ready, the Judge will give the exhibitor a reasonable amount of time to prepare, and then ask the question again.

For the Speed exercise, an official Course Steward shall, on signal from the Judge, state, "This will be the Speed exercise, are you ready?" The exhibitor will then respond. If the exhibitor is not ready, the Judge will give the exhibitor a reasonable amount of time to prepare, and then proceed.

At the end of each exercise, the Judge shall say, "Exercise finished." At the end of the Speed exercise, there shall be a trail marker, which indicates the end of the Exercise. After each Exercise, the Judge shall advise the exhibitor if any dog on the team has failed the Exercise, and the exhibitor shall be given the option of continuing on the course. The Judge is not required to explain his scoring and need not enter into any discussion with any exhibitor who appears dissatisfied. (See also Sec. 12)

The judging of an Exercise will begin when the Judge, or official Course Steward in the case of the Speed exercise, gives the first order, not before.

SECTION 6. No Added Requirements. No Judge shall require any dog or handler to do anything, nor penalize a dog or handler for failing to do anything, that is not required by these Regulations.

SECTION 7. Standardized Judging. The same methods and standards must be used for judging and scoring dogs in the RD and RDX classes. The Judge must also standardize judging within the CC test.

SECTION 8. Interference and Double Handling.
Any Judge who is aware of any assistance, interference, or attempt to control a dog by anyone other than the handler, must act promptly to stop such double handling, and shall penalize the dog substantially, or, if in the Judge's opinion the circumstances warrant, shall give the dog a score of zero or "Fail" for the exercise during which the aid was received.

SECTION 9. Re-judging. If a dog has failed in a particular part of an exercise, it shall not ordinarily be re-judged nor given a second chance. If, in the Judge's opinion, however, the dog's performance was prejudiced by peculiar and unusual conditions, the Judge may, at his own discretion, re-judge the dog on the entire exercise.

SECTION 10. Ties and Run-offs.
In case of a tie for any prize in the RD or RDX classes, or for the Highest Scoring Dog in the Road Trial, the dogs involved in the tie shall be tested by being required to individually perform the "Hock" exercise in a straight line for 200 yards. The Mounted Judge shall judge any such run-off. The original scores shall not be changed.

SECTION 11. Official Judges' Book and Judges' Score Sheets.
The Judge(s) must enter each dog's scores on their score sheets immediately after judging each team, and before starting to judge the next team. The Judge(s) shall transfer these scores into the Official Judges' Book after they have finished judging all teams. The Mounted Judge shall also copy the official start time of each team into the Judges' Book, and shall copy the official finish time of each team from the Start/Finish Steward's sheets into the Judge's Book, and shall deduct the Mid-Point Veterinary Check time from the total time, and enter this on each team's aggregate score sheet.

No person other than one of the Judges or Veterinarian(s)/Vet Tech may make any entry in the Official Judges' Book. The Judge(s) and Veterinarian(s)/Vet Tech must enter all final scores in the Official Judges' Book. The entries and computations will then be verified by the Start/Finish Steward, and re-verified by the Judge(s) before prizes are awarded.

Judges may use separate score sheets or a tape recorder for their own purposes, but shall not give out or allow exhibitors to see such sheets or hear such recordings, nor give out any other written scores, nor permit anyone else to distribute score sheets or cards prepared by the Judge. If the Host distributes scorecards, they must contain no more information than is shown in the Judges' Book and must be marked "Unofficial Score".

SECTION 12. Announcement of Scores.
No judge shall be required to disclose any score or partial score to contestants or spectators until the public announcement of scores, nor shall he permit anyone else to do so.

After all the scores are given final verification, the Start/Finish Steward, after consulting with the Judge(s), shall announce the dogs involved in any run-off, and after the run-off(s) shall call for the dogs that have won Qualifying Scores to be brought to the awards table. The Course Judge, if provided, shall announce the scores. If no course Judge is provided, the Mounted Judge shall announce the scores. If at all possible, all Judges and Veterinarian(s)/Vet Tech shall be present during the announcement. Before awarding the prizes, the Judge shall inform the spectators as to the maximum number of points for a perfect score, and shall then announce the score of each prizewinner, and announce to the handler the score of each dog that has won a Qualifying Score.

No Judge or Veterinarian is required to explain his scoring and need not enter into any discussion with any exhibitor who appears to be dissatisfied.

SECTION 13. Explanation and Errors.
No judge or Veterinarian is required to explain his scoring, and need not enter into any discussion with any contestant who appears to be dissatisfied. At the discretion of the Judge or Veterinarian, he is encouraged to offer comment to interested handlers as to the performance of a dog. Any interested person who thinks that there may have been an arithmetical error, or an error in identifying a dog may report the facts to the Start/Finish Steward and to the Road Trial Secretary so that the matter may be checked and cleared up.

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