To protest or not to protest?

[BB Beagles]

How many people out there have won there protest? Had a buddy tell me he'd had trailed for 15 years, only had 1 protest, and won it.

[warddog]

The sad part about a protest is that the mater of hounds is at the mercy of those that were in the cast and witnessed what had happened. I have seen several won in coon hound trials when there were others to support the protester's claims. I have also seen many, many more lost because the outcome of the protest would change the entire outcome of the cast and if the protests is one cast member against the rest, FORGET IT! If it is two and the master of hounds will normally side with those on the side of the judge. Seldom have I seen a master of hounds take the side against the judge unless the judge is outnumbered by complainants. Just as in any trial the verdict is determined by a preponderance of the evidence and minus witnesses it is one man's word against another very difficult if not impossible to overturn the ruling of the judge as they are the authority figure to begin with when they are given the title of cast judge.

[BB Beagles]

Well with having over 300 views and only 1 post, I reckon not that many has one a protest. A protest is not just something we throw around after every cast just because we didn't agree with the judges decision, but a protest is a right we have (written in the rule book) if we would like to further discuss the situation. I do understand that the master hounds man is at the discretion of the judge also.

I have protested 1 cast in my trialing career. Even though the master hounds man stated that everybody in the cast agreed with me, he still had to side with the judges call. Even though it may not have went in my favor, I along with others in my cast new it wasn't a great call. I felt and knew it would amount to anything by protesting, but I owed it to my hound, that works very hard for me each time I call on him too. I believed that was the least I could do for him. My hound does not care if he was scratched or it would be recorded down as first offense of off game, but as his owner I felt obligated to stand up for him even though I knew it would be a losing battle.

[warddog]

My only experience was when I was a member of a coon hunting club that hosted many, many UKC trials both coon and squirrel. As a licensed judge and learning to be a master of Hounds I sat in on several questioned score cards. I do not remember the host club ever overturning a judges decision BUT in UKC there are further protests and appeals that could be levied. The thing that I suppose stopped most of them from happening is the charges or fees that the protester had to pay at the time of the protest and in knowing that those making the decision had NOT been present when the problem occurred. In the situation that BB explained for being accused of running off game which could have future consequences down the road, I would have paid the fees and went further "if" and only "if" I could be assured that the other cast members would be witnesses to what happened throughout the protest. BB has the same thinking as I do in that the dog should not be jeopardized because of a mistake or misinterpretation of the situation. Evidently in his scenario that is exactly what happened when the other cast members agreed with him about the call.

[rabbitatfarm]

If there is no rule violation, there is no protest. All scoring is the judges call, whether we agree or not. I observed a hunt that I would have protested.

The judge jumped a rabbit and instructed handlers to handle their dogs. Before the dogs could be caught, two of the dogs hit the track and opened. In the meantime another handler was bringing his dog toward the judge. The rabbit skirted a small tree right in front of the late arriving dog and it opened and gave chase. Judge awarded that dog a strike and it won the hunt. The strike was the only score. Neither of the other dogs got a score. IMO, one or both of these rules were violated by the judge.

1.) "No strike or jump points shall be awarded if a rabbit jumped by a judge, handler or spectator and the hounds are called in and placed on the track."


2.) "During a time out the judge shall tell the handlers to call in their hounds and leash them, and no scoring shall take place during the time out."

If a judge calls for the handlers to handle their dog is that a time out? I would assume so. IMO, the judge should have had all the handlers leash their dogs, cut them loose and go from the first check.

[BB Beagles]

Rabbitafarm, I totally agree, if there is no rule violation, there is no protest.
I do agree, the judges call is final.
What I do not agree with, is when there is a rule violation, and a protest does happen, it is not deliberated correctly, because of personal reason. Such as judge is a buddy, they run there often, and they want to be treated fair in there next cast, or judge has been judging longer than they been MOH.