Marans and APA Recognition

[amazondoc]

Dave Anderson, president of the APA, has given permission for us to reprint this brief letter he wrote today:

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There was a very nice turnout of birds and exhibitors for the Black Copper Marans qualifying meet in Belvidere, Illinois. I believe there were 82 birds shown by 14 exhibitors. I had the honor of judging and the APA Standard Revision committee accompanied me. Once the judging was complete, we caucused and agreed upon a recommendation to the APA Board of Directors which they accepted. The recommendation was to neither accept nor reject the breed/variety but to suggest that they conduct another qualifying meet sometime in 2010. The birds were right on the borderline of being accepted and the committee and I felt that if the next generation were equal to or better than the young birds shown at Belvidere there would be no problem accepting them. No reapplication is necessary as the current application is still valid.

As an individual and APA President, my interest and goal is to see that the Marans, and any other legitimate breed, are accepted into the APA Standard as I believe it will result in a win-win situation for both the APA and the breed and will provide a boost to the exhibition industry in general. Having said that, I also want to make sure that their acceptance is done correctly and only when they reflect the quality necessary to warrant their inclusion in the Standard. I was impressed with the young birds shown at Belvidere and with the enthusiasm and sincerity of the exhibitors and I am confident that Marans will be a valuable addition to our Standard and our showrooms.

Dave A

 

[Pathfinders]

Dave is such a good guy. What a nice letter.

 

[jtownchickens]

From looking at the video that Brenda took from the show I have a hard time with the statement that they "were right on the borderline of being accepted." The quality of the birds shown in the video are very lacking.
Look for yourself,

http://maransofamericaclub.com/illini_show_09_114.html

And here is the proposed standard by the MCC
http://www.maransusa.org/varieties/brownredstandard.html

The 2 don't match at all.

Since the APA didn't approve nor reject etc etc (very polictly correct of them) the ball is in the MCC's court to put up at the next show. It will be very interesting to see what happens next time.

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
It is actually very difficult to see any details in those videos -- but it is very easy to *imagine* things in the videos. Since Mr. Anderson is not only the APA president but was also the actual judge judging the birds there at the show, I am inclined to believe what he says.

 

[jtownchickens]

I beg to differ on that, white feathers and white earlobes are very easy to see. If I knew how to stop the video and get a still photo I would post them. Since Brenda has the original and the software hopefully she will. Lets let other people view the video and give their views.

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
Brenda didn't take those videos, she just posted them......and it's okay if you beg to differ. I'll trust the president of the APA over an out-of-focus grainy video any day.

 

[jtownchickens]

I'm so glad I have your approval to differ, thank you so much, you are very kind.

I'll still take a hard hard look at the pictures and take the comments from the APA that they need work.

Having said that, I also want to make sure that their acceptance is done correctly and only when they reflect the quality necessary to warrant their inclusion in the Standard.

Key words there - reflect the quality necessary.

If they had that already they would have been accepted at the show now wouldn't they?​

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
More key words: "I felt that if the next generation were equal to or better than the young birds shown at Belvidere there would be no problem accepting them."

Of course we would be happier if the BCs had been accepted at the first qualifying meet. But, as others have pointed out, it is not all that uncommon for a breed or variety to be rejected at the first meet. And given that many of the folks who are interested in actually doing the work that's involved in getting APA recognition are rather new to showing, it's no surprise that some folks didn't understand everything they needed to about grooming, conditioning, and selecting birds to take to the show.

So we've got more to learn. Folks who are interested in working WITH us will help us to learn and do better next time.

 

[jtownchickens]

I guess the next show will tell for sure.

it is not all that uncommon for a breed or variety to be rejected at the first meet

I thought they were defered not rejected? learn something new every day.

People will work WITH a group that presents a group of birds that reflect the proposed APA standard and will breed true to that. To date that hasn't been shown or they would be in the APA. Once again to anybody that has questions view the video and see what you see. Comments are very welcome. Other than that doc there is no need to continue this as your views and mine mean nothing, the birds at the last show were of very poor quality and everybody knows it, the video shows it and the lack of pics on the MCC website also shows there was nothing to brag about.

The next show will tell​

 

[amazondoc]

Quote:
I thought they were defered not rejected? learn something new every day.

Please don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say BCs were rejected. I said it is not uncommon for birds to be rejected.

Some folks want to work towards recognition. Other folks just want to sit back and criticize. We'll keep on working, and of course you are free to go right on criticizing.