The Top 25

The Top 25 Rules & Procedures

The American Bullmastiff Association Top Twenty-Five event was created in 2005 to recognize those dogs that best exemplify the Bullmastiff breed. The event encourages the exhibition of Bullmastiffs in conformation and promotes an educational experience for judges, exhibitors, breeders and fanciers. Using a scale of points, each dog is evaluated according to how closely it confirms to the AKC Bullmastiff breed standard. This event is held in conjunction with the American Bullmastiff Association National Specialty.

The event provides special recognition to those dogs with the most outstanding records, as well as the breeders, owners, and handlers. It also provides incentive to strive for a Bullmastiff that embodies excellence in structure, temperament, type and soundness. Dogs eligible for this event are the best of the breed for the year they are competing. They are selected on the basis of the number of dogs and bitches they have defeated in their Best of Breed wins. The qualifying time period runs from June 1st to May 31st each year. The statistics come direct from the American Kennel Club.

Process:

Invitations will be sent to all qualifying Bullmastiffs.
Qualifying dogs must be entered to exhibit in the event.
Previous winners of the Top 25 are allowed to enter if they are currently in the top 25 rankings. Otherwise, they are invited to enter as exhibition only.
All entrants must attend a Top 25 meeting held the day before the competition. The purpose of the meeting is to review procedures, answer questions and assign armband numbers. Armband numbers are determined by random draw by the contestants in order of ranking.
The winner of the Top 25 will be announced at the conclusion of the evening in a semi-formal event.
The evening event is semi-formal. Each dog will be introduced individually for recognition and viewing.
Spectators are provided a list of all entrants. They will vote for their personal top dog choice. The dog that has the most votes will be named People’s Choice. This award is announced at the National Specialty final awards banquet.

Judging Procedure:

Competition of the Top 25 must be held prior to Best of Breed judging.
Each dog is judged on an individual basis using the provided scale of points.
Judging is held in a private setting where only the breeders, owners and handler are allowed into the room. This private judging is held prior to the semi-formal evening event to be held the same day.
Only one dog is allowed into the ring at a time. Each dog is judged individually. The judges are not allowed to discuss the dogs while being judged.
Score sheets are gathered directly after each dog is judged and replaced with the next dogs score sheet. A committee member tabulates the score sheets and keeps the scores in confidence.
The dog with the total highest combined score will be the winner of the Top 25 competition. The winner will be kept confidential until the evening event.
In the event of a tie, judges are asked to provide a “first impression” score on their score sheets. The total of those scores are tallied and the dog with the highest combined first impression score will be the winner.
Entrants will be given a copy of their score sheets at the end of the evening. The final scores will be kept a secret unless the entrants choose to share them.

Judges:

The Top 25 committee will make the selection of the three judges for the event. Excluded from this process is any member who has any interest, past or present, whatsoever in any dog eligible to compete.

Judge categories:
a. Handler (past or present): a professional handler who with at least five years of handling experience.

b. Breeder (past or present): must be an established breeder who has been breeding for at least five years and has produced champions of record.

c. AKC Judge: must be approved to judge bullmastiffs and at least four other breeds in any group.

3.Each committee member may nominate judges to be considered in each category. The committee votes on the judges and the judges with the most votes are selected for the event.

4.The names of the judges shall remain anonymous to all until the judging of the Top 25 begins.

Catalog:

Each year a catalog is prepared exclusively for the Top 25 event. It will consist of a biography of each judge, a listing of previous winners, a biography of each entry along with a photo and pedigree, a page for the previous year’s winner and People’s Choice, and a sample score sheet.
Catalogs will be on sale one hour prior to the start of the evening event.

Rosettes: