3rd in a one horse race!

This pic shows my 3rd prize winning entry at a show a few years back. Nothing unusual in that perhaps except it was the only entry in the class ! How can this be so you may wonder?

Well, on this occasion the judge decided that my entry wasn't up to the standard he would have expected to find had the class been better supported. He considered that under normal circumstances I might only have merited a 3rd place and judged accordingly.

This is a contentious issue as some people think it's not fair on newcomers to the show scene who may be put off from entering in the future due to the perceived humiliation of such a decision. Luckily, I was happy with the decision as the celery wasn't in brilliant condition and had a spot of celery heart rot. As a reasonably experienced exhibitor I was half prepared and would even have accepted disqualification.

Just because you may be the only entry in a class don't expect to automatically come back to a 'red card'.