Author with good friend Mario P. Magsaysay over a bowl of Ramen.

This has been in the backburner for quite sometime. Going back to what I have researched and started, I realized that I started this for almost a decade ago, and between the moment I started it, to now as my fingers glide and punch the keys, I have accumulated more dots to connect and figure out. This will be just my second article about someone, the first being Rafael De Santiago. So who is this guy?

He got his first dog at the age of 19, it was suppose to be a “Police Dog.” His first purebred was at age 24, and this would be the same year he became a member of the Philippine Canine Club Inc. He is a charter member of the German Shepherd Dog Association of the Philippines. He worked with the other German Shepherd Dog Club and with the GSDA would form the German Shepherd Dog Federation of the Philippines. I was privileged enough to work in the same board when he was President of PCCI. It was during his watch that computerization was finally implemented and a significant increase in annual income would be generated. It was also during Mario’s watch wherein a decision was made to implement the Jimmy Trillo vision of the club and start finding a suitable property to serve as show grounds.

Mario Magsaysay comes from the renowned Magsaysay clan, he is related to a past President of the country, to past Senators, Congressmen, Governor, Vice-Governor, Mayor, Vice-Mayor and even Council Men, yup the whole gamut of the political hierarchy, if the name is Magsaysay, they could very well be family to Mario and Mario to all of them. My connection to the Magsaysays includes his niece Zambales Vice-Governor Angel Magsaysay Cheng. His cousin Jojo Magsaysay is a good friend of mine who lives across Mario’s crib. Jose “Joe/Jojo” Magsaysay, of Cinco Corporation (of the popular Potato Corner) and now a venture capitalist, is a cousin of Mario.

Time spent with him has revealed much of who he is. He comes from the renowned and respected Magsaysay clan. He is a gear head and appreciates well made and well engineered automobiles. He has a need for speed having owned a Mitsubishi Eclipse which he quickly sold because he found it soft on the twisties. He would then own a Subaru Imprezza of which I’ve seen him leave behind some racer kids on JDMs. He is a motorcyclist too, having owned Harley Davidson and finally falling in love with BMW. Automobiles and Motorcycles are a regular topic for us. He agrees with my owning and love for Vespas but ribs me for my love and ownership of a Honda and a Ducati, after all he is a BMW man. He appreciates good food, he cooks a mean Kaldereta, advising that the secret is in good beef and good Chorizo, with just the right amount of spice. He can also whip a delectable Putanesca, advising to use fresh tomatoes, slow cook the sauce and not to forget the capers. He decided to take up Yoga in 2000, around the same time I did, which he picked up during his judging assignments in India. He has shifted to Thai meditation which he finds very peaceful and has offered to mentor me on. His austere and simple ways quickly earned him the family company position of Treasurer early in his corporate life, of which now he is President.

He was part of the generation of Shepherd men during its golden years, when the Martin brothers reigned. Family business and his enthusiasm for the breed saw him travelling to Germany often. He initially had no plans of acquiring an SV license to judge, but being the practical man that he is, and with him travelling to and fro at a regular basis, Mario would eventually decide to acquire the coveted SV license. His first exam would be under non other than Dr. Ernst Beck. He would be mentored by both the Martin brothers who would eventually become personal friends to him. Mario described Walter as the maverick of the two bros. He was spending time with them since the seventies, broke bread with them and shared a laugh or two. So why not get an SV license?


I with the late Herman Martin and her daughter Iris at their Kennel in Virhiem, Germany during the mid 70’s. Herman Martin, President of SV Germany and owner of the Arminius Kennel.

He went through a wringer of a procedure to acquire his Auslander License. One time over dinner, I asked him about the process and procedure at the time when he got his SV license. We talked about it but not in story telling order but of memories that brought a smile to Mario. I had a difficult time taking notes so I ended up telling Mario, “find some time, sit down, and remember, compose your thoughts, write it down then email it to me.” I received this email 8 years ago, during the Christmas Holidays.

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12/10/2009 at 3:24PM

Hi Jojo,

This is what I remember of what I went through in my journey to become an SV judge.

1. I wrote Verein Fur Deutsched Schaferhunde (SV) Germany informing them of my intention to become an SV judge. I submitted my curriculum vitae that was duly notarized. One of the prerequisites is that you should also be an experienced GSD specialty judge in your country of which I already was.

2. Once approved by their board, my letter of intent was forwarded to the SV Judging committee. The committee assigned me to a judge who is also a member of the judging committee, this judge who will be judging 6 months after my application is approved.

3. I then travelled to Germany. At the show, I presented the appropriate documents to the judge, in my case I was assigned to the esteemed judge Dr. Ernst Beck. I had to critique all the GSD together with the judge. I had to rate each dog as excellent plus, excellent, excellent minus, very good, good, sufficient and faulty. The judge queried me as to my ratings, on why I gave this rating or why not a different rating. Part of the oral exam included bloodlines to test me on how well I knew GSDs.

4. I submitted my ratings to the judge after we finished our critiques. I brought my critiques back home to Manila to format it properly, to type it guided by the SV format, after which I mailed back to Germany. This was evaluated by the committee together with the examiner judge. What’s very important is the ratings you give the judge after your critique.

5. After 3 months I received a letter from the judge informing me on how I faired at the exam and on the areas of improvement. I was also informed that I passed the exam and the schedule of my next exam six months later. I would then return to Germany to go through the same procedure.

Note: After I passed three examinations I qualified as an Ausland Richter or Foreign judge allowing me to judge Landesgruppen specialty shows world wide but not in Germany. In 1985 I was given my Ausland Richter license signed by Hermann Martin.

Six more exams would qualify me to be a full SV Richter, a German judge that will qualify me to judge world wide including Germany. I decided to take these 6 exams, and three years later, come 1988, I would be awarded my SV Richter license, also signed by Hermann Martin.

I was asked why I wanted to get an SV Richter license when the chance of being invited to judge in Germany is low. I just smiled and answered “why not?” To me it was a challenge and opportunity to show that Filipinos can. I would eventually get my All-Breed License. You and I were together in getting our FCI All-Breed license, you took more time because you had to concentrate on becoming a Surgeon and starting a practice.

Sometimes I wonder how many are qualified both as an SV judge and an FCI All-Breed judge? That my friend is the humble story of my journey in acquiring the coveted SV license.

Always be well my friend, regards to Cidette and a Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Mario
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1985 SV Auslander, 1988 SV Richter ID Cards of Mario signed by Hermann Martin

Receiving a Certificate of Appreciation and an SV Pin for 25 years of service as an SV judge in 2012, in Ulm Germany at the WUSV Meeting, from WUSV President Wolfgang Henke

Photo of 1984-85 World Sieger Uran Wildstiegerland SchhIII taken by Mario

VA Quando Arminius photo taken by Mario

I asked Mario his opinion about the present problem of the GSD as to its sloping back and weak rears. He quickly answered that “the standard is clear, both upper and lower legs should be the same length and hocks being vertically straight. The problem now is the longer lower leg that brings about the sloping back, because of the long lower leg, the rear becomes weak, the back slopes and the hocks can’t stand straight.” I also asked his opinion if the Martins are to blame for this problem. According to Mario, the Martins made a conscious effort NOT to put up weak rears and taught him to watch out for this. Mario took me under his wings when I was working on my all-breed license. For three consecutive years, he told me to attend the annual Philippine Sieger Show. During those three years, Mario would invite me to the tent at the center of the ring and teach me GSD judging shop. For three years, I learned what to look for, what to watch out for, how to make a critique from Mario.

I think that email sums up his judging license journey. Sometime ago, early in our judging careers, while both us were in the board, Mario sat beside me and talked about a judging bind that he figured in. I told him “Mario there is a German saying-Fehler machen uns schlau and Ein fehler ist kein fehler, Mistakes make us smart and One mistake is no mistake.” At the end of the meeting, on our way out of the conference room, Mario would put his arm around me and say to me-“You’re right Doc.” That evening would be the start of a friendship a notch above ordinary.

Let me add, the few people in the Philippine Canine Club who has my high regard and admiration aside from Mario; the late Ralph Policarpio and Jimmy Trillo, Bobby Tesoro, Pepe Muñoz, are all past presidents I’ve worked with as directors and whom I have served under, all honest, above reproach, character without a doubt. Directors Carlo Mendez, Richard Syling, Capt.Lito and Maripi Cristobal, directors I’ve worked with and just like the past presidents I mentioned, their honesty are all beyond reproach. Some may not have left a lasting legacy but definitely left a reputation of character beyond reproach. They did not over stay in the board, have no dark clouds over their heads nor have they ever been “voted out” at any one point, what they had was for the best interest of the club and nothing for themselves. In life it is about character, character, character.

Some will wonder why write about an ordinary Filipino FCI Judge. In 2016, I chaired the FCI Show and Judges Commission Meeting held in Cebu, at one point in the discussion, the issuance of Asian licenses was alluded to as being easy and quick. This is very unfortunate and unfair to us journey man Asian Judges because we all get generalized. Does it actually happen, rumors are always rife on who these “fast tracked” judges are, club officers, club friends. Judges who got their All-Breed licenses, all 10 groups in less than 10 years and often much shorter. The worse part of it all is they get invited almost every where because of club politics. This is why I’m writing about Mario, I know he didn’t fast track his All-Breed license but most of all he owns the illustrious SV license, something few and far between among the judges in the FCI roster. A feather was added to his judging cap when in 2012, in Ulm Germany, at the WUSV Meeting, he was awarded by WUSV President Wolfgang Henke, an SV pin, a certificate of appreciation for being a senior SV judge and for service as an SV judge for 25 years.

I’m sure there are haters out there quick to hate and say things otherwise. But when I’m with the man, I rarely hear anything boastful, nothing ostentatious about and on his person, nor any gossiping or putting down of anyone, it’s always a fun time wether it is over a meal, or waiting for our flight, or during a break in a meeting, or a break during a judging assignment. He is the quiet guy in a judging panel, with a ready smile. I never receive a message from him bragging about a judging assignment or how many entries he had, or who he put up. In fact during the times I was with Mario, doing research, talking about this article I planned to write, Mario would always say-“Please make it simple” or “I’m not a Saint, I’ve made mistakes” he would pause then add “but I know I learned from them,” “I do my best to be good.”

He is the company I keep, so when I get a message from him of “let’s have lunch!” I’m always quick to say “sure!”

Merry Christmas to one and all!