by Nancy Pingree Hoover

Created on: November 28, 2009

A Judges Point of View: Competing in Riding Classes at Horse Shows

Have you ever wondered what a judge is really looking for in a riding class or thought, "What in the world is going on in that judge's mind? " You might have even questioned the judge's sanity after their after placement of a class. Hopefully this article will help you a little bit to understand what is going on from a judge's perspective.

Judges

The first thing to remember is that a person is asked to judge a horse show because of his/her credentials, be they state certifications, or breed/organization licensures. In order for a show to be rated, the judge must be qualified (either certified or licensed, often by a specific organization) to judge that particular rating or the show will lose its rating. So please be assured, judges at those levels of competition do know what they are doing, even if they do not agree with you. At the local level, show managers generally look for a judge with a state certification or a state organization certification, as well as one who is recommended by other show managers. Often these judges have been active and very successful in the show ring in that state.

Secondly, the old adage "Those who can, do, those who can't, teach (or judge)" is not always true. Most horse show judges are still active somewhere in the horse field, whether it's raising and training horses or breeding, as well as teaching and judging. Even if a judge is not active in the horse field, they remain active and current in equine literature and still have to maintain their credentials or will lose their certification or license to judge.

Now that's out of the way, let's get onto what a judge looks for in the ring. For your reading ease and my ease of writing, I've divided this into specific types of classes.

Pleasure Classes

The main purpose of the pleasure class is to show that your horse is a pleasure to ride, over long distances as well as short. How do you show this? Think about when you ride. Have you ever gone on a trail ride or a long ride through fields and really enjoyed yourself? Think about why you enjoyed yourself. More than likely it was because your horse was well-behaved, listened to your cues and didn't argue with you. Your horse paid attention to where he was going and did not walk into anything or trip. He didn't spook at odd sounds, he wasn't lazy so you didn't have to fight him to keep him going, and your horse probably moved along at a comfortable pace that did not

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>