Throwback Thursday: Show Results Via the Old Rope and Pulley

By: Brittany Bevis

Nowadays, ring stewards and show staff are outfitted with so many techie gadgets they often resemble members of a Horse Show Secret Service. Radios, two-way surveillance headsets with microphones, PDAs like Palm Pilots, and even iPads are commonplace in the show pen in this day and age. However, there was a time when a radio was a luxury and a hand signal was the only method of communication between the ring crew and the announcer’s stand.

Considering the timing of today’s Throwback Thursday, just a few short weeks before the All American Quarter Horse Congress in October, we decided to take a look at how technology has changed at the largest single-breed horse show in the world. For the answers to our questions, we sought the expertise of current Show Manager Bob Geesaman, who has been serving at the show for the past 43 years.

“When I started, we didn’t even have a radio,” Geesaman says. “We used hand signals in the middle of the ring. We used one [finger], two [fingers], and three [fingers] for walk, trot, and lope.”

“We sent all the results up on a rope. That’s the only way we did it. In the Coliseum, they have a spring that they drop down from the announcer’s stand. It has a clip on it, and we send the results up on that. We still use that in the Coliseum for the final judges’ cards. We put them on and send them up, so we still have a hard copy to double check.”

Of course, at major events like the Congress and World Shows, results are transmitted to the announcer’s stand as quickly as they can be typed into a handheld PDA. Still, breed associations like AQHA require the collection of final judges’ cards for verification purposes. According to Congress Executive Director Dr. Scott Myers, the old-fashioned rope and pulley system is perfect for fulfilling the hard copy requirement.

Still, it’s interesting to reflect on the fact that at some of the most prestigious classes of the show season, such as The Equine Chronicle Masters, the judges’ decision can be seen dangling on a rope just a few feet above a crowd of hundreds in the Celeste Arena anxiously awaiting the results.

Of course, technological advances have made the entire process easier, more efficient, and help to speed up the horse show, a very important benefit when you consider that some Congress classes will have entries reaching into the triple digits. Another change Geesaman has seen over the past 43 years at the Congress is the addition of more show staff.

“When I started, we had four ring stewards,” he says. “Now, there are probably 14 ring stewards and three drivers. The drivers haul the judges back and forth to the hotel and take them to different arenas. If they want to go shopping, the drivers take them to Congress Hall. We don’t allow our judges to go anywhere unsupervised.”

“This is my second or third year as Show Manager, and for 15 years before that I was an assistant show manager. Before that, I was a ring steward and before that I helped set up the lectures and demonstrations. I started out in the Press Room.”

When you pull into the Congress this October, take a moment to recognize those individuals who work so hard behind the scenes to make the event a success year after year. People like Show Secretary Rhonda Harter, Accountant Barb Benedum, and Entry Office Coordinator Mindy Westlake, in addition to the many ring stewards and arena crew might not be among the group you thank during your post-win interview. However, they played a big part in making your dream become a reality.

If you liked this article, check out a fun piece in the 2010 September/October edition of The Equine Chronicle titled, The Unique Logistics of the Congress.