Carded – What It Takes to be a Judge

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200 – January/February, 2017

By Rachel Kooiker

How do you prepare for a horse show? You likely begin with daily training and practice combined with a lot of time planning your overall presentation: cleaning your tack, grooming your horse, picking out the perfect show ring ensemble. All things considered, it’s probably a safe bet that you spend at least five hours prepping for every five minutes you spend in the show pen. But, have you ever thought about the other side of the equitation? What exactly do judges do to get ready? They just grab a hat, blazer, pen and notebook, cup of coffee and catch a ride to the fairgrounds, right? That couldn’t be more wrong. For professional judges, you can bet that they’re planning and preparing every bit as much as you are, or maybe even more. We spoke with a couple of the industry’s best to find out what it really takes to be a professional judge in an industry that’s increasingly demanding of its officials.

The ‘It’ Factor

Terry Thompson is an industry veteran whose resume includes nearly 50 years as trainer and coach and over three decades as a judge. The Aubrey, Texas resident teaches at both the NRHA and International Equine Judge’s Academies, has judged at almost every breed’s World Championship Show, as well as the NRHA Futurity, and holds a judge’s card in eight major equestrian associations. With all of that experience and expertise, Thompson has a lot to say about what it takes to be a judge in today’s industry. “In the last 10 years or so, the ante has really been upped in terms of the demand for judges to be educated. Exhibitors, scoring systems, and improvements in breeding and training have really raised the stakes, so to speak, for judges to put a lot of time and effort into being knowledgeable and sharp when they show up to judge an event,” he says. Thompson explains that a key characteristic that plays a role in being a successful, professional judge is simply time. He explains, “You need to have the time to put into judging. You need to study rules. You need to have time to practice scoring. You need to take time out to study and improve your confidence judging events you might be weaker in.”

Personally, Thompson finds that he puts a lot of time and energy into watching videos. Modern technology has made video footage readily available, so there are ample opportunities to find video to watch and use to practice the art of judging. He describes how this is useful in the judge’s box. “When you’re judging, you have to make quick, confident decisions. If you go into a Western Riding class, for example, if you know immediately when a horse starts loping that the horse is an average mover on your scorecard, it makes it easier and more efficient to begin scoring the changes. If you’ve practiced scoring runs, it will be automatic and easier to make decisions in the moment.” As far as personal characteristics, Thompson also speaks about the role of confidence in a judge’s mindset, “I work hard to judge well. While judges need to be able to learn from mistakes, and we all make them, a good judge is confident in the cards that are turned in at the end of the class,” he says.

Click here to read the complete article
200 – January/February, 2017