Well, it's been about a year...

...wow, my life was a whirlwind last year, personally, professionally and this blog just got away from me...though I'm glad I left it up, as I see by the numbers it's been visited a time or two (wink)! I'm hoping it's been helpful to several. So, what have "I" been up to, well, I put on the judges hat last year and dipped my toe into THAT water and I'll give you some insights...some, I'm sure you've heard before, some I hope, will be insightful.

JUDGING

Now I know when you're showing, the judge just seems to appear, look at you with a critical eye and then disappear at days end. What you don't know is that the judge probably has a few more hours in before you on show day. We'll start with the classes, the judge needs to take into consideration the level of the show they are judging and the level of patterns they need to provide. While you are looking at a few patterns, the judge must provide ALL of the patterns. Then the judge needs to brush up on the rules for that particular association, then of course the day of, the drive (yawn and several cups of coffee later).
I want you to really know, the judge is REALLY pulling for you, we're looking for the "POSITIVE" and not the "NEGATIVE" and trust me, when I see someone getting a great "go" and then something negative happens, I'm dissapointed FOR YOU...REALLY. Most judges I know (myself included) have BEEN THERE, DONE THAT at one point or another, whether themselves or a client, so we know about being nervous or getting that disappointing go. As I tell my clients, "that's just horse showing".
Also know, we're people, just like you and we've got a limited amount of time to "judge" you and no, we don't have eyes in the backs of our head, although don't count out our hearing, because if you're have a disaster and you don't think we necessarily know about the schooling going on behind us, well, you're mistaken.

NOW I'm going to tell you about some common SHOWMANSHIP pitfalls I've seen wearing the judge's hat:

• Be ready at that first cone, I've got lots of exhibitors to watch and judge and unless you want to be showing into the night, we really need to get this show on the road!
• Look UP and at the judge as you are approaching, trust me, you're not going to find ANY money on the ground...LOL
• YOUR NUMBER, make sure it's on YOUR BACK, this is my personal pet peeve, when I have to look at YOUR butt for your number. PUT IT ON YOUR BACK, NOT YOUR BUTT! Yes I know it's an expensive outfit, and I realize you might not want holes in it, but you should have thought about that when you purchased it. I'm not looking at all your bling, I'm looking at your performance, make MY job easier by NOT searching for your number!
• HATS, buy the best you can afford, go with less outfit, but BUY A GOOD HAT and be sure it's cleaned and creased! This tells me you're a serious competitor.
• Make sure your pant leg is long enough, it's distracting watching high waters while you run.
• Look natural as you show, your crossovers should look as though you are walking into the next room...I don't recall anyone bouncing, popping, or sidling into the next room...as well as running, be in sync with your horse, it's nice polish and presentation. I don't want to see crouching while you're running, if you're out for a jog, do you crouch? Yeah, didn't think so.
• Good sportsmanship, unhappy with your placing? Trust me, the judge has ears and is listening...instead of complaining to your friends/trainer/mom/whoever, have the ring steward ASK me what was wrong with your go...I've got notes and there might be a big blunder you overlooked.
• LOOK like you're having fun, even if you mess up, it's not the end of the world and ya know, I'm SURE there's a horse show NEXT weekend SOMEWHERE.... if you can still show with a smile on your face, I'm going to remember that the rest of the day.
• Showmanship is a GREAT way to make sure that you've got a GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION for the rest of your show day. If you make a great impression on me, I'll remember you the rest of the show day.

Hopefully this gives you a little more insight on the inner workings of judging!