Any Driving Judges Here?

[Aristocratic Minis]

Just wondering if any driving judges are on line.

Wondering when you are judging a class like Single Pleasure or Country Pleasure, what are your pet peeves while watching.

Also wondering what flashes of brilliance you look for or what you look for on eye catching performances.

I know what the rule book says, but I'm just wondering what catches your eye and what things really put you off when judge.

 

[RhineStone]

This is a good topic!

I am not a driving judge yet. (I would like to be and ADS judge and TD, but my friends say I have to grow thicker skin first, so that I can brush off crabby comments.

) However, I am a 4-H judge and my biggest hint that I tell my students is that they have the first 20 ft. to impress the judge. At that point, I have decided whether or not he/she has "fit the picture". If they are fussing with something, the horse is balking or moving poorly, etc., I have already made up my mind that they are not prepared, and they spend the rest of the class trying to prove me wrong. I have changed my mind when the horse that looked great before screwed up somewhere in the class, so you also have to show to the end. Also, don't "let down" in the lineup. You are still being judged, even if the placings are in (besides, someone may get a good photo of you then!). And ALWAYS have good manners with the judge, even if you don't agree.

 

[starkadator]

My husband holds judges cards for Paints, Appalooss, Pintos, AMHA, NRHA, etc. I read your post to him and asked him how he would respond. He said he does not like to see a horse being shown who is "not broke". I think by that he meant horses that are being shown when they are not trained well enough to be in the show pen yet. The "flashes of brilliance" to him is a well-trained horse who is a good mover. In previous conversations he has told me that he judges a horse from back to front and from bottom to top, meaning he first looks at how a horse uses its hocks. He then looks at how it moves its front legs, and lastly he looks at headset. In all these years of judging he has only come home from a horse show a couple of times and commented on an outfit an exhibitor was wearing. One was at an Appaloosa show where one lady had on a particularly striking yellow and black outfit. The other time he commented on how expensive the showmanship outfits must be. He also told me a long time ago that he makes up his mind after looking at a horse for about 3 seconds. (That's probably the 20 feet that RhineStone was talking about.)

 

[Aristocratic Minis]

Thank you for your responses.

That very first impression in the seconds you enter the ring must be very important.

I am looking forward to hearing other comments on this topic if people are willing to share.

Thank you.