fence judging

diggerbez

diggerbez

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ok so despite being a BE member for a few years have never actually been a fence judge :o. in order to be one do you have to do any training or can you just ring the organiser up and volunteer? :)
 
There is some training being offered in some areas in Feb but normally just volunteer and you get a briefing at the start. Its pretty straight forward and they give you nice fences to start with!
 
LEC said:
There is some training being offered in some areas in Feb but normally just volunteer and you get a briefing at the start. Its pretty straight forward and they give you nice fences to start with!
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oh damn so i won't be on the water at badders at my first go then? :p:D
thanks :)
 
The water at bads would not be so bad as pretty straightforward now. My nightmare fence is one of the complicated ones with several options and a did they or did they not present!
 
diggerbez said:
ok so despite being a BE member for a few years have never actually been a fence judge :o. in order to be one do you have to do any training or can you just ring the organiser up and volunteer? :)
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Yes usually they are pretty keen. I volunteered this year but asked to do dressage writing to learn something LOL!
 
I went on a training course and it completely put me off, with all the timing, flags, etc.
It was a few years ago, and I don't think BE run it any longer. Maybe it put everyone off!
I had done quite a lot of Pony Club and Riding Club fence judging before, so wasn't a complete novice.
Perhaps ask to go with someone experienced to start with. You have to be prepared to cope with anything. Horse or person fall, horse stuck in fence, being held up before your fence, etc. etc. I've always been under the impression that organisers are pretty keen to recruit helpers of any sort.
 
i just looked on BE website and they have organised some training days but only in the south :mad:
will just ring and offer my services then when the time comes. presume it works the same for being a stressage writer? that could potentially be more interesting as might learn more/ be less likely to have to see broken bones? :eek:
(do fence judges have to do first aid type things?)
 
No fence judges aren't permitted o do any sort of first aidness. Just contact the organiser of a local even and they'll put you in touch of whoever organises the stewards and such like.

Fence judging is fun, but the days are long! Briefing normally at 8am and sometimes you don't finish till 7pm....dressage writing means you're normally finished at a nice early time :)
 
They are very grateful for volunteers and if you go on your own they will find you a partner as you need two people per fence.

Sometimes you will need to use a radio as well as timer and flags. The hardest part I find is if someone falls off and you have to fill in a very long incident sheet - including questions such as "is the rider is under the influence of drink or drugs?" which it is very hard to tell!! and questions about if they are going too fast, too slow, riding dangerously etc so you need to have an idea about how x country course should be ridden to be able to fill in the incident forms.

You don't need to know first aid as they have paramedics on the course.

You will be supplied with packed lunch and they come round regularly to provide more food and drinks and you usually get given a bottle of wine or sometimes X country schooling vouchers. Sometimes the weather is horrible and you need to be prepared for a long day in the rain, some riders are very rude.

However on a nice day it is fun if no-one falls off and you can see a wide range of jumps and I usually go with a friend who I don't see very often and we also use it is a chance to catch up as well as doing something useful. She events and feels very strongly that all event riders should give up a day to volunteer, I don't event but I still find it interesting.
 
OldGit said:
Hi hun are you around the "Buntine" area, cos Stuart usually organises a training day
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think i'm a bit more north (i'm in lancs)...

thank god for not having to do any first aid. i am a qualified first aider but quite squeemish so wouldn't fancy dealing with an eventing type injury :eek:
 
You'd been extremely unlucky if an accident that bad happened, most of the time (in my experience) riders usually just popped out the side door and were back on again in no time. The paramedics are usually very fast to getting there anyway.
Stuart Buntine has TA'd at some events round here because I remember talking to him at Kelsall when fence judging so there might be some training days around here.
If you do go fence judging and need someone to pair up with, let me know if you like as sometimes my mum cant always do it with me :)
 
Hi no training that I know of just offer your services to local events put mine on BE Volunteers, they will welcome you with open arms and give you an easy fence or pair you up with an experienced fence judge. I do Aske Hall twice a year and thoroughly enjoy it,take the dogs,stay over and get really well looked after. If you fancy somewhere local and want a partner drop me a message will see if I can help you out :) :)
 
I have only ever BE fenced judged once and really enjoyed it. You get a briefing beforehand by the event director. Solihull is my local venue. It was good fun, I went on my own but would've been much better with a friend. Drank some tea and coffee in the morning and had to leg it to the loo double quick when there was a little gap! Go for it, its very good. What I liked about it, was that we all had radios (some didnt need to radio in) but it was very interesting to hear what the fence judges thought of the competitors - BE like to hear how a horse is going, especially with comments like 'Horse A took a flier at the angled brush' and 'Horse A had a nasty moment at the water step'. They then keep an eye on the horse all the way round to the end to ensure safety of horse and rider :)
 
You'll enjoy it, go easy on the coffee though, you can't just nip off to the loo so you'll have to be good at crossing your legs for a while.

It's all about mutli tasking as well, you need to be on the ball all the times.



My advice, take a gun, forget the whistle, anyone who gets in the way or has a loose dog ...shoot em!;)
 
Kenzo said:
My advice, take a gun, forget the whistle, anyone who gets in the way or has a loose dog ...shoot em!;)
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haha kenzo where were you when we needed you last season :p

good tips take your own food - yes most provide but watching horse after horse clear your fence if your luck/ unlucky to have a plain fence makes you rather peckish :p

take chairs - nothing worse than having to sit in a greenhouse sorry i mean car all day if its the hottest day of the year ;)

always wear sensible shoes - you never know when you might have to lead a horse or go swimming for a wig :rolleyes:

take a portable music device incase you are not given a BE radio as it can be quite boring without

Ask others what the best events to help out are :D some offer fab thankyou presents (yes i know not required but really make you :) after a long day)
For instance some give you a bottle of wine some give you 2 per person :D
 
I love fence judging - OH and I do approx 20-30 days over the season. I also do start box/time keeping at the more local events, so I FJ one day and timekeep the next :)

It's a good day out - most will start early with bacon rolls and briefing, where you'll be given your pack, flags and radio. Then it's off to your fence, you normally get a few minutes to get set up before the course is opened. Definitely take chairs, clothes for all weathers (including blankets if early/late in the season!), cold drinks, and extra food. Most events will do 2 x tea runs (some with cakes!) and a packed lunch, but on very hot or very cold days, you'll want more than that, and some of the lunches leave a lot to be desired (think sweaty, soggy, egg sandwiches...). XC control will let you know when the last horse runs, then you pack up and head back to the briefing room/marquee to hand in your pack etc. Some events offer tea/coffee/pimms at the end of the day, and some do a thank you gift.

No training needed, it'll all be explained at the briefing. I go through the BE calendar, and send emails to all the event organisers where I want to help out. They'll put you in touch with the relevant person who will probably bite your hand off. If you can take someone with you, that's always helpful. Otherwise, explain that you're on your own and they'll either pair you up with someone or give you an easy fence - usually with someone experienced next to you, or in view of control. My first time out I had experienced FJ's either side of me, and underneath the control tower, so had no worries about what to do if something went wrong.

Hope you have fun :)
 
It is easy just a case of clicking a stop watch and ticking a box! However easy fences can get very boring... We sat from 9:30-7:30 and had one stop all day which was the 3rd horse round! However last time in the CCI*** we had a wide table to an arrow head which was good!
 
diggerbez said:
hmmm..sweaty egg sarnies... my fave :D;)
thanks for all the tips :)
how far ahead do i need to volunteer? a month beforehand?
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Contact the organiser 6 weeks - 2 months beforehand, stating which job you would prefer to do.

I FJ at a few local events and steward at another. It's all done through the organiser not the BE volunteers list.
 
Yep, a couple of months in advance is how I normally do it. Are you on FB? If so, sign up to the BE Volunteers group. Lots of us regulars on there if you have any questions. They also send out details of events needing help, so that can be a good way to get started :)
 
It's good fun especially if you get a fence that has a reasonable view of some other areas of the course.

Be prepared for changes in weather, rain, sun and cold winds. I have a comfortable seat and a sun umbrella that I take when fence judging. IN really bad weather I got a car to sit in out of the rain.

Not good if you are faint hearted - some riders do ride like they are planning to kill themselves - seen some stand off so far away that I thought they would be on the way down as they went over the fence.

You might need a degree in stopwatch function as some of the modern stop watches do everything but wash the dishes. If the judges sheets are similar to what we have in NZ the instructions are written on the back of the book.
 
Rana said:
Yep, a couple of months in advance is how I normally do it. Are you on FB? If so, sign up to the BE Volunteers group. Lots of us regulars on there if you have any questions. They also send out details of events needing help, so that can be a good way to get started :)
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have done thanks for the tip Rana :)
evelyn- i suspect i've given a few FJs heart attacks over the years! :eek:
 
I've fence judged for years....we started at some BE events close to home and now go all over the country (well I say we mum has progressed to being Controller/Commentator now!) You don't need training as such and a full briefing is given on the day - if David Merritt is TA then they are hilarious and Henry Symington does a cracking comms brief! There are proper training days that you can do though. It really is an eye opener and i think that all eventers should give up at least one day to help, as without the volunteers then the events wouldnt run. Plus if you get into somewhere like Houghton Int then you get to go to the drinks parties too :-)
 
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