Judges - a thread for you!!

[[59851]]

What was the worst competitor you have ever had to deal with??

Many moons ago I stepped in to judge at a local show, now I know my breeds and know what I like and in a ridden class I like manners and a nice smooth way of going. At local I can forgive some conformation issues such a splints and small scars and the like. One thing I won't forgive is obesity (of the pony that is!) Anyway I had had a lovely day, given people what I hoped were some helpful tips and people seemed happy with their placings.

There was in one class - I won't mention which one - a horse that was sooo fat it wibbled into the ring, ears back, pokey nosed all the way - VERY resistant to the leg, not a happy bunny, but not lame so let them carry on. In the individual the horse refused point blank to canter on the right leg and just bucked and napped back into the line up. Rider was kicking and hauling in an attempt at an outline. I duly placed it last. The rider had a fit as they felt they should have been placed above a pony that went on the wrong leg (was corrected immediatly and rest of show simply lovely placed it 3rd out of about 8) Rider then tried ripping the other animals in the ring to bits!! I told them exactly why they were last and all I got was a mouthful and told they did county showing and medium dressage!!!!! I nearly snorted with laughter, but held it together and asked where they did their dressage as I hadn't seen them out and about and told them I competed at dressage to - They went VERY red and ambled off!!!
Sad thing is horse would actually have been very nice if it lost half the weight and the rider had sought some lessons.

 

[wits end]

I've done some pretty low level judging, we call them schooling shows - imperfect turnout can be forgiven, and it's often young horses/new combinations etc.

So I was judging a sports horse class, and asked a late entry whose horse wasn't down on my list a little about him; name, age, breeding etc... She told me the name of the stallion - at which I point I asked if she bred him herself, yes she says.

At which point I point out that she's lying about either the sire or the horses age since at that point I had owned the stallion and was only using him on my own mares!

Cue a very red face, but in way I was a little proud that she thought my old boy was worth lying about for credibility.

In the same show, the next year, I was judging jumping style and then an individual show (like your working hunters I think, but over sj fences) and had to explain why I would not score or give feedback on someone doing the class on a 2 and a half year old.

Poor thing was half buckled under the weight of its rider on account of lack of muscle and being a good 4 inches butt high.

I literally stepped into the course (far enough away to allow stopping time, I'm not a total lunatic ) and told her to stop (not knowing the age at this point, just seeing a horse in distress) at which point she jumped down and started shouting in my face

 

[Amaranta]

I once sent a woman out of the ring to put her spurs on the right way up, when she came back in she told me that her trainer had advised her to put them on upside down as the horse was lazy, on enquiring his age she said he was a 4yo he was a lovely horse but she could not ride one ear of it, it was not the horse that was the problem but the rider.

Then there was the riding horse class in which appeared a woman in full western (purple) regalia complete with cowboy hat, she could not get her horse out of walk and could not understand why she was not placed, complained about the foot perfect winner (who was HC anyway!) and stormed out the ring.

Then (oh God I am on a role ) there was the county Foreign Breeds class in which there appeared a non descript bay, led by a woman in black baggy trousers with a polo shirt on the outside, the horse was not plaited up and it's coat had probably only seen a brush that morning, it had certainly not seen a bath. Now I can usually spot a breed (even a Newfie!) from 100 paces, but this one had me stumped, so I had to ask her what it was - turns out to be a French Trotter, they had rescued it from the place we shall not name, it would not trot up and again, the woman could not understand why she was not placed. I did tell her, quite nicely as it happens, she still lodged a complaint, saying that the horse that won was lame (as if!), it wasn't and she lost her deposit!

On a more positive note, once when judging a mixed youngstock class, I put a super coloured cob down for being obese, he was a 3yo. The handler did not look best pleased, however the following year, at the same show, I was judging the novice ridden and lo and behold, there was the coloured cob, looking fit not fat, he went beautifully and I placed her first, she thanked me for my comments the year before and had obviously worked on his weight, it made my day

 

[Perissa]

I have been judging for near on 20 years have seen some sights!! Twice now I have had ponies come under me in Mountain and Moorland class's. For the life of me I could not work out what they were - 2 seperate shows years apart. So I asked, the coloured one was a NF X Shetland and the other was a Haflinger X Welsh. I tried to explain that they were in fact part breds........ but it fell on very deaf ears.

I had a woman screaming at me in the ring as I handed the rosettes out because I had placed her pony 4th "this pony has won at PUK and did a foot perfect show' I could not make my mind up if the pony was lame on both fronts or not. The ground wasn't brilliant and the pony was footy. Later I was told that the pony came down with lami a few days later..... At another show months later she came under me again. I dreaded but she ended up first. As I handed the rosettes out she once again came in the ring and apologised to me and told me that the pony had a mild attack of lami after I saw her the last time.....

Its really difficult when you are judging a particular type class and a completely wrong type come in the ring as not matter how well it goes or looks it has to be down the line. Common mistakes are people think that because they have a horse, or a pony and they ride it, it means that they are a Riding Horse and a Riding Pony.....