Judges riding. Does it ever go wrong?

[Jenko109]

I don't have any involvement with showing, but you know those classes where the judge rides each horse? Does it ever go wrong?

Do judges refuse to ride some?

Does the owner have a degree of liability if their horse decks the judge?

Have you ever seen any sinister happen?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I've seen a few hairy moments my own 2 have done a few embarrassing things, Arabi got quite jolly in canter once and the judge didn't attempt it on the other rein and just came back and got off tbf she did say he didn't look at all like that in the go round so I think she was shocked he did it.

Louis did a massive spook in an indoor show once someone stood up as he came past it lost us first place the judge did say to me she thought it might have been done intentionally !

I've seen a few judges refuse to ride some but I find if a horse is being that naughty they are asked to leave the ring before the judge rides.

 

[rabatsa]

I have seen a judge decked in the main arena at my local county show.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I have stewarded in plenty of these classes. If some of the horses look too fresh we just keep them trotting and cantering on th go round for an age and a day

The judge can refuse to ride any they don't want to. The Competitor can decline the ride judge (I've done it).

It might have been thr Royal Welsh? Where the Hunter ride judge got decked and broke both her wrists in the fall.

Judges and shows have their own insurance but it is highly recommended that the competitors have their own too.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Yes, I've seen ride judges refuse to ride the odd one, but as pvb says, usually the occasional loon gets asked to leave either in the go round or once the pulling in has been done.

Yes, there have been the odd rare incident, usually uncharacteristic as at the level where there are ride judges, usually everything is pretty settled.
The worst I recall was the ride judge at the Dublin show getting decked. Sued for damages as I recall.

The oddest I've seen was at a local farners show where the judge decided to ride the riding horse class, no mention in the schedule tho.
As she asked the 1st rider in top to dismount as she was going to ride. The rider refused, so did the rest of the class..... judge was a pretty hefty person and wearing unsuitable attire.
Stalemate.
Show secretary called to mediate, huge embarrassment. Class given 15 min delay and asked to leave the ring. Substitute judge roped in, non riding, class happily judged!

Edit, found the link https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/sho...dublin-horse-show-settles-out-of-court-310837

 

[sbloom]

I get rather sad that choice of saddle has to be compromised in many cases.for this. Even at a fundamental rider fit level a to large saddle for the day to day rider is never a good idea (use a fluffy numnah if it looks silly on the horse) and sometimes compromises the horse directly. The better the saddle supports the regular rider the better, yet obviously owners/riders are mindful.of bigger judges. Not ideal.

Sorry, slightly OT but we don't get onto showing judges riding very often!

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I get rather sad that choice of saddle has to be compromised in many cases.for this. Even at a fundamental rider fit level a to large saddle for the day to day rider is never a good idea (use a fluffy numnah if it looks silly on the horse) and sometimes compromises the horse directly. The better the saddle supports the regular rider the better, yet obviously owners/riders are mindful.of bigger judges. Not ideal.

Sorry, slightly OT but we don't get onto showing judges riding very often!

Usually most who compete in classes where there are ride judges have good every day saddles as well as the show saddle (as do most who do ridden classes at national level, I still do so). Having watched a good number of horse classes this year, I haven't seen many, if any, saddles that are over large

 

[sbloom]

Usually most who compete in classes where there are ride judges have good every day saddles as well as the show saddle (as do most who do ridden classes at national level, I still do so). Having watched a good number of horse classes this year, I haven't seen many, if any, saddles that are over large

I've had plenty of customers ask for saddles that are too large for the rider in order to accommodate a judge.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

The only one I've seen go 'wrong' was where the horse was presented very well, but you could see he'd lost some of his energy on day 2 after doing 2 or 3 in hand classes on day 1. It was a hot summer show and he hadn't slept well away from home.

His rider was very clever and let him have little breathers as they went around a very large ring, cut corners etc.

When the ride judge got on he just decided to ignore her. She did her best to get a ride from him but she was doing pony club kicks etc. She popped back by the owner, had a quick chat and then (I'm assuming with permission) gave him a smack with a whip, got her leg on and managed to squeeze about 4 strides of canter from him. She called it a day to a huge round of applause from the audience who appreciated her doing her best to fairly judge a horse who just didn't want to play today.

 

[Esmae]

Judge refused to ride my Arab years ago. I was livid. I have no idea why. He was a lovely ride. Bright yes but so were all the others. Fumed for weeks.

 

[MissTyc]

I've seen them refuse to get on a barefoot horse on grass, locally, but I think at higher level they have to be shod all round? (or maybe I'm making that up!)

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Judge refused to ride my Arab years ago. I was livid. I have no idea why. He was a lovely ride. Bright yes but so were all the others. Fumed for weeks.

I've had a judge that couldn't get my Arab to canter she looked absolutely livid and told me I need to school him more

I never had any problem but he has never been keen on strange riders he goes into shut down mode, so I tried to avoid judge ride classes as after they rode I tended to get moved down the line as he never went well for some judges.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

My horse did a, thankfully little, buck with the ride judge at the Sunshine Tour the one year we went. I was mortified, but also had no idea going into the class that judges were going to ride, so vastly unprepared.
My aunt had to beg and borrow a spare brush as we didn't have time to run back to the lorry, and come in the ring in her 'civvies'

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I've seen them refuse to get on a barefoot horse on grass, locally, but I think at higher level they have to be shod all round? (or maybe I'm making that up!)

I think most of the showing societies allow barefoot I know Arab's can and my friends had top level show ponies that were shown barefoot.

Maybe hunters and bigger horses it's different I'm not sure either

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Yes, I've seen ride judges refuse to ride the odd one, but as pvb says, usually the occasional loon gets asked to leave either in the go round or once the pulling in has been done.

Yes, there have been the odd rare incident, usually uncharacteristic as at the level where there are ride judges, usually everything is pretty settled.
The worst I recall was the ride judge at the Dublin show getting decked. Sued for damages as I recall.

The oddest I've seen was at a local farners show where the judge decided to ride the riding horse class, no mention in the schedule tho.
As she asked the 1st rider in top to dismount as she was going to ride. The rider refused, so did the rest of the class..... judge was a pretty hefty person and wearing unsuitable attire.
Stalemate.
Show secretary called to mediate, huge embarrassment. Class given 15 min delay and asked to leave the ring. Substitute judge roped in, non riding, class happily judged!

Edit, found the link https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/sho...dublin-horse-show-settles-out-of-court-310837

Perhaps she had had a few too many wines with her lunch and fancied a bit of a ride how bizarre

 

[gallopingby]

Twenty or more years ago it was standard practice for most horses to be ridden by the judge. In some classes there was and still can be a ride judge working with the conformation judge. Horses tended to be schooled differently and judges were often invited because of their expertise not because they had the time and / or money to jump through the hoops of judging panels. Judges tended to ‘have a go’ at getting a tune out of a horse but they are not there to school. A badly behaved horse should be asked to leave the ring and an experienced competitor will ask to leave if things are going badly wrong. It’s up to the judge via the steward to give permission. With the increase in litigation there is more concern re the safety of judges/stewards/exhibitors and robust risk assessments will be in place to ensure insurance requirements are met,

 

[Tiddlypom]

When I groomed for a friend in the lw cobs at a county show, the ride judge had clearly already been enjoying the hospitality, and was absolutely ratarsed.

How there was an incident I don't know, some poor steward was tasked with giving him leg ups and he crash landed onto every saddle.

The cob pulled in top of the line then decked its own rider in front of the judge, who told the rider to remount so that they could accept the winners rosette.

 

[spacefaer]

In a County level Ridden Hunter class, the ride judge refused to get on the horse in the line up next to me when it tried to cow kick her as she was getting a leg up. Horse was asked to leave the ring.

I took a young mare in a Novice Ridden Hunter class - ride judge kicked her hard into canter - she was not a mare to kick, ever, and my heart was in my mouth until he pulled her up (she had a spectacular buck/launch combination when offended )

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I've seen them refuse to get on a barefoot horse on grass, locally, but I think at higher level they have to be shod all round? (or maybe I'm making that up!)

One set of Hunters have to be shod all round (might be the Royal International qualifying bunch). Horse workers have to be shod all round for HOYS qualifiers. RoR insist on fully shod for all of their ridden classes. Not one other society or show insists on horses wearing a single shoe.

What makes me laugh with the racehorse one is you can do the HOYS class without a single shoe as it's under SEIB rules not RoR rules.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

The only time I refused a ride judge was Jeff's second show on grass. He was being a bit excitable (just jig jogging about with his head like a giraffe) so I decided discretion was the better part of valour. I said to the steward that I would politely decline the ride judge as it wasn't in my horses best interests but asked if I could do a show myself and finish the class for educational purposes. He said not a problem, asked if he was a racehorse and I said yes so he asked his name etc and said he remembered watching him at Perth. So we finished the class HC. The ride judge came down the line to speak to me to say she couldn't have judged him anyway as she used to be his work rider when he was a racehorse. I replied with "oh? That must have been when he was at Hen's as I had ridden him for the previous 5 years in racing and don't ever recall seeing you in the yard." She went beetroot and scuttled off. I don't know why she said that or felt she needed an excuse to rightfully put me at the very bottom of the line as I had made my own bed for that one. But hey ho! Nowt as queen as folk sometimes!

 

[myheartinahoofbeat]

The man who house sits for us used to be a ride judge but doesn't anymore since he got on one that went over backwards with him on it. So yes, it does go wrong.

 

[sky1000]

A few years ago in a side-saddle class I saw the ride judge bucked off. She was helped up, given a glass of water, and took a few minutes before she was up on the next one. The offender was led out.

 

[AdorableAlice]

Judge injured at Dublin Horse Show settles out of court - Horse & Hound

A ride judge who sued for damages after he was bucked off in the ring at the Dublin Horse Show has settled out of court

www.horseandhound.co.uk

If you produce horses to show that a judge is to ride, it is your responsibility to put manners into that horse and have it fit for purpose. It is not the judge's job to educate a horse.

 

[wren123]

Last time I was at Windsor a few years ago, the judge got them going much better than the person showing them did. I was shocked how badly some of them went, throwing their heads all over the place.
Edited to add this was the ridden Arabs.

 

[Blanche]

I have never seen a ride judge refuse to ride but I have seen some have a few hairy rides, though no falls. I was a ride judge way back in the eighties, I was rather put on the spot when asked to do it and didn’t feel able to refuse. I can’t ride one side of a dining room chair and was so embarrassed while riding. I apologise to anyone whose pony I rode that day ( large mixed mountain and moorland). Anyway one I rode was a top Connemara ( I can’t remember the name, I hadn’t worked with Connie’s at that point but wish I could as it was a stallion) and he went very nicely for me, very easy and quiet. When I took him back to the rider she said she was expecting him to deck me as she was the only person who he never tried to deck. I really have no idea why they thought entering a class with a ride judge was a good idea.

 

[conniegirl]

I was a ride judge up until covid, ive refused to ride two and ive had a few hairy rides.

Generally by the time you have a ride judge you are at a level where a good level of schooling is assumed.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Many years ago a friend's cob called Turbo , appropriately was ridden by a judge who took the corner too fast, Turbo slipped and fell. He fractured his stifle in that and was never quite the same again.

 

[Cortez]

I've never refused to ride, but I have handed a few back rather early. I even got on the horse that decked his (terrible) rider 3 times on the go-round. I was once complimented when handing a horse back with "Gosh, you're the first judge that's stayed on him" - nice horse it was too, just completely unschooled. I've also been cheered up greatly with "He's only been broken a week", just as my arse settled into the saddle.

I have seen it go wrong too; a sidesaddle judge carted round and round and round the (large) arena at great speed. She is a friend of mine and maintained admirable composure, managing to look very elegant throughout. I was also there when the ride judge mentioned above got dumped (twice) at Dublin; I wouldn't wish harm on anyone, but he wasn't a very good rider, very rough and heavy handed, and why he got back on the second time I have no idea.

 

[conniegirl]

I've never refused to ride, but I have handed a few back rather early. I even got on the horse that decked his (terrible) rider 3 times on the go-round. I was once complimented when handing a horse back with "Gosh, you're the first judge that's stayed on him" - nice horse it was too, just completely unschooled. I've also been cheered up greatly with "He's only been broken a week", just as my arse settled into the saddle.

I have seen it go wrong too; a sidesaddle judge carted at great speed round and round and round the (large) arena at great speed. She is a friend of mine and maintained admirable composure, managing to look very elegant throughout. I was also there when the ride judge mentioned above got dumped (twice) at Dublin; I wouldn't wish harm on anyone, but he wasn't a very good rider, very rough and heavy handed, and why he got back on the second time I have no idea.

I will say that one of the ones i refused to ride was one i had seen repeatedly rearing and going over with its rider in the warm up. (conveniently placed next to the ring), on the go round its front was getting rather light and it napped (front end bunny hopped) going into the line up. I definitely was not getting on that at all.

 

[Cowpony]

We have a big show at our yard and there's always a hunter class with a ride judge. One year a horse got the ride judge off, she landed on her lower back and came to sit in the stewards and judges tent. We were all fussing around her but she said she was fine, just sore. Turned out she'd broken her back.

Worst part was that after the horse had decked the judge the owner said oh yes, he did that sometimes....We were furious that she hadn't felt the need to say anything to the poor judge!