Would you show a horse you knew misbehaved?

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zoeshiloh

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After reading all the bad press in H&H over the last year about people taking under produced/schooled horses into the rings, and then judges having falls/accidents, I have been shocked at the level of education I have seen in the ring so far this year! I would not dream of taking my horse out if I thought it would misbehave with the judge! I know sometimes things happen that cause a horse to spook etc, but taking the same horse out over and over, that you know misbehaves is surely bad etiquette... Can't there be some sort of report system in place, whereby repeated bad behaviour means the horse cannot compete again unless he/she passes a ridden assessment?? Surely that would be safer for our poor judges??

I have seen the same professional two weeks in a row present a horse that reared, napped and frankly became quite dangerous with the judge. On both occasions he seemed to make out he had "never behaved like that before" - had I not seen it with my own eyes at both shows (6 days apart) i might have believed him. This is a highly regarded professional, whose other horse entered went on to win the class and take champion! Surely the pro's should know better than to endanger the judge?? What do other people think?
 
Nope - I would be mortified if Arion acted up with a judge. We will be entering our first showing classes this year. I never did them with my last horse as he was prone to bucking and doing what he wanted and I wasnt going to risk not only a judge being injured, but the sheer red face that would arise from any incidents.
 
well being a total showing newbie - i felt a bit ashamed when my horse bucked with the ride judge at our first ever show - luckily she came back with a big grin saying she loved her and such a shame as obviously she could not place her - i thought she MAY buck with her but she's not bucked with my RI for ages so it was not a definite - and her bucks are not at all violent and aesily sitable ;)

the following week i checked before hand if the ride judge would mind a buck - i was assured no - and i went into ring planning to retire if i felt horse was up to high does lol! but she went beautifully for her - no buck in sight... :D

BUT - saying that - if shes'd done any of the things you mentioned in OP then i'd have retired with my head hung low... i suppose pros may get away with more?! but i do feel that from your descrition horse should have been marked down surely?!? but as i say - i'm a newbe to showing so not sure when manners count and when they don't!
 
Depends. If the horse misbehaves consistently at home then no, more work needs to be done. But if the problems only appear at shows, then you have to go to shows to try and fix it.

I would, however, restrict myself to classes where the judge wouldn't ride, until the bad behaviour stopped. There's enough of them to do that if you pick your shows.
 
No. I don't do much showing so my horses are never produced particularly well in showing terms however they are never dangerous or misbehave. I wouldn't let anyone ride my horse if I thought the horse was unpredictable and could cause a nasty fall or accident. In fact I wouldn't ride a horse like that either!

The only county show I entered, the winners horse (well know pro's horse) was badly behaved and even kicked the steward to the ground!! It still won and that was enough to put me off entering another showing class for a whole year! I'm about to do some local showing this year with my new horse as he is a lovely behaved boy who should give a nice ride. :)
 
In both cases I mentioned, the horse was retired after the ride judge had dismounted (thankfully both judges were very competent and managed to deal with horse) so at least that is something.

It wasn't just the one person/horse though - a number of horses took off with the judge - one horse the judge did two circuits before she could stop!!
 
I did a lot of work with Chancer before he was ridden by a judge, several years of inhand, a season of local where only I rode him, first few big shows I did classes where the judge did not ride, I also had him ridden by many people at home, and finally last year he was ridden by the judge, and although a little green, had perfect manners every time out.

If I had a difficult horse, I would warn the judge first and if they declined to ride, then ask could I do an individual show to get the experience in the show ring and accept I would not be placed. If after several months it was still ill mannered, either the homework was not being done, it was being over fed or not the type of horse with the temperament to be a show horse.

Judges are there to judge, not school or deal with a ill mannered animal.

I do agree that if a horse misbehaves at three shows, then it should be blacklisted from being ridden by the judge for six months, but allowed to enter being ridden only by the rider/owner and given one further chance and then banned. This may sound harsh but it would stop people putting ill prepared animals into the ring and risking judge's safety.
 
I definately think that there should be a system where badly behaved horses are put on 'report' and only allowed back into the ring once they have been assessed - stallions have to go through a ridden assessment for BSPA/CHAPS before they are allowed to be ridden by ride judges.
 
One of my most sucessful ponies could be very naughty indeed, however, being a pony (M & M) there was no ride judge. So that was fine. When she was good she was very very good (and won a lot) and when she was bad she was horrid!

If I had a proper sized horse ;) that had to be ridden by a judge, then it would depend. A little naughtiness that you couldn't be sure would happen then yes - like the horse that bucked mentioned by someone else.

Rearing bucking broncin anything dangerous then no.

Although its very very hard to acustom a horse to the show experience without going to shows.
 
No, I wouldn't.

IMO judges are not there to try & sort out problems, if you can't put forward a horse that is a safe, polite ride for a judge then it's either in ned of more work at home of in the wrong class. If you really think it's a problem only at shows then either enter classes where the judge doesn't ride or enter HC & request that the judge doesn't ride. Maybe ask friends to get on in a quiet corner of the showground if you feel different riders are needed. But don't ask a judge to put themselves at risk riding a horse that isn't ready for a ride judge, it's rude.
 
Kicked the steward but still won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't believe it, although I believe the poster. How terrible.

Trouble is no matter how much we school and prepare the horse for a show we don't really know how they are going to behave until the day. I remember showing a 4 year old that bucked like crazy when we canter round a HUGE arena, luckily the judge was always looking the other way and by the time the judge got on he was well behaved. (I was young and ignorant, if that happened now I would probably withdraw).

On the other hand, at Hartpury once my horse behaved perfectly in the morning in the small indoor school, to win a class and then in the championship in the main arena put his head between his knees and charged round in a very ungentlemany way. Either it was the mare in front or the ********* playing the "gone away" on his mobile every time we went round.

So horses don't always behave how they should, but I would never expect a judge to ride a naughty horse, and would be horrified if they misbehaved and promptly take them out.
 
I would.
BUT

Where I am, judges only get on the top horses, i.e. the ones who are in contention. So if your horse is misbehaving in the ring, the judge doesn't sit on it anyway because clearly you aren't going to be getting a placing.
 
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