Tell me about your evil horse show judges. . . !?

Question

There's this horse show i go to a lot, once a month during the season and the judge favors some people and dispises others. Most of the trainers and riding teachers hate her because it . . . it's obvious! we all know, but we can't do anything. luckily, she's retiring! i could go on and on about what she's said to and done to and said about my friends and sister and people I know! but i'm not gonna because that list would be too long. tell me about your worst horse show judge experiences (not the ones you just hold a grudge against because they placed you badly!)

"horse racism" is so mean! i mean, there are really fabulous horses with potential like that out there and it's just so unfair. thank goodness for western riding, though!

oh yes; and that same judge gives out certain scholarships and she gave one, the one with the most money for college- to none other than her son; but there were plenty others who deserved it more!

don't you hate it when the push-button horsed people get all the glory when you're training a horse? i have a horse i'm "Training", as in training for showing (he's older). this season compared to last, he was great and calm and had his head nice and low, but the judge still left harsh comments about him because he wasn't a show horse, a ranch horse. ugh! i'd think she be happy from when she used to call him "wild, out of control, spazz, spazzy, etc." and how i need to put him in control . . . just because he was faster than the show horses whose lopes are as slow as a walk

Answer 1

I kept reading answers and waiting for a judge to write in and defend themselves...as a judge and exhibitor, I can see both sides of the story. Luckily there are a lot of ways you can get around being at the mercy of the judge and still compete- hunters can take up jumping for example. If you don't have the silver and a fancy barn to keep your horse in, but want to try western pleasure, get a foundation quarter horse and take that route. Silver is illegal, as is pulling manes, extreme clipping and fancy riding clothes.
Easy, now!!! I am not defending all the judges in the world, as I have had my share of incompetent ones, but only at a local open show level - never in a high stakes show. It's one person's opinion, on a given day. If you show, you learn to deal with it. I agree with rsc - 4H can come up with some real winners - the "fashion show" judge she spoke of is pretty common around here, too. You gotta remember they are usually free - you get what you pay for!

I am sure this will get me a ton of thumbs down ratings for not answering the question - I am not being defensive, honsetly! So, quick, I will tell my funny story of a NOT evil judge...
About 15 years ago our local open circuit had a versatility award at some shows, and then a year end over-all. To qualify you had to show in at least one halter, western pleasure, english, western performance, and speed event at each show. For the English class most of us western riders would borrow an English rider's whole set-up ( yeah, we were all friends and got along...I think they enjoyed seeing us make train wreck of their discipline) and go in and fake our way through the class. I was riding my grey QH, who was a doll, but not above a bit of a trick now and then. We were trotting around happily in the class and I was pretty proud of myself for picking up the right diagonal on the first stride, right in front of the judge. I was thinking to myself, " I bet his old boy actually thinks I know what I am doing up here!" when all of a sudden there was a huge commotion at a trailer nearby the arena. My focus shifted for just a moment, but Zip saw his chance to get me back for rousing him out of his slumber at 5:00 AM for an ice cold shower. He pulled the reins right through my hands and put his head to the ground and started bucking and snorting like a full blown bronc. I managed to get a hold of him by some act of God, put him back on the rail at a trot, and settle right back in to stride - on the right diagonal! I checked my judge, and he had his back to me, so I was maintaining some fantasy that maybe he hadn't even seen me, and I might still have a chance at versatility. The class ended and we all lined up. Apparently he had witnessed my western moment after all, because as the placings were turned in he walked over to me, and with a completely straight face, said, "I would've scored you higher, but you didn't mark him out."

Long story short, most of us show to have fun. I remember my share of evil judges, and I keep thinking I am going to have someone write in a story about the time I WAS their evil judge. How about some more funny stories here - couldn't we all use a good laugh today?

Answer 2

At a local open show a while back there was this judge that picked 'finalists' in every class. Her finalists were completly random, in one class she would pull out the 6 people in red western outfits, in the next she would dismiss everyone not on a bay horse, and so on. It was hands down the most arbitrary judging ever, it would have been more effective to have just drawn names for each placing.

This other judge that frequently judges around where I live always brings 3-4 different outfits to change into as the day goes on. They are always bright colors and have giant excentric matching hats, I think she puts more thought into her outfits than horses. Well this one rider obviously was inexperianced with jumping, and her horse refused the fence, so this judge spent about 20 mins trying to scare the horse over the jump. She even went as far as to get the crop from the girl riding and smack the horse on the butt while the girl tried to get it over the fence....Well the horse went over the fence and the girl fell off. So the judge let the girl get back on the horse, and try the whole course agian. The girl fell off agian, then excused her self from the arena. All day this lady would place people that were getting wrong leads, falling off (!!!), and having tons of refusals over people with good rides. At the end of the day this judge was talking to the people in the booth about how this was the first time she had ever even been to a show with jumping...4-H finds the good ones.

I also recently had a judge that chased my 3 year old yelling and throwing dirt at him when I couldn't get him to trot during halter...

Answer 3

I went to a show once and I was doing trot cross rails. You are suppose to be penalized if you have more than 1 stride of cantering. A girl cantered the whole course because she though she was in canter cross rails and she got first over me and I got 1 stride before and after the fence every fence and i didnt even place. I was so annoyed. I also hate when you watch the judge judge the flat classes because you can see which horse she really likes because that is the only one she looks at the whole time!

Answer 4

I get a lot of 'Horse Racism' as I ride a Standardbred and I get mutters from snobby people riding perfect push button horses. Although I laugh inside knowing they do not have the wonderfull relationship with their horses who probably get shoved in a stable at the days end. I know my horse is better off. For some reason many people have a disliking to Standys, if only more people realised their potential to excell in anything you want them to!

Answer 5

i was at a small show helping out my trainer with some younger kids from the barn. it was short stirrup (english) and the judge placed this girl consistently first even though she got a wrong lead and even LOST HER STIRRUP!!! i am not even kidding. We were all very mad, and she was supposedly a nationally recognized judge, didn't seem like it though.

be careful accusing judges of being biased though, unless someone watches your round and all the other rounds in the class, the judge might be cutting you b/c of something your horse did but you did not notice, or that the other horses were just really good

I am NOT saying all judges are good, but just watch out accusing them if you don't know the whole story!

Answer 6

I rode this fabulous hunter, we made a perfect round, we looked great, everything was fantastic. Great Frame, not a misstep, I've never ridden a round like it. I was grand champion in the division higher up. The entire class thought we would place. Nope....

So I went and asked the judge for my score card... Color was the comment. I asked her what that was supposed to mean. The Paint I was riding was not a traditional color so we could not place.... Bay, Chestnut, and black were acceptable....

Horse Racism? Oh was I mad!

OMG! If a judge threw dirt at my horse I would stab them! hahaha

Answer 7

I was at a local horse show and I was in Pleasure class for western. He looked so evil and he always give a snarl at everyone. When he talked to me when we were lined up he told me that my horse was the ugliest horse he ever seen in his life ( mine is always in the top 5 for conformation). He was just so cold hearted and mean. I wanted to cry because no-one has been that mean before. I was so mad. I got 2nd last because he hated my horse. I reported to the Chair of the event and I told her everything. She was so suprised. We went back into the arena and re-did the class. I got first and she made the judge appologized to me personally and he gave me $5 for his stupidness. I never saw him judging ever again. I guess the word got out how mean and crabby he was.

Answer 8

ok once i was judged by willem shatners wife shes pretty nice but once i went to this show that the judge had a rep of placeing ppl 1st just cause he felt like it once this girl fell off her horse and left the arena and she wasnt even hurt and she got 1st it was the 2nd time going around the arena too and so he placed me last and this girl who didnt even get her horse to canter 1st i was like what the heck thats the worst ive had with a judge cause most judges and everybody at shows lik me sorry not bragging just informing know i kinda didnt anwer the question but wanted to share was just last month still fuming

Answer 9

in western classes you still get a lot of horse racism. ive had judges pin me solely because i was on a palomino and other refuse to place me for the very same reason. ive not placed because i was on a buckskin, a roan, a paint, a grey, an appaloosa, my horse had too much white, not enough white, wrong breed, wearing dark oil instead of light oil, too much silver, not enough silver etc. i have also been pinned for the same reasons. some old school judges still wont pin a "color" horse in wp or halter classes. some wont pin a quarter horse in english classes no matter how goo they do. others are biased for certain colors, breeds etc. you just run into that if you choose to ride pretty much anything. some days you just cant win..literally.

Answer 10

Yeah - it's been like that for generations. The judge's cousin-in-law's best friend is the one who wins...

Years ago, I used to ride a beautiful appaloosa cross mare - whose confirmation really showed off her Thoroughbred half -tall, slender, nice dish face, etc.; but was quite loudly marked - like a roan app. I can remember actually being asked to leave the equitation class because of her markings. The judge called her a giant bowl of oatmeal mincing around his ring.

Ironically, later on, she was the only clean round over the fences - neener, neener, neener.