The Judgement of the Judge

As you may recall, I recently wrote an article in which the actions of a judge greatly impacted my views and opinions. I firmly believe that there is a “fine line” in which a judge has obligations not to overstep. For this reason alone, I have created a list of characteristics that in my opinion make a good horse judge. With the help of a very interesting article I came across on the web, here are my rules of the “fine line”:

1. Intellectual Capabilities

· A strong knowledge of the rules for the particular affiliation they are judging

· Thorough understanding of the anatomy, lameness, and unsoundness of horses

· Adequate skills to calculate penalties, estimate distances, and approve courses

2. Emotional Tendencies

· Not Moody

· Pleasant yet Reserved

· Capable of setting personal feelings aside

3. Moral Standards

· All decisions made fairly

· Very open-minded

· Confident in their selections

· Respect for showman and horses

According to the Horse Gazette, there are 108 Horse Judges listed for the USA. Of course there are actually thousands more that are located all across the country. Judges can be found throughout the world… the question is, do they all abide by the “fine line”? Let me know what ya’ll think. Later Partner!