Post by angora on Mar 14, 2015 9:42:39 GMT -5
Beginner's Guide to Judging Halter Shows
by KateThe thought of judging a halter show may be daunting to anyone who has never judged a horse show before - but fear not! This guide should help break down the process and get you on the road to becoming a show pro.
*Note* This forum topic is merely a suggestion and meant to be helpful those new to judging. There is no "official" way to judge a show.
What You'll Need:
1. A folder to save all the show entries in.
2. A word-editor. (Notepad, Word, etc.)
3. Angora's Official Posing Guide (as reference):
4: This form (or your own adaptation of):
Name:
5: Levelness:
5: Body Straightness:
4: Head Straightness:
3: Eyes:
2: Ear Alignment:
1: Tail:
5: Levelness:
5: Body Straightness:
4: Head Straightness:
3: Eyes:
2: Ear Alignment:
1: Tail:
What To Do:
1. Save all the show entries in a folder on your computer.
2. Open up a document creator/blank page.
3. Copy and paste the form above once for each entry (five)
4. Go through each entry and score accordingly. Points can be taken off for faults. (IE if the horse's body isn't entirely straight but the fault is minor, you could take one point off, giving the horse a score of 4/5 possible points in that category. If the horse is very obviously not straight, you could take off more.) A perfect score would equal 20 points (5+5+4+3+2+1).
A scored entry should look like this:
Name: John Doe Pony, 18/20
5: Levelness: 5
5: Body Straightness: 5
4: Head Straightness: 3
3: Eyes: 3
2: Ear Alignment: 1
1: Tail: 1
Name: John Doe Pony, 18/20
5: Levelness: 5
5: Body Straightness: 5
4: Head Straightness: 3
3: Eyes: 3
2: Ear Alignment: 1
1: Tail: 1
You can always make comments to help you place the horse.
Example:
Name: John Doe Pony, 18/20
5: Levelness: 5
5: Body Straightness: 5
4: Head Straightness: 3 - other side of forelock showing
3: Eyes: 3
2: Ear Alignment: 1 - could be better aligned
1: Tail: 1
5: Levelness: 5
5: Body Straightness: 5
4: Head Straightness: 3 - other side of forelock showing
3: Eyes: 3
2: Ear Alignment: 1 - could be better aligned
1: Tail: 1
5. The horses should place based on their score. (Highest score places first, lowest score places last).
6. If two horses have the same score, the one with the least-serious fault(s) should place above the other. (IE: A horse with less than ideal eyes should place above a horse who has a head that is not straight, as head-straightness is considered more important than having perfect eyes.)
7. If you don't know what to do, consult the guide! Gora's posing guide will help you judge what each category entails and what ideal examples of each category are.
8. If you still don't know, ask another judge! Judges are very helpful. And they totally don't bite. Really.
9. Helpful tip: Use the zoom feature on your photo viewer to look closely at each pose. It can help you determine whether a head is straight or not straight or whether those ears are reallly aligned. It can mean the difference between a first and last placing entry. If you don't have a zoom, you can open the picture up in photoshop/paint/any picture editor and zoom in on the image there.
10: Helpful tip: Have patience. The first couple of shows might be difficult and painstaking, but juding will become like second-nature in no time.
The more you judge, the more easily judging becomes.