Key Points for Classes 2008Youth Horse Judging Clinic

Halter1.Balance2. Breed.&Sex CharaCteristics(Quality)3. Muscling/ Substance4. StructuralCorrectness

Western PleasureL Manners2. Quality of Movement3. Consistency'

Hunter Under Saddle1. Manners2. Quality of Movement3. Suitable to Purpose

Hunter Hack1. Form Over Fences (Safety)2. Quality of Movement3. Manners

. Horsemanship & Equitation1. Proper execution of pattern2. Proper equitation

Western Riding1. Lead changes2. Quality of movement3. Manners

Reining1. Proper execution of pattern2. Degree of difficultyin completingpattern3. M;nwers.& Movement

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Reasons Format

'pening Statement: contains a statement of placing and an obvi.ous description of the class; should be a very direct and~signed to fit each particular class. "I placed the vearJinl1: fillies 1234. startin!! with the highest auality and nicest

alanced tinv in 1. Students should use ".est" words or descriptive tenns here not comparative or ".er" words.

. Example Questions to Ask on Horse Judging Classes

'op pair1. Miniature opening statement (MOS): a very general reason (ba!ance, quality, muscling, etc.) why I is placed

over 2. These general terms are ranked in the order of priority as far as placing the pair. For example, ifb.alance ismore important than quaJity, "I was nicer balanced and higher aualitv".IE quality is more important, "DYllhil1:her aualitv and nicer balanced."

2. Qualify the opening statement: if balance is the highest priority, then specificaHy discuss balance from head to

tail: Follow this with a description of quality from head to tai!, and so on.

3. Grant 2 over 1: Using comparative tenns specifically address how 2 is better thart orte. In a close pair, there 1l1aybe as many grants for 2/1 as lI2.In some situations, studertts may find no obvious grants for 2/1. In this case

ACCURACY and RELEVANCY ate more important than "making somethirtg up" to fill irt the g~p.

4. Criticism of 2: A specific description (not comparative) of why 2 is placed secortd. This should be done

"tactfully". "However. as 2.was somewhat thick necked. I placed 2 second."

5. Transition Into middle pair: "Still. in the middle pair. I easilv olaced 2 over 3 as~Lwas MOS"

'...'

Use 5 or 10 ques,lions worth 10 or 5 points a piece = 50 points.Always ask for ID points.. .colors, markings, etc. = memory recallAlways ask about "extremes" or unusual encountersAlways ask mostlleast questions.. .best bal.anced, most muscle, etc.Ask q\lestions between close pairsAsk specific "time" questions on perforrnance classes

:riticism of the top horse: although we started the class with this individual, we realize that she could more nearly

~present the ideal in certain areas; therefore, we give a very positive criticism. "Idea1!v. the buckskin could be/hay~I!1QnetheJess plac~d_l12y~2Jn_!~tQo_l1!!ir," <,.

Halter

1. Which horse had the largest foreann and biggest gaskin?2. Which horse had the fire brand on his right cheek?3. Which was the. nicest balanced gelding that best combined muscle and'structure?

.4. Whjch horse winged in on the right front at the trot?5. Between 2 and 3 which horse was more nearly level over the croup?6. Between 2 and 3 which horse stood straighter from knee to toe when viewed from the front?7. Which mare had the shortest, most refined face?

8. Which gelding showed the most Arabian breed cl;1aracter?9. What color was #2? .10. Which horse was the heavies't muscled?

~omments .

1. Remember agreemertt of verb tense "is" and "was". This should not switch backartd forth through a set of

reasons. For perfonnance classes, "was" seems to be the most appropriate as that is "how they perfonned". Inregard to halter,. "is" or "was" are both acceptable; however, r:;uggest using "was" may help with consistencywhen making the changeover from halter to perfom:tance reasons, and "was" agrees with the use of "placed" asmentioned beJow.

2. In my opinion, the goal of a set of reasons' should be "to say the most with the fewest words". Therefore, LS\lggest

eliminating "meaningless" words in the set. For example, "I placed this class of reining horses. 1234." vs. 'T

placed the reining 1234." Again, "For these reasons, I placed tbis c!ass 1234." vs. Simply ending the set with thecriticism of the last place horse.

3. I encourage the use ofID's and color to break up the redundancy of number use and to better "paint the picture".

4. I encourage students to find those "grant" and "transition" words that they are comfortable with and to use themon a regular basis. Your coach may hear the same set of reasons ormu!tip!e sets of reasons 100 times, but in a

contest each reason-taker will only hear each student once. So, students shouldn't feel that tbey have to change

these simple parts of the set. By being consistent with these words, tbis should make your flow and presentationbetter. .

Pleasure/Hunters1. Which horse best combined manners and movement?

2. Which horse had the most desirable head carriage at the...?3. Which horse broke from the lope to the jog going to the left?4. Between 3 and 4 which horse worked quieter in the bit while going to the right?5. Which horse was ridden in the snaffle bit?6. What color was #3?.7. Which horse had the steadiest most consistent top line at the canler?8. Which horse had the most \mee action at the trot?

9. Which horse worked on the loosest rein and was the most responsive to the rider?10. Which horse was the poorest mannered and least broke of the 4?

fiddle and bottom paIr: repeat sequence. For criticism of 4'~ place; horse use "-est" words and consider accuracy and~Ievancy in deciding what should be mentioned. With only 2 minutes. we cart't spertd 30s describing how bad 4 was.

5. ,I always encourage students to visualize the class as they are practicing and presertting reasons rather than

memorizing the set. I know that this takes time to develop, but once it happens ;t is invaluable. '1

6~ I want to remind us of the KISS concept. A high scoring and "good" set of reasons does not.need to "supersizedwith everything on it". Being accurate, rele.vant, and concise is how to score well. .

Reining1. Which horse stopped the hardest and slid the farthest?

2. Between2.and 1which horse had a more correct body position in the spins? '

3. Between 2 and 3 which horse was more wi\!ingly guided in the circles to the right?4. Which horse received a zero score for completing 5 spins to the right?5. Which horse jogged 04t of'the third rollback?

, 6. Whichrider grabbed the saddle horn in the second stop?7. Between 3 and 1 which horse backed straighter? .8. Which horse received a "two point freeze up" penalty in his spins to the right?9. Which horse had the most desirable lead changes in the class?10. W,hich horse was out oflead behind in the circles to the right?

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