Today, I want to twist your hat around a little bit. I want you guys to think like judges.
Because when I first got my judges card leaving the youth arena and the training arena
it gave me a whole new perspective on showing. What we are going to do, is our little victims out here
our demonstrators. I've told them a pattern and they've had the chance to practice like you would
in a normal show situation and I'm just throwing them at the wolves, you being the wolves.
So, the pattern is what I would consider average difficulty and just for your information, it's pretty
much a straight line pattern. A lot of people think those straight line patterns look like they are easy
they are actually one of the more difficult patterns as opposed to the patterns with circles and arcs
So, don't let a straight line pattern give you a little bit of false confidence, that it's and easy pattern
it's very hard to get a horse to go correctly in a straight line.
So, what I've done is I have prompted the riders the pattern, and I will explain to you begins on the outside
of the cone and will have one of you just demonstrate the pattern, just so you are all familiar
with what it is. But the pattern is walk to the first cone, right lead past the second cone, 270 to the right
extend the jog past the third cone, 270 to the left, lope left lead to the last cone, stop and back.
[Ok, so who would like to just demonstrate the pattern? So they can get a feel for what the pattern is.]
And our volunteer is Michelle, thank you Michelle.
So, just use this to get an idea of the real estate and how she uses her pattern etc, but mostly
just so that you understand how the maneuvers go. So she's going to walk to the first marker,
Right lead past the second marker, with a stop, and a 270 to the right, extend the jog past the 3rd marker.
With a stop and a 270 to the left, and a lope left lead to the last marker, stop and back.
Ok, and we are just allowing her that little correction, but if you were in a judging
situation you woud have to deal with that numerically as well.
Ok, everybody understand the pattern, any questions on it? So, what I'm gonna do is
try to not say a word, which is very difficult for me, and we'll just start.
Whoever wants to go first, and we will just go, five patterns in a row. And if you guys want
to take notes or possibly write down scores. [if I would just hold you a second] remembering
from yesterdays showmanship talk, all of the pattern classes, I think pretty traditionally
through all the breeds, I'm not sure about the Appaloosa's, but certainly in the Paints
and the Quarter Horses, you score from 0-20. 0 is a disqualification, that does not, in the Paints
disallow you to placing, but in the quarter horses it does.
So, anytime you would disqualify, using two hands, wrong side of the markers, inclusion of
maneuver, failure to complete a maneuver, etc. That would give you a DQ and you are not
eligible to place. In the paints you are still eligible to place, I can't answer you on the Appaloosa's.
So, first and foremost, you want to be on pattern, you don't want to disqualify etc. to get a score.
The median score, and just to refresh your memory is anywhere from 12-14, that a judge will begin with
and will go up and down the scale of points providing you preform the maneuvers good or bad.
In a novice class, very often an average score will win, you just want to be correct.
How do we derive our score? First, it's a mechanical, the mechanics of the pattern, meaning
the maneuvers, where you get, if you get past the markers, if you get correct leads, perform the maneuvers as they're described
and then there is also a style score which will relate to how you sit in the saddle, handle the horse, you're actual overall
horsemanship or equitation. So that's how we derive the scores, it's similar to reining how we get penalty scores and maneuver
scores. So sometimes a rider can be an exceptionally good rider, have a little mistake, that may beat a rider that
is at average or below average rider that's correct. That's a little confusing sometimes to the audience or to the those
onlookers because they say "Hey, that one trotted out of it's rollback." But you have to remember that at each maneuver we are
plus-ing and minus-ing, okay. A lot of times judges interpret what you have done to, so if your horse stalls or freezes up
in a turn around in the reining that would be a penalty two in the horsemanship we'd wait and see how you handled it.
Of course it's not ideal, but it would beat somebody from if i could see that the rider was thoughtful and worked through it
in a timely manner. For me, that would beat someone who went out on a horse that turns around and absolutely gives them an
incorrect cue, or guides it incorrectly to get it through that turn.
Okay, so in the horsemanship, as in the showmanship the judges also are interpreting your thought process.
We have enough feel, and we've done it enough, where we can kinda feel and see whats going on.
I would say "Oh, she's getting into trouble." How is she going to handle it?
Okay, so keep that in mind. There's a lot that goes on. I think its 3 fold. It's mechanics, it's style and it's interpretation.
Thoughts and interpretation that gets you your overall score.