How do you become a judge for the large breed shows? And what is a day as a judge really like? Meet Todd Bailey from Penhold, AB, who is a carded judge for AQHA (American QuarterNHorse Association), APHA (American Paint Horse Association), NSBA (National Snaffle Bit Association), NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) and ApHCC (Appaloosa Horse Club of Canada) and experience a day in his boots.

6:00 A.M.

Today’s show begins at 8:00 a.m. Todd and the other judges have stayed overnight in a hotel near the show grounds. Todd quickly showers and dresses in a navy jacket, dress shirt with tie and beige pants. “Show judges must follow a specific dress code,” Todd says. “Everyone will be in formal Western clothing with a good-quality cowboy hat. At the last show all three of us appeared the first day in almost-identical colours, which gave us a chuckle.” He meets the other judges at the hotel’s continental breakfast and introduces himself. “Sometimes I get to talk about horses with some really well-known horsemen,” Todd says. “You’d be surprised how much you learn by visiting with these people.”

7:45 A.M.

“There are specific rules stating when judges are allowed to arrive at the show grounds,” Todd says. “In this case we could be at the show no earlier than 15 minutes before the start time.” When they arrive Todd and the other judges introduced themselves to the show secretary. She passes them the pattern books (patterns for trail, equitation and showmanship), which they quickly look over and approve.

8:10 A.M.

Today’s first classes are trail, beginning with youth and then going on to amateur, novice, junior horse, and senior horse. “Trail classes can last five to eight hours,” Todd says. He is introduced to his scribe, a young man who has scribed several times in the past. “The first thing I do is evaluate my scribe’s knowledge,” Todd says. “If they’ve never scribed trail classes before, then I teach them what to do.”

Judges are seated for trail classes, each with their scribe besides them. When the first exhibitor enters the ring Todd begins to softly call out penalties to his scribe, who rapidly writes down the information. “Trail has specific penalties for each maneouvre,” Todd explains. “The first maneouvre was a jog over the logs. The rule book states it’s a 1/2 point penalty to tick the log, and a 1 point penalty to hit it. The first exhibitor’s horse hit the logs three times so I called, ‘Penalty 1, penalty 1, penalty 1’ and the scribe marked that in the first box. Then at the end of the logs I must give a manoeuvre score as well as the penalty scores. Scribes can’t watch the classes because they’re too busy writing and adding totals. And it’s my job to make sure they’re keeping up, and marking correctly. This isn’t easy because the exhibitor goes directly onto the next element, which is a bridge at this show.”

1:35 P.M.

Trail classes are finally completed. The announcer says there will be a half hour break to remove the trail obstacles and allow horses into the ring to warm up. In that time Todd will use the washroom, have something to eat and drink, and stretch his legs.

2:10 P.M.

Hunter under saddle classes start after the break. For rail classes Todd and the other judges stand inside the ring. Their scribes stand with them, but do not have to write or score for these classes. “I remain in the same position for all the rail classes,” Todd says. “One of the judges will be the ‘call judge’ — the person who stands close to the announcer so they can signal the gaits.” The English classes are large, and Todd concentrates as the horses circle the arena at a walk, trot and canter. “It can be very difficult to focus for eight to 16 hours in a row,” Todd says. “And we can only judge what we see. If a horse stumbles behind me, or takes the wrong lead, I still might place them first because I don’t have eyes in the back of my head!”

4:35 P.M.

There is a 10-minute break between hunter-under-saddle classes, and hunt-seat equitation classes. Todd quickly picks up a juice and snack, then returns to the ring. “Equitation can go slowly,” Todd says. “Most of the time we sit during pattern classes.”

5:55 P.M.

The equitation classes are now finished, and the arena briefly empties to allow jumps to be set up. The last classes are fairly small, and go by quickly. The show is finished by 7:05. “I expect tomorrow’s show will be longer,” Todd says. “We’ll have halter, which can last for hours and then the Western classes including Western pleasure, Western horsemanship (equitation), the Western riding pattern and the games such as barrel racing. Because the weather was good today, the exhibitors were able to use the outside warm-up pens, so they didn’t require much time to warm-up indoors. If it’s rainy and people can’t use the outdoor warm-up pens, then the show committee has to allow more breaks. Last year I judged the North Dakota State Fair, which started at 8:00 a. m. and finished at 3:00 a.m. the following day! We barely had time to catch our 5:00 a.m. flight!”

7:15 P.M.

Todd and the other judges are now in the show office. “It’s our responsibilities to make certain our cards are filled properly and that we agree on the number of horses in each class. All our book-work must be finished for the day because the regulations state we can’t change our cards later.”

8:00 P.M

The three judges go out for supper at a restaurant near the hotel. “I had a really interesting visit with one of the judges,” Todd says. “He used to be a trainer, but now he’s retired from that and makes his living judging. Maybe I’ll do that when I get older.” After supper Todd phones home to talk to his family before going to bed.

Becoming a judge for each association was a lengthy and expensive process. “It’s similar to applying for a job,” Todd explains. “You fill application forms and send in your resumé. The association wants to know your experience in the horse industry and the names of the horses you’ve shown. You even need references from judges. If you’re approved they invite you to testing at their headquarters, often in the U.S.”

“Testing takes two days,” Todd continues. “We had a written rulebook test, answering questions such as ‘What bits are legal for Western pleasure?’ and ‘What is a two-point penalty in reining?’ Next we did live judging, starting with halter classes, and then going on to Western pleasure, calf roping, horsemanship and English classes.” Some classes such as reining and cutting were judged by watching videos.

“On the second day we had four different interviews — ethics, cattle classes, Western pleasure and English classes,” Todd says. “In ethics they would ask things like, ‘What would you do if a horse got loose in the arena, hit another horse, and that rider lost control?’ If you pass all this testing you’re put on the Judge’s List. Show associations will then phone you, check dates, and send you a judging contract.”

Todd has been judging at the breed level since 2004. Since then he’s judged all across Canada and the U.S. “I had to turn down an assignment in Australia due to another judging commitment,” he says. “Hopefully I can go there or to Europe in the near future.” Todd is also a saddle maker and a professional trainer, working with both halter and performance horses. “I like training, but I’ve also found judging very enjoyable,” he says. “I like passing my knowledge on to others, and I like rewarding people for jobs well done.”