A little Judging "Primer"

Part I : Scoring the Model Equine

As a judge or exhibitor, the following should prove useful for both live shows and photo shows. Much is based on what goes on in the REAL as opposed to MODEL world. Originally for longears, it can also be adapted for horse breeds.
Areas of Scoring (Halter):
1) Overall Conformation

Head - 15 points
Neck - 10 points
Legs - 15 points
Ears - 5 points
Other Factors (balance, grooming, etc.) - 5 points

2)Overall Finish - 25% of score

OF Plastic/Resin/China - model should be as realistic as possible. Condition should be good. Breaks & repairs should not be visible. Factory color should be realistic & neat.

Original Sculpture/Customized - the best possible care should be evident. Those with visable cracks, flash seams, slopping paint or hair, should be penalized. Every attempt to correct mold flaws in gait/conformation should have been made.

3) Color - 10% of score

Color should fall within normal guidelines for the breed. This includes markings and stripe patterns.

4) Presention - 15% of score

Photo - must be in focus and of good tone. Underexposed or overexposed prints should be penalized. Distracting or out-of-scale objects should be penalized.
Live - every effort to present the model in the best possible setting should be made. All tack should be neat and well-fitting. The model should be in top condition and clean.

If your model or photography fails miserably in any of these areas, perhaps it's an indication to throw throw them out and/or redo! Every year or every other year, try to upgrade your photos and spruce up those models. Buy new tack and/or props. And always keep experimenting!

Part II : Points Vs. Judge-Off's

There are two ways of determining championships (whether it be a live or photoshow) - by points or an actual judge-off. Each has their merits and disadvantages. But sometimes a judge may have to resort to using both methods in order to determine a fair outcome. Let us examine both styles in depth.
Points are easy enough to understand. The animal winning the most points is the clear winner.
However, what do you do when there are several animals all tied with the same amount of points? Here, let's create a scenario:

GENDER
A. Stallions - 1) Ramses 2) Poco Bars 3) George III
B. Mares - 1) Heather on the Hill 2) Phaedra 3) Tilly
C. Geldings - 1) Chief 2) Callicoon 3) Barn Cat

COLOR
A. Spotted - 1) Chief 2) Poco Bars 3) Tilly
B. Solid - 1) Ramses 2) George II 3) Callicoon
C. Other - 1) Heather on the Hill 2) Phaedra 3) Barn Cat

BREED
A. Arab/half - 1) Ramses 2) Phaedra 3) Tilly
B. Stock - 1) Chief 2) Poco Bars 3) Barn Cat
C. Draft - 1) Heather on the Hill 2) George II 3) Callicoon

Having placed our classes, we will now award a Gender Champ & Reserve, a Color Champ & Reserve, and a Breed Champ & Reserve.
On point method for gender, we see that Ramses gets 10 points for 1st place, Heather gets 10 points for 1st place, and Chief gets 10 points for capturing 1st place in each of their classes. At this level, there is no clear winner produced here, so the judge-off method must now be implemented.

Choosing Championships

The first and second place winners from each class are laid out in two rows. The 1st placers (or class winners) are laid out in a normal row facing the judge. The 2nd placers from each corresponding class make up the second row and are turned sideways facing away the judge, and laid overtop the 1st row. These now make up your contenders.
Look over the row of 1st placers from each class. Choose a Champion from that lineup. Now pull this animal/photo off to one side, out of the original lineup. That empty position or slot will now be filled by pulling down the corresponding 2nd place winner from the same class.
Again, look over the first row lineup and choose what you feel is the best animal left for your Reserve Champ position. It could be any of the original 1st placers OR that one 2nd place fill-in, (second ONLY to the champion but still possibly finer overall than the rest of the field). Bear in mind though that ONLY in this way could a 2nd placer ever be chosen for a Reserve title over other 1st place finishers.

Choosing an Overall Grand

At most shows, a few animals that are top quality will tend to stand out from the start. They will place high in all classes and will most likey be repeat winners and champions within a show. In naming an overall type champ, then an variation on the points system can be utilized. For example:

Gender Champ - Ramses
Reserve - Heather on a Hill

Color Champ - Chief
Reserve - Heather on a Hill

Breed Champ - Ramses
Reserve - Chief

Here we see that Ramses has two championships and so most judges would then name him Overall Grand. Because Chief has the next highest rating (his one champ, one resv in comparison to Heather's two reserves), then he would be your Overall Reserve Grand. Suppose no animal had won more than one champ or reserve each? Well, you'd simply repeat the one-two lineup illustrated earlier (substituting the Champs of each class or divsion for the row of 1st placers, and their corresponding Reserves substituting for the row of 2nd placers) and choose accordingly!
In performance classes, points are calculated the normal scoring system...

first place = 10 points
second place = 9 points
third place = 8 points
and so forth

...but problems arise frequently with this usage. Alot of animals may enter every class, but score only midline. The outstanding animal however, may enter only two performance classes, and although it wins both classes, point-wise it will still have less than the mid-placer. This is particularly true at shows with gaited breeds. The racking 5-gaiter can only enter park/saddleseat and perhaps harness. He may even win these but still lose the performance title (due to lack of points) to the running mare entered in twice as many classes with a 5th or 6th placings in every event.
So, one way around this problem is to simply average out points - that is divide the number of points entered by the number of classes entered. Now the limited horse has an average of 10, and the all-arounder averaged 6. Of course, you may still end up with several models with tied numbers. That's when the judge-off method (overall photo or setup quality, proper fit & positioning of tack, originalty, correctness of task being performed, overall photography, etc.) would come in handy determining the overall winner.
Most judges will use a combination of both methods when working with large turn-out shows. Don't worry about whether one style is more right than the other; just use what you feel makes the most sense. Everybody has different opinions and chances are that each of us would place classes differently anyways.
So, with that in mind, grab your spiral notebook, start shuffling those photos in class orders, and start drooling over those photos! You're supposed to have fun, ya know!

For novices wishing to judge a show in the future, we offer the following tips:

Enter at least a dozen photoshows as an exhibitor first, to kind of get the hang of things first. Showers make better judges, and vice-versa. Experience IS the best teacher.

Consider joining a small club beforehand. Clubs are always hungry for people to judge their point shows. Volunteer. Ya gotta start somewhere (how else are you going to gain "experience?")

When you sit down to start the actual judging process, have a bunch of breed books surrounding you plus a copy of this article. Hey, every little bit helps!

Usual turn-around time between show date, judging, and returning photos/results is generally 2 to 3 weeks. Try to get everybody's stuff back in the mail to them during this time frame.

(This Page last updated: January 17, 2002)