THROUGH THE JUDGE’S EYEby Dina Mazzola

www.FairHarbourFarm.com

THE HUNTER

So what is a show ring hunter?What’s the difference between hunters and

equitation?

From the USEF Rule Book:• “Even hunting pace, manners, jumping style

together with. . . • Faults and way of moving over the course”

THE HUNTER

Appearance, Quality and Performance Neat, clean and organized, with high quality turnout Horse that moves well, jumps great, and looks beautiful Even hunting pace, equal distances, and smooth!!

Rox Dene

THE IDEAL HUNTER ROUND

Winter Rose – Thermal

SCORING A ROUND90’s Excellent. Great performance and exceptional quality

85-89 Very Good. Solid Performance and good quality

80-84 Good. Quality horse or rider with perhaps and minor error

75-79 Fairly Good. An average horse or rider with a minor error, or a high quality horse or rider with a couple of minor errors

70-74 Sufficient. A bit below average horse or rider with a few minor errors or mistakes

65-69 Insufficient. Poor performance with one or more serious errors or poor quality

60-69 Fairly Bad. Very poor performance, making serious errors, adding strides, bad jumping style

Below 60 Bad. Bolting, bucking, running off, trotting, stopping, refusals, knockdowns (hunters only), losing stirrup or reins,

Judges Scorecard

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN REAL LIFE?

Even Hunting Pace One speed Pace should match around the whole course Pace should work for the course and horse SMOOTH with equal distances

Common Faults Uneven pace or major pace changes Extreme pace Adding a stride in a related line, leaving one out Trotting or breaking stride

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN REAL LIFE?

Manners Pleasant well trained horse Horse responds to the rider in a willing and pleasant fashion

Common Faults Bucking or playing Spooking Kicking out or up Wrong lead on courtesy circle Late lead changes Missing lead changes Refusal

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN REAL LIFE?

Jumping Style Scopey, round jump Forearms parallel to the ground, or better, forelegs tucked,

good expression in the air

Common Faults Jumping out of form Rubbing the jump Jumping off the center line of the jump Dangerous jumping Knockdown

RumbaWinner of International Hunter Derby Finals

Beautiful Style - Rounds in the 90s

In DisguiseScored 100 at the Capital Challenge Horse Show

with Shachine Belle in 2004

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN IN REAL LIFE?

Way of Moving Speaks to quality of canter, track, expression, relaxation

Common Faults Poor expression – ears, wringing tail, sour Poor track Tenseness – up against martingale, open mouth, hollow Poor quality of gaits – short-strided, poundy Swapping leads in the line or in front of the jump

Rumba

C Coast Z Cha Cha

Compare These 3 Jumping Styles

Horses that Produced Rounds in the 80’s

… in the 70’s

… in the 60’s and 50’s

JUNIOR HUNTER VIDEOS

• Winter Rose – Harrisburg• Winter Rose – Thermal

EQUITATION OVER FENCES

• Performance, Performance, Performance If you ride a great hunter round, chances are you are going to get a great

ribbon

• Track, Pace, Position and Distances• Show me you can ride an accurate, effective round

that answers the track, pace and distance questions posed by the course

• Accuracy first, style second• Position and style are the “tie breakers” or how I

order the accurate rounds.

PERFECTION

EQUITATION OVER FENCES

Position Soft, supple, still, strong Invisible aids Appropriate use of various seats and rein aids Eye level Correct body and arm angles Correct hands How rider position affects quality of horse’s jump

and general shape

TOP FIVE EQUITATION ERRORS

Most Common Position Mistakes Inappropriate release and bad hands Flopping on the neck Loose lower leg and generally loose in the tack Stiff, posed, perched

Most Common Riding Mistake Missing the distance

Beautiful Equitation

COMPARE POSITIONS

EQUITATION VIDEOS

• Lillie Keenan on Clearway - USEF Medal Finals Warmup

• Sarah Milliren - 2011 USEF Medal Finals

WHATS DIFFERENT IN IEA?

• Simple changes are equal to flying changes• Use of the stick

USEF rules using the stick is incorrect, score of 60 IEA rules cannot use the stick outside of the ring, so… Never on the shoulder

• Suitability • Try to account for relative difficulty of horse• Strides don’t count, but. . .

Has to match and be up to pace for that horse

TOP IEA RIDING ERRORS

• Leads!!! Inability to perform a correct simple change of lead Not correcting a cross canter Picking up the wrong lead on the entrance

• Poor track to the jump and on landing• No plan for strides in the lines

Have a plan depending on the stride length of the horse and how the warm up rider rode the horse

RESOURCESBOOKSThe Judge is Back by Randy Roy (Amazon)You Be the Judge by Randy Roy (Amazon)Hunter Seat Equitation by George Morris (Amazon)USEF Rule Book (www.usef.org)

DVDsThe Judge’s Eye by Linda Andrisani (www.thejudgeseye.com)Form Follows Function with Cynthia Hankins

(www.EquestrianCoach.com)The American Hunter/Jumper Forward Riding System by Bernie Traurig

(EquestrianCoach.com)Get Connected (featuring USEF Tests 1-19) (www.ushja.org)