Christine Reupke is an Equestrian Canada senior hunter and equitation judge and FEI jumper judge who judges in Canada and the US and gives clinics on judging for EC. Christine teaches riding students in the off-season, and is the manager of the Royal Horse Show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
What do you look for when a horse first enters the ring?
The first thing I notice is a horse that exudes health and vitality. Show me a horse in good weight that’s not thin or obese. For a hunter, you want a round body, but not overweight to the point where its joints are getting damaged. It’s attention to the details – a horse that’s taken care of, in good health, beautifully turned out, wearing clean tack, with a well-turned-out rider.
Christine Reupke. (Marie Roy Photography)
What are the most common errors you see in the hunter ring?
The biggest mistake is people not knowing the rules. Every year, some rules change and every year I download the book and do a good read of it. Every rider should read the book, and there are stewards at every show to answer questions. I see a lot of “I didn’t know that I couldn’t use this tack, or that I wasn’t allowed to do that.”
Another mistake I often see is people using the show ring as a training ground, unless they are taking a young horse to trot and canter the lines. People also get tied to numbers, and they feel they have to put in six strides in a six-stride line, even if their horse only has a 10.5-foot stride [instead of a 12-foot stride]. Don’t gallop the horse, add the stride, and in this case treat it as a training round.
When you score a class out of 100, how much do certain errors cost you?
We all go by a standardized scale. A rail in hunters is 45; if you have a nice trip it might be 46 or 47. If there are only five or six in a division, you might have to decide who has the least worst rail! A stop is an automatic 40; anything dangerous is 50.
If you break stride and trot, it’s 55. However, what happens if you trot across the ring, pick up the wrong canter lead, break to trot and pick up the right canter? For some judges, it’s a big offense, for others not a big deal. It’s situational. If I’m judging a child in a 2’6” class, am I giving it 55? Absolutely not, but I’ll note it on my card and use it to break a tie.
The biggest mistake I see is power trotting … if you are lapping people, you are trotting too fast.
I almost never have a tie where I have to think about it. Turnout can a tie breaker. Are the rider’s boots polished? Are there shavings in the horse’s tail? I also think about whether I’d put my student on the horse, or whether it’s one I’d want to ride.
How can you best ride a hunter under saddle class?
The biggest mistake I see is power trotting. Most of us judges are annoyed by it. I don’t think people understand that we see your horse and know it is a good mover. If you are lapping people, you are trotting too fast. If you want to show off a long, beautiful stride, make it stride longer, not faster.
I like to see horses on light contact because it says so in the rule book. Big, loopy smiley reins are not particularly attractive to me, but you still will get a ribbon if the horse naturally goes well like that.
What is your advice for equitation and medal trips?
It’s one of the intangible things, but I know right away if a rider has confidence and a certain work ethic. Get right down to business. Trot five or six strides, pick up canter and get on with it.
An issue that’s endemic right now is that so many amateurs are over-horsed.
Have a plan. In the Medals, making an inside turn might not be best option if you can’t ride it skillfully. If you have to rip off your horse’s mouth to make the turn, should you take it? Do you have control of horse and are using your position to communicate? You don’t have to be fancy. Make the plan that’s the best for your horse and shows off your skills.
What is one thing that you wish trainers paid more attention to when setting up a horse/rider combination for the show ring?
An issue that’s endemic right now is that so many amateurs are over-horsed. Just because they can afford an expensive horse doesn’t mean it’s the right horse for them. It could be a dangerous situation for an amateur.
Do all judges judge the same?
Yes and no. We are all judging to the same ideal, but hunters are subjective and equitation can also be subjective. There is a breed or discipline standard. We have different opinions on errors and position. Some hunter judges are all about the quality of the animal and it can do no wrong no matter what it does. An average Joe horse may have the best overall trip, but another one is a better jumper. That’s where people get confused.
One judge may not like your three strides of cross-canter in the corner, but some other judge might not mind too much, depending on the quality of the horse, the quality of the round. For me, a horse has to be an athlete that not just looks the part, but performs the part.
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