Senior international hunter judge, course designer, coach and author Randy Roy has had to deal with many surprising situations in the show ring, such as a bee in his pants and a runaway whippet. Other situations where no rules apply may be more common, such as how to replace broken jump elements, or dealing with coaches inching their way into the ring.
Here is Roy’s latest list of show ring mishaps and how he judged them, but he says such calls are up to each judge’s personal discretion.
That hurt! Getting stung while judging a class hurts, but the show must go on… (PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay)
Let It Bee
Roy was standing in a patch of clover in a grass field, judging an under-saddle class at an outdoor summer show. He felt a tickling sensation in his pant leg and realized a bee was making its way up his leg. Despite dancing around and trying to shake the insect free, the bee stung his thigh. Although the pain was intense, Roy says the show had to go on. He did his best to appear cool and continued to pin the class.
No Boundaries
This is a common pet peeve of judges. Some trainers make a habit of coming too far into the ring when a student is in the ring, or perch on the rail so they can make ‘helpful’ comments to the student during the round. Roy says this isn’t positive for the rider and only serves to annoy the judge. He says riders should be properly prepped before entering the ring, with no need for ringside coaching.
Eyes Are On You
This one’s a tip for riders. You enter the ring and your groom follows to remove your horse’s polos or give your boots a wipe. Or maybe you leave the ring for a minute to retrieve your number. These types of actions could get you eliminated, as the moment you stepped into the ring, you were being judged. If you leave a tail bandage on your horse when jogging in the ring, you also risk elimination.
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Roy climbed into a judge’s booth at a show and got set up at a provided table. As the day progressed, the wind picked up and he could feel the booth, that was set on stilts, shaking. Roy was about to call the show announcer and ask his opinion, but decided the best option was to bail. He jumped out the side entrance of the booth to the ground 10 feet below, just as the booth toppled over into the hunter ring. What Roy does now, and encourages other judges to do, is check the stability of their show housing before setting up.
Make It Match
A rail, box or gate breaks during a class. Roy says the replacement object must be an exact duplicate, in colour, size, shape, etc. This ensures fairness so all horses and riders are jumping identical obstacles. Roy says judges need to monitor any switch of broken elements to ensure they are the same for all.
Missed Rail
A rail falls and lands on top of a box or gate, and it goes unnoticed when the next rider starts their round. If the rider jumps the obstacle with the downed rail, Roy marks it as a good jump.
Running with the big dogs: a whippet made it a pairs class — and the unphased horse won the class! (Robert Beal/Wirestock Creators – stock.adobe.com)
Tailspin
A horse’s artificial tail comes off during a round and lands on a jump. Roy’s advice is just leave it, if it’s blending with the fill and not creating a big distraction. He will let the class proceed, although judges are allowed to have jump crew remove the tail at any time. But if the next horses jump well and don’t spook at the tail, it’s fine to stay where it is until the class ends. However, it must be removed if it lands on the ground at the take-off or landing point, Roy says.
War zone
A rainstorm moves in and the heavy downpour leaves the ring a mess, with huge puddles. Roy consults with show management, as it won’t be the same playing field for riders who ride after the rain, as opposed to others who rode before the deluge. He may request that the ring be groomed so its condition is as close as possible to what it was before.
Whippet good
At major show, a whippet got loose and ran into the ring while a horse was on course. The rider continued the round as the whippet followed alongside the horse and jumped the jumps with it, like a scene from a field hunt. Roy says the horse wasn’t distracted by the dog and finished the round to great applause. Not only that, the horse and rider won the class!
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