Judges Seminar Part 3

Part Three was the boxing and fence work. 

I have shown the boxing a few times.  At last years club shows they added a class called rein, box and drive to give some of us in-betweeners a chance to go down the fence without having to really GO down the fence.  The first three runs we watched I judged 3,2,1 of course the real judges placed them 1,2,3.  What! I mean really  - was I that off base?  I sat with a friend who has judged some small club shows and he judged them the same way I did.  So what did we see or not see?  

Some of the first comments that were made really, really threw me into a tizzy fit.  Albeit a quiet tizzy fit, but I gotta tell you I was silently steaming.  One of the "sharks" said... "I placed him first because I know this horse and he is a good one." I wanted to say... "what...did you have coffee with him this morning?"  I mean really.... Then a comment from one of the wanna be judges  was "well I placed him higher because that steer could have really moved and the horse was so tuned in that he would have been on it."  But, but, but....  the steer didn't move. So the horse didn't have to move.  Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda....  Does not make a champion.  No What ifs, No Almost, No No NO!

Rant over...  But I did learn what the judges think is supremely important and what I was missing.
First....  the boxing is just incidental to going down the fence. Again, it is all about courage and control.  Being in charge, driving the cow, not just following it.  Making your turns quickly and in the right spot on the fence.  Making good choices about where and how to "circle up".  Even though the last horse seemed to be in a better position on the cow when circling up, the big dogs in the room all said that the first rider did a better job positioning the cow and horse.  I realized as I sat there that it isn't aways about being smooth and pretty.  Sometimes it looks messy, sharp and hard, but it needs  to be executed effectively with intent.

Judges Seminar - Part Two

Part two was the dry work. Again the videos were shown of the riders from the SBF and other major cow horse events.  We judged several runs and I was feeling pretty confident.  I tend to look at the dry work in the cow horse events like I would in reining events.  That didn't work out particularly well for me.  I have known for some time that the dry work in the cow horse industry isn't done with the precision that reining is. And for the most part... isn't as critical as the actual cow work. 

Before you ready the next paragraph... 

A "check" is average.
A "check plus" is slightly above average
A "plus" is well above average
A "plus - plus" is excellent
A "check minus" is  slightly below average
A "minus" is well below average
And a "minus - minus" is well...terrible.

I could go into the actual scoring of points and half points but that gets off onto completely different discussion so lets just stick to talking about checks, pluses and minuses. 

Bill Enk walked us through each run when we were done.  On the first run, we all agreed that the circles and lead changes were done very well.  Excellent definition between large fast and small slow and the rider showed "courage" in his large fast. Lead changes executed perfectly and in the middle. No one was willing to "plus" the circles - the rider was given a "check".  The stops were done well with the horse committing to the ground and sliding - nothing overly spectacular.  Everyone wanted to check plus or plus the stops.  Same with the turn arounds.  Bill proceeded to go back and ask all of us why we were so willing to plus stops and turnarounds and not plus the circles and lead changes. He pointed out that we had all agreed that the circles and lead changes were above average but as a group we were unwilling to give extra points for that.  The stops and turn arounds we agreed were average but we all wanted to atleast "check plus" them.  In the particular pattern we were watching there were 2 large fast, 1 small slow each direction with 1 lead change each direction, 3 stops - includes run downs, 3 1/2 turn arounds each way. The majority of your pattern was circles and lead changes. He went on to say that while the crowd loves the stops and turnarounds they do not make a finished bridle horse. Circles and lead changes are as difficult, if not more difficult than stops and spins.  He really stressed to the judges how important it is to give credit for those maneuvers.  In the last run the stops were average at best - the horse committed to the ground and slid, he may not have had perfect form but it wasn't terrible. The turn arounds were fluid and technically correct but not lightening fast. In comparison to the first run they were a "check minus". The judges that were in attendance marked them a "minus".  It was interesting to me to see just how critical the judges felt stops and spins were.

What that brought to light for me (again) was how important it is to not "give away" points.  You can do absolutely perfect circles and lead changes and not get any extra points but if you don't do perfect circles or change a lead a stride to late...they will ding you hard!   Do a bad or slightly below average stop and you are done. Just done.

Judges Seminar

I went to a National Reined Cow Horse Association judging seminar a couple of  weekends ago.  I am not sure, but I think that I was more confused after it was over than I was before I got there. 

The seminar is for those who are doing their continuing education or need to test for their judges card.  Needless to say - there were some pretty heavy hitters there.  Two of my favorite riders were there - Sandy Collier and Lyn Anderson - those ladies can get the job done!  Skip Brown, Smoky Pritchard and Kenny Wold were also in attendance.  Bill Enk was the presenter.  I went with a friend and we were running a little late. We got there and sat down in the first available spot.  Turns out that we were at the same table as Skip Brown, Ken Wold and Smokey Pritchard.  I am never one to sit in the front row or draw attention to myself. This was definitely the wrong table to be at.  Bill Enk is a character and he likes to involve the room in his presentations. These stoic men sitting a seat or two down from me were going to be prime targets for his shenanigans. 

I am going to do this in 3 parts.

Part one: Herd Work
We watched videos of runs from the Snaffle Bit and other large shows and tried to decipher what was good and what wasn't. Even though I have watched the herd work a million times and I have taken lessons and even showed a couple of times it is still so new and elusive to me.  After we have judged a couple good runs we went over the penalties.  That is where they show you what NOT to do. I think that I would have done better in my judging if I saw the penalties first and then saw a good run. Either way, sitting in a conference room passing judgement on some of the best riders...some sitting a seat or two down - felt down right awkward.  Sandy Collier was one of the examples of a "not so good" run. She handled it like a professional. She took the microphone and walked us through what was going on.  Her ride was an example of switching cattle -which she didn't actually do.  But that was a whole lot easier to tell when you had slow motion and could replay it 5 or 6 times.  The judges spoke about "courage" a lot.  Courage isn't going in and blowing the herd apart and getting it done quickly, but it is about taking the intuitive to drive your cattle out and really showing control and making something happen.  I thought back to my runs in the herd work. I knew that I was more at ease when the cow worked slowly and I felt like I was in control.   And that is how I have been taught  to work a cow - slow and methodical.  I realized while watching the good runs that even though my cow didn't get away from me, I wasn't ever really "in control".   In the show pen, you have to step up your game. Next time I get a slow cow, I will try to get a little more aggressive and hopefully show some courage.  I am also going to try to show that I can control the cow and work it in the middle the pen - not let it go fence to fence.  Semper goes into the herd like a pro. He moves slowing and pays attention to my instruction.  Where we get into trouble is not pushing the cow out far enough.  When I get my cow out of the herd he really doesn't "hook-on" like a cow horse should. He will follow my direction and about 50 seconds into a run, he gets the hang of it. By then it is too late.  Another one of my big dilemmas is when and how to quit a cow.  I learned that if the cow stops facing you and does not move, you can quit. It is like the cow has "given up" or "surrendered" to you. You can also quit if the cow turns tail and moving away from you. Completely moving away. Not at an angle where they can swing their head around and look at you.  They have to be gettin' out of Dodge. 

Part two - Dry Work
is for another day....

Playin' around

I've been playin' around a lot this summer and I love it.  Work is kind of making me tired though.  It couldn't be the long weekends of non stop fun. It is definitely the job that makes me tired.  I wonder if I could sell that to my employer? 

Let's see.... a couple of weeks ago I showed at California State Fair in the Ranch Versatility.  It was an AQHA show they opened up to all breeds. The big white horse was the only "other breed" there. My bestie went with me.  She makes me laugh, distracts me from over thinking, keeps things in perspective for me and is one of my biggest supporters.  Her sense of humor is beyond comparison.  She posted this picture of us on Facebook with the caption: 

" In a sea of browns, one color stands alone... Sigs Semper Fi"

It just cracks me up!  Where does she come up the this stuff? 

We did exceptionally well at State Fair.  We won the limited class and brought home a beautiful buckle and ginormous ribbon for our efforts.  Semper was on, there was no doubt about it.  I was super proud of him.  We also did the Ranch Horse Pleasure class.  We placed 5th out of 26 in that class. That was the most satisfying 5th place (we actually tied for fourth)  I have ever taken!  The winner of the Ranch Pleasure won the Open Ranch Horse Versatility, the second, third and fourth places were all trainers.  The horses were all extremely well trained "finished" quarter horses.  5th was not a bad place for a non pro on a white horse to land.  For me - it is placings like that one that let me know I am definitely on the right track.  The picture below is of us waiting for our cow during the working cowhorse portion of the show.

I think this picture is from the Ranch Pleasure Class - the extended trot.

(Thank you Sachorse.com for the picture)

Last weekend we took a break from the showing thing and went to St. Bernard Lodge.  Rode from there over to Drakesbad. The same ride we did last year.  This year 10 of us went. What a great time with great friends!  The weather was glorious. We didn't get lost this year and made it to the lodge in record time.  Ate lunch and then rode up to Devil's Kitchen.  It is a geothermal site in the park.  Water boils, mud percolates, and as my bestie said "you can fart here and not get in trouble".  The smell of sulfur is overwhelming.  

Look at these HOT women at Devil's Kitchen!

I asked for the sorority girl pose... I am not sure what sorority they belong to?

That is my daughter on the left, Ruth (we have been friends for close to 40 years!) in the middle,  and my bestie Laura on the end.

My daughter went along and she refuses to ride any horse but the big white one - she has pretty "high brow" taste in horses. (I mean really, it is like giving your kids the keys to the Corvette.)  I rode Bob.  The more I ride him, the more I like him. He was the youngster on the trip but he out performed some of the older more seasoned horses.  He took everything we put in front of him in stride.  Even the bear!  In the park they are putting up a lot of elevated walkways. Mr. Bob went across them like he had been doing it for years. Even when he had to go out first. 

(Thank you Brandy for the picture!)

We are about half way across the meadow and you can see Drakesbad Lodge in the back ground.

Don't you just love Laura's HOT PINK saddle bags?   

 Hope you all are having a wonderful summer.  Spending time with your families, friends and horses. Pursuing your passions and living life large! It doesn't get any better. 

Prizes!

I finished up the reining series at Saddle Creek and won the Non-Pro Limited and the Prime Time (for those of us over 50) Non Pro.  Even though it wasn't a super competitive field, I feel like we got something done.  For our efforts we won these beautiful buckles. 

I like prizes but I have to say that winning two buckles on the same day was a little odd.  I mean you can only wear one, right?  I tried to give Mr. Wonderful the one that I won for the old folks class but he wasn't having it.  He says they are too big and gaudy.  Can award buckles be to big and gaudy?  I think not.  This year I also got back about half of my entry fees in winnings.

That is just icing on the cake. 

Last weekend I went to my first Ranch Versatility Show of the season.  I have five planned for this year.  It was in a small town about 3 hours from home.  Mr. Wonderful and I went down for the clinic and then showed the next day.  I was kind of having fits about going because it is expensive to go.  The clinic and entry fees are not cheap. The cost of diesel isn't cheap. A hotel isn't cheap. Meals aren't cheap. And what for? Another buckle? Not to sound like a whiner, because you know that is like counting your chickens before they hatch. It is only "another buckle" if you win. If you don't win it is just money spent on a fun weekend. And there is nothing wrong with that as long as Mr. Wonderful is enjoying himself too. He at least pretends to be having a good time. He is a much better sport than I am. Much. Much. Better.  He didn't whine at all.  Not even when they asked him to stand in the sun and wind for four hours to reset a log in the trail course. Mr. Wonderful is a trooper.

Semper and I won the Ranch Riding and the Working Cowhorse. We did mediocre in the trail and conformation. And sucked out loud in the herd work.  In my defense... the cattle had been worked by the open riders prior to the limited and novice riders working them. It was hot. They were roping steers.  Talk about the deck stacked against you. The little suckers wouldn't move. Semper gets really annoyed when they don't move. He doesn't want them in HIS bubble.

We came in Reserve Champion for the Novice Division.  I might be jaded but I am pretty sure that the toughest competition is in the novice division.  I mean really. 

These ladies are I N C R E D I B L E! 

What an amazing group of riders. They are so nice. We all rooted for one another and were excited for each other when we did well.  They make you feel like part of the group.  Really nice. 

For our efforts we won this beautiful breast collar.  Can you say AWESOME PRIZE? 

I love useful prizes. Love them. And this is a custom made, very high quality piece of tack. That makes it doubly wonderful.  The gentleman that made is a skilled craftsman.  The silver was done by a local silversmith and is stunning.

I generally don't use a breast collar.  I put this on the big white horse and he does look smashing, dashing, sexier than a bag of Doritos in it.

But he does look that way without it. Just saying. Not that I am biased or anything.

Last year I won a halter with the NVRHA logo and Reserve Champion it. I haven't used it yet.  I only wear the buckles when I am showing. I don't know how I feel about using "trophy tack".  I have never been one to draw attention to myself. I would never sit in the front row, raise my hand, dye my hair pink, get a honking tattoo or be the first one on the dance floor cutting a rug.  Unless I have had WAY to much to drink. And I mean WAY - like to infinity and back - to much.

(I know... I know... All this coming from a woman who rides a ginormous white horse.)

What do you do with trophy tack?  Leave it at home and admire it or use the living heck out of it?

Thinking to much, again.

I have been thinking about the first show a lot. On Saturday during a lesson I said to TL that Semper had done well even without been ridden the week before, without a proper warm up, etc. She responded "yeah, they do get to that point". I hadn't ever really thought about that. That he would get to the point where he didn't need to be schooled or trained on a lot. That he would get to the point he just knew what I wanted and did it. I mean, I know he knows his job and he wants to please me so why didn't I think we would get to the point where we could just get it done without all the schooling and ass kicking? Later that day I heard her say to another rider... "raise you expectations". Well there you go.

As someone that is not a trainer it is hard to know when to raise your expectations. How do I know when it is time to make those changes? I think, I think to much. my head is going to explode. I should ride more and think less. Definitely. Da,da,da definitely.

You know... I am pretty sure that I was supposed to be born independently wealthy. How can you be born with the HORSE GENE and be born poor. Is that someones idea of a really cruel joke? Am I being punked? This has been going on for far to long for it do be a reality show. Although, it might make for a very entertaining reality show. "Horsaii Women" It would be like Saddle Club on steriods.

Ranch Versatility - Part 2

The next class in the versatility was Ranch Riding. This is where this organization differs a little from AQHA. AQHA Ranch Versatility does a Western Pleasure class. Walk, trot and lope directions, you know the drill. NVRHA does what they call Ranch Riding. In my limited knowledge of dressage... it resembles a low level dressage test. I have never done dressage or ridden anything like this. They set up cones in a pattern. You must ride from one cone to the next and transition from a walk, to a trot, to an extended trot, to a walk, to a lope, to an extended lope, change direction, etc. Each transition should be executed exactly on mark. In my opinion this is where it separates the doers and the wannabes. If you don't ride your own horse you aren't going to know how to judge the distance it takes for them to make the transition or stop. You aren't going to get away with having your trainer go out and walk, trot and lope your horse around and then jump on and get it done. Ain't gonna happen. I found this pattern work to be challenging and fun. Trying to ride more with your seat and legs so that your transitions are smooth and your horse is responsive is what it is all about. This class alone will make me a better rider.

After Ranch Riding we moved on to Working Cow Horse. We ran a reining pattern and then the Novice and Youth boxed a cow while the rest of the divisions had to go down the fence and rope. The reining pattern was very much like a reining pattern at a NRCHA class. We got that done with little or no trouble. It had one each large fast and small slow, lead change each direction, three and a half turn arounds each direction and 3 stops. We have boxed a cow before so that wasn't foreign. It isn't always easy and during the show we lost our cow and had to retrieve it. I have done enough WCH to know to take it slow and just go get it and finish my run. The Corriente cattle are a little harder to work then the regular cattle they use during WCH shows. They tend to want to run to the other end of the arena because that is where they go when they are being roped and they know when they get there they are done.

The last class is Halter. Out of all the classes this is the one that I thought I would ace. I mean, Semper is always in the first or second place. Not that I have shown that much halter but he looks very much like a halter horse. We were 7th... ouch. He was the biggest horse at the show, by probably 2 inches and 200 -300 lbs. Maybe more. And of course he was the only big WHITE horse there. The first 6 horses were all very uniform in size and look. That made me feel much better to see the consistency. Only 40% of your halter score is judged on where you fall in the actually line up of the halter class. The other 60% is judged on your horses form to function during the events. So even if your horse is a little less than perfect conformation wise, the halter won't completely submarine you.


After a long day, kind of overwhelming show day, we all waited patiently to see our scores. I was just obsessed to see my score sheets. I am not usually that way but this was so challenging and different. My mind was reeling about what I needed to work on, what I thought I had done well, where I bombed! Because everyone does each event individually you watch all your competition and I saw a lot of great riders and showmen all day long. People were supportive of each other and helpful to fellow riders. The staff and helpers where positive, offered advice and cheered all the riders on all day long. It was just a very positive and enjoyable day. It really never occurred to me where I placed in the grand scheme of things. Their were seven riders in my division and Semper and I took reserve champion. Won a purple (my favorite color) halter with reserve champion on it. I did get my score sheets and studied them for days. I made friends with another rider and we talked on the phone comparing score sheets and discussing where we could improve. Semper stayed with me all show day - he seemed to accept the change of pace that each class offered with a cool head and a willingness to try. What more can you ask for?