Yeah, I know I haven't updated for awhile. I was on vacation, then I read the Twilight series (thanks Jordie), and my mother decided to get a tummy tuck and lipo so apparently I am the in-home nurse. Yay me!
Anyway, I went to an open show a couple of weeks ago and I have to say I was really disappointed with the judge's attitude. Some classes he placed fairly, others he didn't. But that is not what got me riled up. I was actually going to post his name on here but after I chilled out I decided against it. First let me give you a little background.
When I first walked into the pen I figured he looked like a nice enough man. Although his face was a little scrunched like he was constipated and he was more round than he was tall, I figured maybe he really wasn't as mean as he looked and he might honestly just have to poop. It was a hot day after all! I guess I thought wrong. Not only did I hear and see the judge talk to the ring master like he was a pile of dog shit he just stepped in, by the end of the day he damn near got his head ripped off.
To make a long story short, I had been hunting for my english spurs all day to no avail. My friend (also the show manager) let me borrow a small pair of western spurs to use. It's just a little open show, and the management let me use my western blunt tips the last time (it's not like we are at the World Show here people). Anyways, so I go into my first HUS class, wearing the spurs and placed first. I turn around and go into my next HUS class and the judge walks up to me and says "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those spurs are illegal to use in an english class. Those are western spurs". And I said, "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't have my english spurs with me and show management said it would be okay if I used these". Now, I said this in my most little girlish and polite voice possible. Wanna know what the asshole said? He damn near shouted back as he turned his back and walked away "Well I guess you shouldn't have freakin worn them at all then huh"!
WTF? Were you really just that big of a prick to me when I wasn't being rude in the slightest? Do you not realize that I was 1.2 seconds from the crowd being able to videotape an episode of "Midgets Go Buck Wild" as I flew off my horse and shoved your head up your ass before my feet ever touched the ground?
I was not the only person the judge was rude to that day. But honestly, when you are a judge, you still don't have the authority to be nasty or rude to an exhibitor. You are not a highway patrol officer for pete sakes. I think next time I'll just bitch slap him with my reins... that ought to shut him up. What is the world coming to? Is is that hard to be civil with people? I could understand if I was being a bitch, but I was no where near "bitch zone" that day UNTIL he decided to be an asshole to me. To think... a little open show judge thinking he was hot shit. If I ever show under that man again I think I'll bring a laxative with me. Maybe his problem really was that he couldn't poop. Who knows. But, I would like to say this to any judges out there. Watch who you decide to get rude with. I will complain about, and report your ass.
Anyway, I went to an open show a couple of weeks ago and I have to say I was really disappointed with the judge's attitude. Some classes he placed fairly, others he didn't. But that is not what got me riled up. I was actually going to post his name on here but after I chilled out I decided against it. First let me give you a little background.
When I first walked into the pen I figured he looked like a nice enough man. Although his face was a little scrunched like he was constipated and he was more round than he was tall, I figured maybe he really wasn't as mean as he looked and he might honestly just have to poop. It was a hot day after all! I guess I thought wrong. Not only did I hear and see the judge talk to the ring master like he was a pile of dog shit he just stepped in, by the end of the day he damn near got his head ripped off.
To make a long story short, I had been hunting for my english spurs all day to no avail. My friend (also the show manager) let me borrow a small pair of western spurs to use. It's just a little open show, and the management let me use my western blunt tips the last time (it's not like we are at the World Show here people). Anyways, so I go into my first HUS class, wearing the spurs and placed first. I turn around and go into my next HUS class and the judge walks up to me and says "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those spurs are illegal to use in an english class. Those are western spurs". And I said, "I'm sorry Sir, I didn't have my english spurs with me and show management said it would be okay if I used these". Now, I said this in my most little girlish and polite voice possible. Wanna know what the asshole said? He damn near shouted back as he turned his back and walked away "Well I guess you shouldn't have freakin worn them at all then huh"!
WTF? Were you really just that big of a prick to me when I wasn't being rude in the slightest? Do you not realize that I was 1.2 seconds from the crowd being able to videotape an episode of "Midgets Go Buck Wild" as I flew off my horse and shoved your head up your ass before my feet ever touched the ground?
I was not the only person the judge was rude to that day. But honestly, when you are a judge, you still don't have the authority to be nasty or rude to an exhibitor. You are not a highway patrol officer for pete sakes. I think next time I'll just bitch slap him with my reins... that ought to shut him up. What is the world coming to? Is is that hard to be civil with people? I could understand if I was being a bitch, but I was no where near "bitch zone" that day UNTIL he decided to be an asshole to me. To think... a little open show judge thinking he was hot shit. If I ever show under that man again I think I'll bring a laxative with me. Maybe his problem really was that he couldn't poop. Who knows. But, I would like to say this to any judges out there. Watch who you decide to get rude with. I will complain about, and report your ass.
So, do any of you have any stories of rude judges?
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I was at the show (it was my birthday =) ) and I was STUNNED when he yelled at her. We could hear him from the rail. I seriously thought she was going to KILL him. If it had been me, I wouldn't have behaved at all. Being DQed for illegal tack is one thing (even if the show manager gave them to her and told her it was fine), that's fine. If it had been left at that and she had just taken them off and gone on to her next class it would have been no big deal. She got DQed, that's fine.
However, the unnecessary VENOM in his unnecessary comment was ridiculous. Everybody in the ring and on the rail was pretty much speechless.
I think that as a judge, it's your responsiblitity to set an example. You don't need to condone or accept bad behavior or practices. You need to dismiss abuse and you need to set an example for the kids watching (especially at an open show with LOTS of kids around) on good manners in the ring. Being ugly to an exhibitior who is paying fees to show under you is unacceptable IMO. People showing are basically paying you to judge them fairly so that they can learn and compete. Your basically providing a service. A judge shouldn't kiss ass, and should judge fairly, but there is NEVER a reason to be hateful.
I took one of my barrel horses to a little open show for some fun...after the WP class, which was not pretty, the judge came and talked to me. She not so politely asked about my horse and what I used her for. I explained she was a barrel horse...the judge then announced very rudely that barrel horses do not belong in the show ring. I very politely asked her why then had she just placed two former barrel horses first and second in the youth class with my sons aboard.
She later came out and apologized to me as she realized that she was friends with my father and hadn't recognized me in the ring. LOL
I was at an invitational high school equestrian team show when I was about 17 years old with my mare, Dixie. She had arthritis and some calcification on her knees, but nothing that made her unsound. As I walked her toward the warmup ring, the judge looks at me and says, "How many jumps has that mare hit." WTF?!?! Guess he had to eat some humble pie the next day, though, since he placed me 2nd out of 35 horses in a bareback horsemanship class *shrug*
There was one time I lost my cool with a judge. I didn't explode at the judge. It took about 5 minutes for me and my trainer at the time to start bitching about her obvious blindness! The day started with me NOT placing in showmanship despite me having a flawless run. My friend's horse, a QH who always qualified for Worlds/Congress in shomwanship didn't even place, so I thought - weird, no big. Just an open show.
Well, day rolls on. Wind picks up. This is my fairgrounds and it is a shit hole. They relay notes to the announcer via a clipboard attached to a pulley rope. If windy, this pully rope will fly around. now, this is directly ON the rail. It flys out and hits my horse in the eye. We were having a good class, but got boxed in. I was trying to mover her out a bit, but the horse on the other side of us was too close. So, my horse gets hit, bucks, takes off like a shot. The horses around her freak out and she then trips coming back from her launching off into craziness. I immediately pull her up in the middle of the ring.
I am concerned, mainly, with checking her legs and making sure she is okay. I hop down and begin and said idiotic judge comes over and stands over me. Instead of watching the class (which is ongoing!), she just stands there.
I ask her politely if she needs anything. She says, "No, but you are blocking my view, please leave my ring."
I look up at her and say, "I am sorry, but I am not leaving until I am sure my horse doesn't have any heat in her legs."
She then mutters "After that stunt, I would take her out back and shoot her!"
I wanted to bang my head to the wall. My mother, as well as many others complained to the STOOOPID management team and they decided not to ask her back. A few years later, she showed up on FHoTD for some stooopid thing she was doing.
I have had judges either love of hate my mare. She's a BS paint and a palomino. She's very flashy and a natural born mover with the best jog on earth IMO, but she is not skinny or typically appendix looking, so some don't like her. I can deal with all of that, but not being a bad horseperson.
I am sorry for what happened! The guy was an idiot, quite clearly. It's one thing to tell you you can't wear those. It's quite another to be so blatantly rude! Inexcuseable! I don't think judges get that we are PAYING them to be the neutral third party sometimes!
I own and show a very flashy mustang who could pass as a QH infact when he and my real QH are standing together it is hard for most people to tell them apart. Anyway I was at an open show a few weeks ago showing both of my geldings. We were having a really great day mustang included until the judge found out that the mustang was really a mustang and not a QH as previously believed. She sought me out and dared to yell at me infront of god and eveyone and I quote "how dare you bring that SOB mustang into my show ring who the 'blanked blank blank'do you think you are!?!" mind you this was an open show and mustangs are welcome. I simply replied "well you didn't have a problem placing him first awhile ago apparently you are under the impression this is a breed show?" anyway she told the director she wouldn't be back after this show if they were going to let any old rift raft in the arena. To bad for her the director is a mustang lover and a friend of mine. Needless to say our winning was over she gave me the stink eye the rest of the show. There is also the story of 4H but we won't get into that 4H wasn't a good experience for me.
Sandhills, it wasn't for me either. For a variety of reasons, I very much disliked 4-H.
Oh, now I have a mini-rant about the judge at my show yesterday.
I show my horse in two halter classes: western halter geldings (all ages) and english halter (all ages/sexes). Typically we place very high (top 3) in both. Well. Yesterday, the judge decided to check teeth. Poor Hunkers has a bit of an overbite and that translated into no placing out of 9 horses in the geldings class, and then 6th out of 9 in the English halter class.
My question is this.....why in the *(&# is she looking at a gelding's bite? These horses are not passing on any genes, so it shouldn't even be taken into account!!!!
ugh.
Why the judging has become such an outright blatent abusive position at any show is beyond me. If they don't want to be there, they can certainly 'opt out'. Not a difficult thing to do.
I have had one judge place my horse behind a skinny rack of bones, simply because that horse stood still and mine did not. The skinny horse most likely lacked the energy to misbehave as it shouldn't have even been at the show until it gained a couple hundred pounds.
Skinny horse's owner proceeded to show not only every in hand class possible, but all of the under saddle classes too. Did I mention, skinny horse comes from BNF? Way to go there, that's what I want representing my farm. NOT!
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