(“You may not be able to do it, but you gotta know what you want.”)

“I could never be a judge,” people tell me. “It must be so hard to watch one mediocre ride after another!”

It turns out that’s not really the hard part. Many a horse is a “work in progress.” Many riders are venturing into untrodden territory. And everyone has a bad day now and then when your horse just doesn’t follow the script. Judges understand all that. We are riders too, after all. Seen it, done it, more than once been done to by it. Not many surprises left in the box.

There is one thing, however, that as a judge I find discouraging. It’s when at the conclusion of someone’s test, after a deluge of applause I hear the rider’s friends and family raving, “That was SO beautiful! She was just magnificent!” When to the eye that matters—mine—it was, well, terrible!

I don’t object to the “all the children are above average,” “the glass is not only full, it’s overflowing” reaction when it comes from well-meaning grandparents or husbands.

But when I watch those riders soaking up and believing undeserved praise, I know how disappointed they will be when the reality at the scoreboard whacks them in the head.

A good try IS a good try—praise worthy. So is anything that’s better than it used to be or better than it might have been. No objections from me there.

But, people, as riders you’ve got to know when it isn’t working. Otherwise, how can you fix it? If you don’t have the experience to feel good from bad—to know when your horse is inside out / hollow or bent the wrong way the whole time or isn’t ready to do the level you have entered—you need help from someone who does.

You may not be able to do it, but you gotta know what you want. You gotta! The scores you earn from me should rarely surprise you. They should validate your judgments or legitimize them to the outside world. Judges aren’t executioners. We want you and your horse comfortable, happy, and making progress. We’re trying to help you towards those ends.