PrintThis special stallion earned more than just ribbons during his career he’s provided U.S. breeders with inspiration.
Many world-class athletes often talk about the defining moments of their careers. They reflect back on that short piece of time that changed everything and catapulted them to success. Mary Alice Malone believes differently.
“For me, careers aren’t defined by one moment,” said Malone, owner and founder of Iron Spring Farm in Coatesville, Pa. “They are defined by a succession of positive accomplishments, consistent effort and success. Judgement has always put in huge efforts, and as a result, he’s been successful throughout his career.”
Judgement ISF (Consul—Faletta, Akteur) has been a force in the show jumping world since he burst onto the scene at the International Jumper Futurity East Coast Finals in 1995. He won all three phases of the competition with Olympian Michael Matz in the saddle, and he never stopped winning. With more than $1.5 million in earnings in his career, Judgement has become one of the most successful U.S.-bred sport horses ever.
“He’d have to be one of the best horses I’ve had,” said Beezie Madden, who piloted the stallion to his numerous accolades after taking over the ride from Matz in 2000. “He was one of those horses that you knew could jump everything out there, so it was fun to go into the ring and see what he could do. Especially when it was hard and the other horses would have trouble, he would shine on those days.”
We’ve Got Something Here
But Judgement wasn’t always the sleek, handsome stallion that he is today. In fact, as a 2-year-old, Judgement didn’t turn many heads.
“He was just a funny horse,” said Melvin Dutton, who has trained horses for Malone for the past 35 years. “He was gangly, not the best looking, big and nothing special. My impression of him wasn’t that much.”
With the help of Andrew Young, Iron Spring’s farm manager at the time, Dutton began breaking the young stallion. While the horse was generally well behaved, he had an ornery streak.
“He would bite and kick but never to hurt. He was just proud,” reflected Dutton. “He knew ahead of time what he was going to be.”
While Judgement may have been well aware of his future success, Dutton and Young continued to train him as if he were any other horse. When they began teaching “Judge” how to jump, however, their opinion of the colt drastically changed.
“The first fence we jumped was a little [crossrail],” said Dutton. “He jumped that jump, and I said, ‘We’ve got something here’. No matter what we put up, he would just play over it. One day there was a four-foot single rail [set in the ring]. We went down to that fence, and he stepped over it, and I said again, ‘We’ve got something here!’”
Dutton reported the stallion’s talent to Malone, and they began preparing him for his inspection. Malone, who had been present at Judgement’s birth and believed in him from the moment she saw him move, felt her hopes come to life when she saw him jump.
“I knew he was something special,” she said. “And when I saw him jumping in preparation for his keuring, I knew he had more talent than any horse I’d ever seen.”
Dutton guided the young horse during the jumping phase of his inspection, and he identified it as one of the greatest moments in his life.
