PrintIn everything we do, we need to make sure we’re continuing to challenge our riders.
As the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association convention approaches in early December, several recent Chronicle articles have given all of us in the hunter/ jumper world something to think about.
Many people complain about the issues Shelley Campf, Leo Conroy, George Morris and Ron Danta have brought up in their articles.
Shelley Campf and Leo Conroy certainly hit the nail on the head about the judging. Although I’m not a proponent of standardizing judging, I feel that there should be more guidelines to hunter and equitation judging. For instance, the equitation classes have a mandatory 4 points off for a rail down regardless of whose fault it was, horse or rider. Of course more can be subtracted, but at least there is a guideline.
Exhibitors must also know that you have to see the round from the same vantage point that the judges do. Judges, on the whole, are very fair. I’m still a believer that two judges sitting together is the best system. But Shelley hit it on the nose: We, as trainers, must tell the riders the truth about their rounds!
Anyone who has participated in any other sports, such as basketball, football, hockey or baseball, knows that there is constant complaining about the refereeing. So just as judging can be an issue, it’s something we deal with in most of our sports in this country.
We need to analyze each situation that’s been discussed and ask ourselves if we are being too self-centered. No matter which hat we’re wearing—show manager, trainer, rider, owner or judge—we need to work together and come up with solutions.
First and foremost, we must keep raising the bar, not lowering the bar. Lowering the bar is the easiest solution but not always the best. I’ve written in my articles for the past six years that our country has started lowering the bar in all we do, and we think too much of “I” instead of what is best for the majority.
What can make our business better? How can we make the cream of the crop rise to the top? How can we give everyone goals from their first short stirrup class to the international hunter derbies to the Olympics?
Raising the bar is the only way to keep the hunters alive. Bigger goals give owners something to strive for and make them want to buy horses for professionals to ride. No matter how we fit into the picture, we must keep our eye on the ball.
Keep The Standards High
One of the best aspects of the Pennsylvania National this year was in the high performance hunter classes. Blake Alder, the course designer, made the jumps 4'3". The rounds were spectacular!
Twenty years ago we had superstar horses like Protocol, Whadyasay, Another March, Super Flash, Ruxton, Bittersweet, Gabriel, San Felipe, Sign The Card, Gozzi, Touch The Sun, and All The Gold, to name just a few. Owners, trainers and fans ran to the ring at the big shows to watch the regular working (now the high performance) hunters go. The jumps were big, and the courses difficult, and we had a lot of horses showing in that division. It was an exciting division to watch.
But that division has been shrinking, both in number of horses and in excitement. Why?
