Julie and I had the absolute pleasure of judging the IEA National Finals in the legendary Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, April 28-May 1. Although we have a nice chapter in our book about judging the Interscholastic Equestrian Association shows, we never had the privilege of judging the National Finals.
Over the four-day schedule, we judged high school and middle school competitors from the crossrails to the 2'6" Varsity level, where all national finalists competed on horses that were loaned for this competition. Riders had to draw for their horses for each class, and 18 national finalists competed in each class. In the flat classes, there were semi-finals where we chose eight to go forward to each final championship class.
We tested nearly every finals class and asked a lot of horsemanship questions, where we got some very surprising (incorrect!) answers. Some of the questions we asked are below.
Overall, this was such a fantastic week for all finalists, coaches and parents, which also included parades, parties and other festivities throughout the event. This vision that Roxane Durant created along with her co-founders is unique and gives us hope for the future that riding and competing at the national level can be affordable.
As judges, we are always open to learning and thrive on continuing education, so it was an absolute thrill to have such educated stewards sitting in our booth next to us where we could pick their brains and ask for clarifications and protocol. Thank you so much Cricket Morris Stone and Lesli Ann, pictured below, for being our resource and advisors throughout the week.
Here are a few of the questions we asked during the IEA National Finals. We were pleased to see that of the 16 test questions we could ask, the first one listed was to ask a horsemanship question, which we used frequently.
How many inches are in a hand?
Name three parts of the horse's front leg below the point of shoulder.
What part of the human anatomy corresponds to the horse's hock?
How many chestnuts does a horse have and where are they located?
Tell us the color and markings of the pony/horse that you are riding.
Name five different breeds of horses.
Tell us the number of beats of the walk, trot and canter.
And, the most difficult question of all turned out to be: Name three conformation faults a horse could have.
In conclusion, we feel we've certainly given riders ample homework and the inspiration to open a horsemanship book, read a horse magazine or Google general horse care to learn more about horses. At the end of the day, our horses do come first.
Social Media Recap
We were thrilled to share our book with the horseman of the century and double Olympic Show Jumping gold medalist, Joe Fargis. A legend in our sport!
Do you have any judging questions? Hit the button and let us know!
You can find Julie teaching a clinic May 4-5 at Oldfields School in Glencoe, Maryland, followed by a clinic in Sparta, Michigan on May 7-8.
Tricia will be attending the IHSA Nationals, May 5-7, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she and Michelle Bloch will have books for sale. Ink Horse Publishing is a proud sponsor and will have a table on vendor row.
To learn more about Tricia's and Julie's upcoming clinics and book signings, please view their calendar on judgingwtf.com and Julie's clinic schedule on maplewoodstables.com.
This newsletter is based on the book Judging Hunters and Equitation WTF? (Want The Facts?) by Julie Winkel and Tricia Booker.
We're thrilled to have you join us as we spend time together talking about judging, the history of the sport, scoring, tips to improve your show ring performances, judges' pet peeves, and show ring strategies, and best of all answering your questions! Something on your mind? Email us: info@judgingwtf.com
