This is just a question where you can say what you think. ?

Question

is it me or do you have to be well named or come from a posh stud to be even looked at in Showing and dressage. Most people on my yard agree with me that you have to have a big name for the judge to even look twice at you. Does any one agree ???

Answer 1

yes that why i ride western too....less snoddy more freindly!!!!

Answer 2

remember Harvey Smith?  Nuff said.

Answer 3

Yeah, a lot of snobbery.

Answer 4

Heck yes

Answer 5

yeah. its basiclly that way for all horse shows

Answer 6

yes - its all fixed

Answer 7

there has always been alot of snobbery in that,,i used to call it snottily.

Answer 8

Yep

Answer 9

Yes you need to be posh and know EXACTLY what you are doing or in my friends experience you just get ignored !!

SNOBS !

BUT

From there point of view they need to get their show perfect, because one mistake and the show is ruined and they have a bad reputation, but i still dont think its fair !!

Thankyouu , Great Question !!

X

X

Answer 10

I agree in someways. I have a Beautiful warmblood with great blood lines who always seems to do well in the show ring but I also have a flashy black horse 16.3 hh and we don't know a thing about her blood and she does great

Answer 11

Yepperoos, thats why I love showing up with my so called no-name horse and beating the pants off prissy little snots :) Also why I prefer to ride western (no offence english ppl...but I find it less snooty)

Answer 12

yep. at MSU shows.. the announcer is the grandfather of two well known kids with a well known dad/trainer

and the judge is very political. so these two kids win a lot

thats just in country english pleasure

it happens in everything. it sucks for the ppl that are better than them

Answer 13

yes it all has to do with who you are, and  who you know, to even be considered as a competitor.

Answer 14

Yep A lot Of The Time You Have To Be Well Named But If You Work Hard You Never Know It Could Be You. Those People Who Evreyone Knows The Name Of Are Normally Like That Because They Are Good Riders.

xx

Answer 15

I don't know but I can tell you that a few years ago a Connemara in the Dublin show was  pulled in way back down the bottom in the first line and then was suddenly pulled in bang  at the top. Happened to be a pony that had won tonns before with a very good name but a different owner!!!!!Don't want to mention name though

Answer 16

Sadly it is often the case yes.  If many judges see a owners name, a riders name (or what team they may belong to), a studs prefix, or even in some cases the sire/dam then they do tend to be highly placed.  Having said that though, there are the exceptions!  i once beat a competitor who had been told she would get 1st as it was the yards owners pony, her face when the judge moved me up to 1st place!  (the judge thought long and hard as i guess she really felt it wasnt right).  

I have work with riding clubs and organised my own shows and it does go on. At the show i organised, i got judges from miles away to try and avoid it, however we still had those who felt they should have been plced higher speculate that it was fixed.  Sadly its life.  

Answer 17

yes.

Answer 18

Welcome to the world of horse showing.  Many years ago I realized that unless I became a big name breeder or trainer, I was wasting my time and my money entering breed shows.  I had the opportunity to act as ring steward for some of the shows, and was appalled at what I learned went into the judge's picks.  That was AQHA...but I'm sure it happens everywhere.

Answer 19

Yeah I completely agree.  

Answer 20

It should be fair and equal, but I found, when I was competing in these disciplines I was snubbed because I did not have the latest tack, the most expensive horse, the most uptodate clothes etc.  Nor did I have a groom.  But hey, I loved my horse and though we had some differences of opinion to begin with he became my soulmate and I loved him heaps.  He preferred jumping thank you very much and became a top class junior showjumper and X-country jumper.  Not every person or horse can shine in every discipline but give me a solid funloving carachter anyday.

If you are finding this snobbery, try switching to something else!

Answer 21

That's it. Show ground politics. It's sad, but true.

Answer 22

Depends on where you are and the judge. I haven't done dressage competetions (yet, going to one in Nov) but it sounds about the same as hunters.

Lots of hunter judges are looking for the huge warmbloods, big name trainers and a little under the table cash from said trainers. Occasionally though, there are good ones. I completely lost my faith in hunter judges untill Medal finals last year. Several girls had been placing over me in the qualifying classes even though I had better rounds. They had the huge trainers and $100,000 horses. Well, I qualified on a 15.2 bay OTTB that is an incredibly gifted horse that I pain $6,000 for. He was trained my a 16 year old and me (14 at the time) When it finally came the finals we showed and had a perfect round. No lie. Every spot, lead change and the one broken line was perfect. One other girl (on one of the cheaper horses. For sale for $30,000) had a round close to ours but she cross cantered in the broken line. The two of us were called back along with 3 other horses. I ended up taking second behind the above mentioned girl because her Eq is like amazing.

Anyway, the fact that the judges refused to place big name trainers horses because they had bad rounds was a first for me. There are some judges that actually judge the horse and rider and not their trainer. They are just few and far between.  

Answer 23

Unfortunately, yes.

Answer 24

Yeah, its not what you know, its who you know.

Answer 25

In some sports but not dressage. If you don't get good scores, it's not because you aren't a "big name." It's because you aren't doing something right!

Answer 26

In showing, yeah. There's loads of top professionals from studs who enter like 5 horses in each class, so you really have no chance of winning.

I partly agree in Dressage- it doesn't matter about your name, it's the type of horse. To be honest, even if you have a heavy horse or a cob who can do Piaffe and Passage, the judge won't look twice at you. They always award the best marks to those on the Warmbloods >:( It really annoys me!

x

Answer 27

Yes, in the higher classes

Answer 28

depends. if your horse/pony is amazing to look at goes nicely etc then the judge will ob put u heigher than someone whos pony isnt going well.

Answer 29

I totally agree also people are so unfriendly!

I do both county and local level showing and the difference is amazing! nobody speaks or makes friends at county all they do is stare at your horse to see if its competition!

Also i had a pony that didnt have a stud name but was spot on and we didnt do as well as when i got 2 quite well known stud ponies! it's ridiculous i much prefer the friendly banter and advice on a RC showground.

Answer 30

Yeah, some things are worse than others.

I love hunters, but I'd rather go to shows where the judge isn't local... WAY less politics.