Why Did The Judge Make Me Do?

By Betty Wolgram Reprinted from the Region III newsletter

You’ve got to do it if you want to ride your horse… EVERY time you want to ride your horse, so you’ve probably done it lots and lots of times, right? No sweat, just put your foot in the stirrup and up and over, settle in the saddle, and off you go, right? Nothing could be simpler, right? Not when it is the DREADED JUDGED MOUNT, which occurs at least once during a competitive trail ride, and the judges can get mighty creative on when and how they judge the mount.

One of their favorites is the mount at the start of the day’s ride. Just when you and your horse are most eager to pass the timer and be on your way, you are asked to lead in hand to the judge and mount your horse. Executing a quiet mount at any time during a competitive trail ride can be a challenge; first thing in the morning may seem nothing short of sadistic! Both the vet judge and the horsemanship judge are usually present, so you and/or your horse can LOSE POINTS, right?

What a terrible way to start the day, in the hole before you’re even out the gate! Well, let’s look at it another way. From the judge’s point of view, judging a mount before the riders are timed out allows an observation without interfering with the riders’ time and it allows the judges more opportunities for other judged observations during the ride. They’re not deliberately trying to be cruel, just efficient. (Keep telling yourself that!)

One way to avoid the snorting, rearing-to-go syndrome is to do at home what you might do at the ride, practice a good judged mount each and every time you head out to ride. When you ask for, you usually receive, and if you are in too big a hurry yourself to gather the reins for good control, execute a smooth mount, settle lightly in the saddle, and require the horse to stand for at least a count of ten before taking off, then it won’t happen on the judged mount either.

Judges also like to “hang out” and unobtrusively observe riders as they mount after water stops, after P&R stops, and after lunch. I’ve often been surprised when I got my scorecards to see that a mount was judged and I didn’t even realize it. Most of the time, I do even better with judged mounts like this because I am not “up-tight” about the judge and everyone else there watching me mount!

It’s a good idea to get into the habit of doing at least two or three dismounts/mounts when you are out on your conditioning rides. Judges can get pretty inventive about where they might ask riders to dismount and /or mount their horses, so try to anticipate as many situations as you can. Ride down into a gully or ditch and dismount. Practice using the slope of the ditch to do both an offside and near-side mount. Sidepass up to a large rock or picnic table and get off and back on from both sides.

Practice leading your horse in hand into a space created by ribbon on the ground or cones and mount on both sides. Remember to ask your horse to stand quietly for a few seconds after the mount before moving off. And don’t always just move on down the trail. Ask your horse to back three steps after your mount or sidepass to the right or left. A horse is a creature of habit and if we always do things exactly the same way, they will anticipate (and sometimes guess wrong if the judge has asked us to mount and then back around a bush).

Judges usually prefer to see the rider use the right side of the pommel instead of the cantle for the best lift and balance, but some riders find that physically difficult. Most judges will not fault you if you execute a smooth cantle mount as long as it doesn’t pull your horse off balance or compromise safety, but if you are in doubt you can always ask.

Other faults that will cause a loss in points on the mount include dismounting / mounting on the downhill side of the horse (definitely not safe!), hanging too long in the stirrup, dragging your foot over your horse’s butt, letting your horse walk off before your mount in completed, leaning down to put your foot in the stirrup and / or not lighting resetting the saddle after mounting, and landing heavy in the saddle.

Make that judged mount a time when you and your horse will really shine together, and don’t forget to praise your equine friend each and every time he does what you ask with a well deserved rub on the neck or whispered “good boy” (or girl).

And when the mount is less than perfect, don’t get upset at yourself or your horse. Briefly think about how you can make it better next time, let it go, and enjoy the rest of your ride.

"Reprinted with permission, from Hoof Print, the official newsletter of the North American Trail Ride Conference (NATRC)".