I had rather a late journey home after judging at the North of England Summer fixture, with competitors greeting me with “good evening” by the time we got into the ring.
Unfortunately, an administrative error affecting the first classes of the day had caused the ring to run late. Despite having passed through the requisite schedule checks, it turned out that one of the appointed judges for the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) junior mountain and moorland (M&M) section was not on the correct panel and was therefore unable to officiate.
This error wasn’t noticed until the 11th hour, leaving the other judge judging almost 50 ponies on his own. No wonder it ran late.
This is not the first time this has happened – a similar situation occurred at a leading county show last year. Luckily, they had just enough time to find a replacement.
This got me thinking. If judges themselves aren’t sure whether or not they can accept an appointment, and if HOYS aren’t sure when they check a schedule, how are show organisers meant to be sure? Especially in the case of county fixtures where the organisers are not showing buffs volunteering for the role, but staff members paid to oversee appointments with no further involvement.
Better systems
It’s time we considered how digitisation could alleviate administrative problems. At the very least, an up-to-date electronic list of judges for every section, brought to us collaboratively by HOYS and the societies would help show organisers and the judges themselves. Better still, let’s just have one society – and therefore panel – for horses and one for ponies.
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Not only would it mean one set of rules to adhere to, but also save us significant amounts of money as competitors. It would also save money for our judges who must pay an annual fee to each society in order to remain on their panels even if they have no appointments.
It’s also high time we had just one entry system for all qualifiers. How many times must we type out the same names, the same numbers, the same addresses…? It’s such a win when you log into a system and it remembers your horse!
There have been problems with the adding of marks again this year, especially in the workers. It’s so disappointing for all involved when this happens, including the poor stewards. As an example, there are five classes of HOYS M&M workers with an average of 20 in each, so stewards may well have to compute the marks of 100 ponies in that section alone. It’s too much.
Given all that’s possible on a smartphone, you would think that we’d have an app that could calculate marks by now. Such an app would also save time in flat classes. No one enjoys that stomach-churning time between the end of the shows and the calling of results. You’ve done your show and can do no more, your fate is left in the lap of luck and the stewards’ maths abilities.
For the fun of it
On a lighter note, I recently saw Geoff Billington had shared photos on social media in fancy dress in the run-up to Bolesworth. I love seeing how top riders in other disciplines show their human, fun sides.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see fancy dress or novelty classes for our leading riders? Perhaps it’s what showing needs to fuel public interest and break down the barriers between professionals and amateurs!
● How do you think we could restructure our showing societies to save competitors, judges and organisers? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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Bethan joined Horse & Hound as showing editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Showing World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she started showing as a teenager and has enjoyed wins at major shows up and down the country, including Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, as well as HOYS, RIHS and London. She is particularly passionate about Welsh breeds and is also a Welsh language commentator.
