However, I'm trying to qualify for several USDF awards programs, including:
- Region 9 SWDC Championships
- GIAC Championships
- Rider Award (Training level)
- Horse Performance Award (Training level)
- USDF Bronze medal (someday)
Each one of these programs requires you to get a certain score for a certain number of different judges. The Rider Award was the hardest - we needed to have 10 scores from FOUR different judges. I was scrambling to figure out who the judges were for all the shows last year, and it turns out there's one particular judge who is at almost every show I rode at last year. Turns out, he's the 11th most popular judge in the U.S - you might have ridden for him too!
Anyway, hunting down judges led me to discover dressagedetective.com, which is somewhere I can waste a lot of time. Basically, someone smart had fun scraping dressage data off of public sites (like centerlinescores.com) and aggregating it. You can look up the judges you're riding for and get an idea of how hard they judge. So for example, you're looking to get that last qualifying score, you might not pick someone with a low generosity rating. Of course, that might come back to haunt you when you're at a championship show and get your ass handed to you by someone who scores harder!
Or if you're me, you don't care so much about the generosity rating, but just want to make sure you're riding for enough different judges so that all your scores count. I swear, picking shows for the calendar is harder than it looks!
Do you pick shows based on judges or other factor? Or is it really more about distance traveled?
Do you pick shows based on judges or other factor? Or is it really more about distance traveled?
A certain Haflinger might be getting a Training Level Performance Award, despite his best efforts otherwise.
What a cool site! And what a good idea.
ReplyDeleteFor our schooling shows, we have a different judge for every show. Our year end awards require someone ride for 3 different judges, so we try to make it easy on people. For our 2-day rated show, it's run as two separate shows on the different days and we have 2 judges; competitors showing both days will receive scores from both judges in an effort to make it easier for them to qualify for awards.
Stephanie, here all the different groups get different judges for each of their shows, as you do... but each group might use the exact same 5 or 6 judges each year. That sometimes makes it hard to ensure you're riding for enough different judges. Just means you have to read the fine print before you send in your entry!
DeleteThey should get this for hunters!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteIf there's somewhere public where they report scores, it's just a matter of writing a script that scrapes the site for data. Of course, I say that as if I knew how to write the script... ;)
DeleteThis is a cool idea. My aversion to driving far means I'd probably still stick with whatever's closest, but maybe if I need just one more score for a qualification I would judge hunt.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not fond of driving either, but this year I'm going to pay much closer attention to judges so I don't have to worry about whether I rode for enough different people!
DeleteI usually go for shows I know are run well, and have decent course design and good footing. There are also a few venues I'm just not a fan of and that I'll generally avoid if possible.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, venue is huge too. SO many things to consider!
Deleteintriguing!! i know pretty much nothing about dressage judges in our area but can see how this could grow in importance for me as i weight whether to show recognized or not... good to know!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of cool to look up stats on judges, even just for fun!
DeleteWe definitely judge hunt out here. There are a TON of shows to choose from so the judge definitely determines whether we go. We're skipping the first show of the year because the judge is a little funky with her scoring IMO and if it rains and we can't warm up, there's no way anyone is going to score well.
ReplyDeleteBoth of my trainers rank really low on the generosity, I'm glad I don't ever get to ride under them!
Tons of shows to choose from... I wish I had that problem! ;)
DeleteI plan shows mostly on cost and distance. I pay attention to the judges to make sure I don't ride for the same judge a second time (like for the bronze medal or rider award since there's so few scores), but for now they don't play a big role. This will be the first year I know about that judge website though.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's mostly distance and venue, but I *almost* didn't get my rider award because I rode for the same judge FOUR times last year. Lesson learned - check judges!
DeleteI don't have enough venue options to pick and choose who I ride in front of, but I definitely know who scores the hardest, and cringe when I end up with them!
ReplyDeleteHard judges are no fun!
DeleteGenerally my area tries to have different judges at the shows since there are few shows directly around us and they want to make it easiest possible for people to get to championships!
ReplyDeleteIndividual shows/GMOs use different judges, but the different GMOs seem to end up using the same judges sometimes. Just gotta pay attention when signing up for shows to make sure all the scores count!
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