Nervous in front of your judge?
I’d like to think most adults understand that the judges who judge our horse shows are actually just people like the competitors. In fact, many judges have spent more time learning how to judge, putting hours of studying and apprenticing in and going to clinics to keep up on their judging skills than we have on the horse we are about to enter the arena on.
The tough part is getting kids to understand this! So often these kids will get intimidated by the person watching them from the middle of the arena at a show. They tend to forget the real reason they are showing and worry only about what this anonymous person is thinking about them. Showing in front of a supposed ‘unfriendly judging stranger’ is very nerve wracking for a child!
Showing for the right reasons
Rebekah wrote a great article on showing, so I’ll just sum it up here. Showing is a great way for kids to see specific goals in reach, be able to work for them in between with those goals in mind, then boosting their confidence when their hard work is paid off and a total stranger recognizes that!
There are a lot of obstacles in between that of course, and one of those is getting over the nerves from standing in front of that total stranger and proving yourself to them. They start to see that person only as someone who is going to place them, give them a good score or a bad score, and they give that person so much power in their mind.
What the Judge may actually be thinking
We need to explain to these kids that these judges might be just as nervous as you are! You might be at your first POA Congress show, but one of those judges might be judging their first POA Congress show! They want to show that they can judge correctly and fairly so they stay in business. Their livelihood is based on how well they accurately place you, so they almost have more at stake than you do!
We don’t always love the way a judge places us and that might make us nervous heading back in a class. But these judges have so much to look at and keep track of, if you go in and perform like you’ve been practicing so hard for, you are proving to yourself that you are here for the right reasons. Then, when we are relaxed and focused on our horse, we tend to place much better!
It’s hard work to be a Judge!
Judges put in so much time and effort into their jobs; trust me, they don’t start out their judging career for the money, they start it because they love to judge! Judges want to see their competitors succeed, they are rooting for you more than anyone there when you walk into the arena! They want to find that winner! We, as competitors of all ages, have to remember, that judges are people too, and they know how hard we worked to be in that arena. Make sure you keep in mind how hard that judge worked to be in that arena also!
