10/ FEBRUARY 2023 THE RIDER


Pro and Non-Pro Reiner Article Series The revolution of judging a reining horse


Any sport that in-


volves people – judges - evaluating other people doing something, if it’s based solely on the judge’s opinion without guide- lines, rules and parame- ters,


is open for


subjectivity and bias. Even if a judge thinks they are not biased, their uncon- scious biases will show up in their judging. The NRHA (National


Reining Horse Associa- tion) began in 1966, and how the horse and rider were judged back then is quite different from what we see today. Back then, you


wouldn’t see a judge sit- ting next to a scribe in a chair at the centre of the arena. In those days, the judge would stand along the side of the arena, sim- ply watch the run and as- sign a


score upon completion of the run. Of


and John Snobelen (former Canadian politician and life-long horse man, mem- ber of Reining Horse Hall of Fame) were instrumen- tal in the development of the new vision of judging, one where there was an objective way of scoring; a judging revolution. The goal was to make


course, they might miss something, a sneaky slip out of lead, or a break of gait, or one too many large fast circles; so at the bigger shows the judge had an extra set of eyes from “pat- tern spotters”. It was their responsibility to let the judge know if the rider


went off pattern. Fast forward to 1985,


when the NRHA judging system changed drasti- cally.


Dick Pieper (Western


performance horse trainer, breeder, owner, past Presi- dent of NRHA and mem- ber of the Hall of Fame)


the entire run of reining relatively equal from the beginning to the end for every horse and rider; to put a more objective analysis into it as opposed to an opinionated subjec- tive perspective. The revo- lutionary system was the scoring of maneuvers indi- vidually, rather than a gen- eral assessment of the overall run. The new system was


highly controversial when it was first introduced; many thought it would never work, and here we are in 2023 – still using that fundamental revolu- tionary vision for how to judge a reining run. In the words of Bart


Corrington (involved in Reining for 40+ years, 2x NRHA World Champion) “As it turns out today, the basis of that system is the glue that continues to hold NRHA to a higher stan- dard. This ratings system is in my opinion a leap for- ward in maintaining that system and should serve to make it better in years to come. Kudos to those that got this put into place!” The process to be-


Shari Irwin Kelly Lehman Secretary: Kit Bartle


2023 Judges Committee (905) 440-5941


(519) 807-2660 (519) 732-0263


email: shari_irwin@hotmail.com email: maddavery@gmail.com email: drumbolady@hotmail.ca


Website: www.whao.org Celebrating 70 Years! 2023 Sr. Judges


Cally Jo Fritz 21 Taylor Blvd., Elliot Lake, ON P5A 3H5 H: (226) 289-8563, C: (519) 280-8169 Email: callygene@gmail.com


Shari Irwin 166 Gleasons Corner Road, Castleton, ON K0K 1M0 Cell (905) 440-5941 shari_irwin@hotmail.com


Jamie Kuhl 899 10th St. W., Owen Sound, ON N4K 3S3 H: (226) 909-1447. C: (647) 290-6093 jamie@archlines .ca


Kelly Lehman 895893 Oxford Rd. 3, Drumbo, ON N0J 1G0 C: (519) 807-2660. E: maddavery@gmail.com


Anne Marinacci 65 Swayze Court, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0 905-957-5619 Email: annemarinacci@hotmail.com


Erin O’Drowski 253 James St. N., PO Box 2767, St. Mary’s ON N4X 1A5 C: (226) 377-0244 Email: eodrowsk@gmail.com


Kris Simpson 711 Middletown Rd., RR #1, Waterdown, ON L8B 1P7 Cell: (519) 831-7299, email: richlandshowhorses@gmail.com


Don Stauffer 9626 Wellington Rd. 14, P.O. Box 16, Conn, ON N0G 1N0 H; (226) 258-9206, Cell (519) 604-8864 thestauffers48@gmail.com


Robyn Storey 6-120 Dudhope Ave., Cambridge, ON N1R 4T7 (519) 620-9015, Cell: (519) 841-3934, gatorrocks@hotmail.com


Mike Tucker 1581 Maple St. N., R.R. #4, Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 (905) 892-5610, Cell (905) 984-1581 Email: m.tucker1378@gmail.com


Jr. Judges


Dave Black 94 Concession 4 Road, Fisherville, ON N0A 1G0 C: (905) 921-0359 Email: diamondbquarterhorses@gmail.com


to the Fairboards to secure the shows. Peter Cameron was


the first judge, by accident really. They had a show planned but the judge never showed up so they asked Peter if he would judge, which he did, and became one of our most renowned Judges. But like everything


else, fairboards opted out for events that generated more money and shortly after cel- ebrating 50 years, the Asso- ciation was dissolved. It was decided to con-


WHAO Marks 70 Years


By Kit Bartle. Hello Everyone, and


Happy 70th Birthday to the Western Horse Association on Ontario (WHAO). Even though the


WHAO as most of us re- member it, is no longer, it


was a wonderful Organiza- tion, having shows at most of the Fall Fairs, the Extrav- aganza, held at the Paris Fairgrounds, all with money payback. All hold great memo-


ries for a lot of us. I can re-


member Herb Towers talk- ing about the start of the As- sociation. Shows were held at Barton and Kenilworth, which at one time was a race track. I can remember the fences all around it. He told about Peter


Cameron riding his horse from the Fonthill, St Cather- ines area for those shows. I can remember Herb


and Jack Bridge, loading their horses into the back of pickup trucks with tall sides to get to shows. Herb Tow-


ers, Roy Ionson, Slim Nor- sworthy were some of the people who started the WHAO to improve Horse- manship and friendship. Herb recalled that Roy


was the only one with a suit so he was the one they sent


tinue with the Judging Pro- gram which educated applicants with a equine background to become judges and then move on to get their judges tickets in other disciplines. The Association pro-


duced great judges: Herb Towers, Ron Bast, Ben Coyle, Barb Hughes, Bill Stirling, Al Watson, Bob Sisson, Jim Muir, Louise Harris, Melanie Grey, Mike Tucker, Don Stauffer, Janet McClure, Shari Irwin, Kelly Lehman, Jamie Kuhl, Kris


Simpson, Anne Marinacci, Robyn


Storey Scott


Carmichael, Todd Bailey, Jamie Simpson Some have and still


are judging throughout Canada,


the USA and


abroad. The Judging Program,


which we have no definite year that it started, is strong. Two of our Judges, Don and Mike have been with the Judging Program for forty years.


The Judging Program


continues to be strong today. The WHAO Judge’s Pro- gram ensures judges have the necessary education and experience throughout men- toring to judge horse shows successfully. This supports the many horse clubs in On- tario. Some of our Judges have gone on to obtain Breed judges’s credentials. So here we are, 70


years later, still carrying on what was started back then. Maybe not as an Association providing shows, but pro- viding people qualified to judge those shows.


come an NRHA judge is quite rigorous; to apply you have to pass the Judges Applicant Seminar. To get here is quite the achievement;


there are


only 30 openings a year and candidates need to meet the requirements as set out. If you get through this stage, next is attending a Judges School which is no walk in the park! On March 25 2023 at


the Ancaster Fairgrounds (in the old and heated show arena) we are host- ing a ‘From the Judge’s Perspective’ clinic with Ed (Hoot) Bricker – a judge with tons of experience, he’s on the 2023 NRHA Executive Committee and he’s been an NRHA judge since 1997. Hoot has judged at all three Run for a Million competitions. It’s going to be a full day packed with learning, and lunch.


Come audit and learn email


– for more info go to https://www.jjreining. ca/clinic To sign up send us an to


JJReiningInc@gmail.com Pics showing the evo-


lution of the reining horse and judging system


————— Pro and Non-Pro ar-


ticles written by Jen Jonas of Jonas Performance Horses (Pro) and Sharon Jones of Be A Better You (Non-Pro). Together, they are J&J Reining Inc. Both Jen and Sharon


are believers in continual learning – if you’re not learning you’re not grow- ing.


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