Youth Judging Team 2014
By Meaghan Shaffer
Our Youth Judging Team got a piece of the prize in Performance Judging High Team, placing fifth in the nation at the U.S. Nationals in Tulsa! The AHASFV judging team was comprised of Krista Askenas, Kate Aronovsky, Danielle Garcia, and Natalie Zavala. Krista received a top five individually in Performance Reasons. So cool!! This was the first time we’ve ever sent a team to compete in the big contest.
It was the first time their coach has attended as well. There were 150 competitors in the contest this year.
The contest started at 8:00 a.m. and didn’t finish until 4:30 p.m. For those seven and half hours, the kids were in complete silence and had no electronic devices at all. Torture for many teens! The divisions of the contest were in Junior AHA (18 & under), 4-H and FFA, and collegiate teams. The kids judged four halter classes and six performance classes. They turned in individual scorecards for each and were not allowed to consult notes or confer with one another. This process took all morning. They hopped on a bus in silence and were shuttled to a nearby hotel for a boxed lunch and to prepare and memorize their “reasons”. The youth had to remember the class they judged in the morning and explain in an organized and concise manner the reasons why they placed the class they way that they did, using proper terminology and cite their reasons using specific examples from the actual class. They had to do this for four of the ten classes that they judged.
The next morning the kids attended the awards breakfast. It was a semi-formal affair and full of prizes and scores. The team was thrilled to earn the honor of getting a nationals ribbon. Finally, the kids were invited to participate in the Judging parade in center ring at Nationals. All the team participants carried their winnings, banners, and flags, and they took a lap around center ring while the announcer introduced them. It was similar to the Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics.
Our team flew to Tulsa with the goal of just getting their feet wet and learning the ropes in order to be competitive for the following year. The girls were not far off the mark from being contenders this year. A few points here and there were all that are needed. The experience gave the kids just enough success to fuel their fire and get them motivated to continue preparing and learning. The kids are right on track with their studying and training. Watch for them next year!
The second largest program involving our youth group is the Youth Judging Team. This team is composed mainly of the older youth that want to learn how to critique a horse and the different specifications required in each class. There are two other judging competitions during the year; one is at Cal Poly Pomona in March and the other is held at the Region 1 show in Del Mar in June. The top four scoring youths from those two competitions receive an invitation to take a sponsored trip to the final Judging Contest at the U.S. Arabian Nationals in Tulsa in October. Not only do the kids represent themselves and their club, they judge high quality horses that are competing at the pinnacle of their breed. The experience is unmatched in that the youths learn poise, public speaking, and a greater appreciation for Arabian horses.