|
A Fence Judge, or jump judge as they are sometimes known, is the person responsible for ruling on the performance of competing horses and riders over one of the obstacles on the Cross Country phase of a One-, Two- or Three-Day-Event.
Three-Day-Events are considered to be the ultimate test of the fitness and ability of horse and rider. One-Day-Events, which used to be known as Horse Trials, are shortened, though not necessarily easier, versions of these and together they make up the sport of Eventing, a sport at which Britain has, over the years, had a considerable amount of International success.
An event is made up of three disciplines, Dressage (to test the obedience of the horse and calmness of the rider), Show Jumping (to test the accuracy and athleticism of the horse and the control of the rider) and Cross Country (to test the speed and boldness of both horse and rider).
There are five levels of competition, increasing in difficulty from Intro, through Pre-Novice, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Intro and Pre-Novice are always run as One-Day-Events, but Novice, Intermediate and Advanced can be run as One-, Two- or Three-Day Events
The Cross Country phase is run over a course of solid obstacles (ie. They don’t knock down like show jumps) over a distance varying from about 1.5 km for Intro to nearly 8 km for World Class Championship Courses
It is in the Cross Country phase that the Fence Judges are needed.
The nature of the Cross Country phase and the length of the course make it impossible for the judging of the obstacles to be done from one place, indeed it is sometimes the case that it is only feasible to see one fence at a time. So each fence has it’s own Fence Judges, usually two, sometimes more.
The duties of the Fence Judge are to record each competitor over their fence, and to ensure that the fence is safely jumpable at all times. The scoring for the competitors consists of recording whether the horse jumps clear or stops (and if so how many times) or the horse and/or the rider fall. There is a full briefing given to all Fence Judges at the start of each days judging and the rules and scoring are carefully explained, so no one need feel that inexperience is a bar to enjoying a day helping at a Horse Trial.
The main requirements for a days Fence Judging are a car to get to the Event and to use for shelter at the fence if the weather is REALLY bad and plenty of warm clothes – the Event carries on whatever the weather! It is also a good idea to take a couple of pencils or pens, a penknife, a chair (to sit on if the weather is clement), some sun cream (just in case!) and – if you have one – a garden rake (to keep the take offs and landings in good condition). All the other equipment you require (score books, whistles, stop watches, radios and flags) will be provided as necessary, by the Event Organiser.
The Cross Country will run for most of the day; at a typical One Day Event there will be upwards of 200 horses going round the course. They start individually (it is not a race) at approximately 2 minute intervals and as there is no break for lunch at most Events (though not all) the Fence Judges are provided with a packed lunch and refreshments (usually tea and coffee). If you are not sure if refreshments will be provided it is a good idea to take something to see you through the day.
Eventing is an equestrian sport and as such is unique among sporting activities for two reasons, firstly, that the level of competition at which a horse and rider compete is decided more by the experience and ability of the horse than the rider and secondly because men and women compete against each other on equal terms. This means that there are riders of both sexes and all standards from the world class riders bringing on their young horses to keen and dedicated one-horse owners competing on an equal footing at all levels of the sport from novice or even pre-novice event through to advanced.
The benefit of this for the Fence Judge this means that wherever they are helping they may have the opportunity of seeing the world’s best riders jumping the fence they are judging, and seeing more than 200 horse and rider combinations jumping the same fence certainly lets you realise that there are many ways of getting over the same fence and that some are better than others!
If this brief outline of Fence Judging has whetted your appetite and you think that you would like to volunteer to judge for a day, or you would like to know more please e-mail me at sue@fencejudging.co.uk
|
