On the other hand, the disadvantage in having a division dedicated to equitation is that success in the division sometimes becomes an end in itself. That attitude is not healthy, in my opinion. If you learn equitation only in hopes of winning the finals and then never ride again, that does a disservice to the whole concept of equitation. To the riders whom I hope the division rewards (and for whom I look when I’m judging), equitation is a means to becoming better—whether their ultimate sport is hunter/jumper, riding cross-country, pleasure riding or something else.

To give you some insight on what a judge is looking for when you ride in an equitation class, I’m first going to explain what I believe are the components for success in the division. Then I’m going to let you look over my shoulder and share my thoughts as I am judging. As I explain how I arrive at placings, I’ll point out how some of the things that affect my scoring will also affect how you might perform in another discipline, such as hunters or jumpers.

The Basic Pieces: Stylish and Effective

The basic elements I look for when I judge an equitation class are exactly the same whether I’m watching riders on the flat or over fences: style and effectiveness in the same rider, in the same round. This combination is elusive: What the judge often sees is a rider who is effective in getting the job done but is not correct in position, style or presentation; or a rider whose style, position and presentation are correct but who isn’t effective.

It’s difficult to attain both of these qualities in the same class on any given day—and even more so because the riders who are trying to do it are so young. As I get older I realize that one of the best things about this sport is that you truly do get better as you get older, and that process continues for a very long time.

So what is the secret to putting both pieces together in the ring? I have a favorite saying for my students: “The best rider isn’t the one who can do the most complicated things; it’s the rider who can do the most simple things the best.” To me, this means that if you want to be the best rider in the ring, you need to really concentrate on these simple things:

• Positioning you feet correctly in the irons
• Having your reins exactly the right length
• Maintaining a consistently straight line from bit to hand to elbow
• Having the exactly correct line from hip to to heel in your leg
• Riding with exactly the right angulation in your leg and the other parts of your body at the different gaits

These details add up to style, by they also contribute to effectiveness, because they’re essential to having proper contact with your horse’s mouth and having just enough pressure to keep your horse in front of your leg.

Adding Fences to the Mix

A rider who is able to put all this together on the flat has made a great beginning; the really good riders are able to do the same thing in the over-fences classes. I see a lot of riders in equitation who are very stylish and effective on the flat but have no feel or pace or jump. Then there are those who have great feeling at the jumps but no feel or pace between the fences.

And some riders who look great on the flat simply don’t have the strength of position, they need for jumps and just fall apart when faced with fences in front of them. Some are very effective seat-of-the-pants riders over the jumps but look terrible on a horse. When I judge an over fences class, I am looking for the rider who can show me she understands the course so well that she jumps it in beautiful form while keeping her leg aids invisible and without the appearance of effort. The horse looks comfortable doing it and flows and looks beautiful.

The skills that enable a rider to produce this kind of round are simple and basic, which is not to say that they’re easy:

• Coordination of aids
• Independent hands and seat
• Invisible aids

The rider who has developed these abilities can say, “OK, here’s the course and I understand it. My position is so strong that my hands, seat and legs will be independent of each other from start to finish. I’m such a good rider that I can completely coordinate my aids, and I’m going to do that so subtly that no one watching will be able to tell what I’m doing.” The other point that contributes to a winning round is pace. As I always tell my hunter riders, the idea is to pick a pace and do the entire course at exactly that pace. Taken all together, these skills are the whole point of the equitation division, and they are what need to be rewarded.

Looking the Part of a Winner

What you wear in an equitation class is both unimportant—and critical. When I say it’s unimportant, I mean you don’t need an expensive or custom-made jacket, breeches or boots to make a good impression. On the other hand, attire is critical because the way you present yourself is one of the ways in which you can demonstrate your respect for the horse, the sport, the show, the judge and yourself. Clean, well-fitted clothing (including a fresh shirt and a clean choker or a nice tie) and shiny, shiny boots and spurs show respect. Conversely, dirty boots, a battered hunt cap, distracting jewelry and—my pet peeve—messy hair do not show respect.

Your job in equitation is to get your horse to do his job, while becoming effortless and invisible on him. The sport is about the horses, and you demonstrate your understanding of that by choosing conservative styles and colors and avoiding bright colors and bling. As a judge my principle is, “If you notice it, it’s probably wrong.” And in particular, if I notice it about you—whose job is to disappear—then it’s really wrong.

The ideal equitation horse is an athletic mover with scope and good looks; most important, though, is his brain. An equitation horse needs to want to keep doing it, no matter what. As I tell my students, “If you don’t have the best horse, you need to work on having the best-trained horse.” So your horse needs to be able to accept and absorb enough training to compensate for what he might lack in scope or beauty. One good thing about the equitation division is that with hard work and good horsemanship (meaning good care, feeding and conditioning), good training and a reasonably good horse, you can be competitive. If I have to choose, I’ll always pick the horse with the best brain and less scope over a gorgeous, scopey horse with the wrong brain.

How It All Fits Together

Now let’s see where all the pieces of equitation come into play when I’m judging a round. First impressions count and the evaluation that starts the moment you step into the ring, and it doesn’t end until you leave.

Details matter! Is your position correct in all the particulars I described earlier? Are you dressed appropriately, with clean clothing and tack? Is your horse—whether fancy or ordinary—beautifully turned out? If this is an over-fences class, is the opening circle just right, too big or too small? I’m processing everything, but what pops out are the things I don’t like. (This goes back to my adage that if you notice it, it’s probably wrong.)

A twisted stirrup leather, too-long reins, an odd bit, a too-short martingale … they’re all details that tend to lower my expectation of the performance I’m about to see. I don’t think in terms of number scores as I’m watching, but I tentatively assign you to one of four categories based on first impression. Those categories have numerical equivalents: poor (60s), inexperienced (70s), pretty good (80s) or fantastic (90s). It’s important to be turned out well, have a good position and present yourself well, because that helps you start out the class with an edge.

Whether you stay at the level I initially assign to you or move up or down, depends on what you do next.

How I Score

Only two things in equitation are scored objectively at present. One is time faults—a point off the score for each second over the time allowed. The other is a rail, which usually lowers the score four points. There’s a reason for this scoring: Both rails and time allowed are tangible aspects of performance that exhibitors, trainers and spectators can see and understand just as the judge can. It’s also worth noting that a time element isn’t normally introduced in equitation classes until the upper levels. As the classes become more advanced, the time tends to get tighter and becomes more of a factor. This is a great example of how equitation prepares you for other divisions. As you progress up through the equitation division, the classes and scoring begin to resemble what you’ll encounter when you’re out of equitation and in the jumper divisions.

The rest of scoring is more subjective and each judge has a personal system, but certain problems that I notice at the in gate alert me to watch for particular errors on course. A major indicator to me for what kind of round to expect is whether your foot is positioned correctly in the stirrup iron, because I think that detail is the basis for having a good leg and therefore a good position. If I notice that your reins are long when you come in, it won’t surprise me that your horse goes around looking very quick or leaves a stride out of the last line. If your reins look short, you’re likely to have a nervous, choky kind of round.

Rubs aren’t a deduction in and of themselves; the rider problems that cause rubs are what lowers a score. If I’m saying to myself, Gee, I think that rider falls back a little in the air, and the horse has a hard rub behind at the next jump, that confirms my impression of her mistake, which gets factored into her overall score. The same factors apply when your hands appear stiff and you have a rub or a rail in front: I penalize the reason for the rub, not the rub itself.

The bottom line is that a flaw in position or technique will have consequences somewhere during the course—and that is true whether the class is equitation, hunters or jumpers.

That’s why good equitation is such a strong foundation for other disciplines. For example, jumping ahead of the horse may cause a rail down in front; an inadequate release can cause a rail to come down either in front or behind. If you get too wrapped up in just one aspect of the course—how you’re landing, getting your lead or nailing the turn—you may get ahead of your horse in the air instead of staying in balance with him, and end up cross-cantering the turn.

I don’t take off X number of points for any of these errors; my scoring is more intuitive. But if you come in looking like you belong in the 80s or 90s, you can end up right down in the 60s if, after riding most of the course beautifully, you whip through the turn and chip at the second-to-last jump (indicating that you didn’t understand the course after all). On the other hand, if you make a less polished first impression and start out in the 70s but proceed to show me that you really understand the course and your horse and know how to put him where he needs to be, you can work your way up into the high 80s.

When the class is over, I’ve done my job as a judge if I reward the rider who—in this particular class—understood the course the best, demonstrated the best riding skills and rode it with the most style and the least apparent effort, and whose horse looked the most comfortable doing it.

The ‘Halo Effect’ When Judging Equitation Classes

At the top levels, a few successful riders perform so well and so consistently over time, it seems as if they come into the ring with a halo effect. They develop “momentum” that gives them an automatic edge when they ride in the ring. As a result, judges who are not confident in their own evaluations may try to build confidence by demonstrating that they know Rider X is really good by placing Rider X high, perhaps overlooking the fact that X found a really deep spot at one jump, while lesser-known Rider Y had a better round.

Creating more confident judges is obviously a goal of the Judge’s Mentor Program. I have my own system for creating a “clean slate” among riders, especially if one is better known than the other. I mentally switch them and imagine that Rider X had Rider Y’s round and vice versa. This way I make sure that I’m picking the rider who had the best ride in that particular class.

About Geoff Teall

As a trainer and coach, Geoff Teall has produced winning horses and riders and numerous major shows and championships, including the Devon Horse Show, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, the Washington International Horse Show, the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals and the USEF Hunter Seat Medal Final. He is an “R” judge for both hunters and equitation and a sought-after clinician who travels extensively in North America and Europe. His Montoga, Inc. hunter barn is located in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is co-founder of the American Hunter Jumper Foundation, which recently merged with the US Hunter Jumper Association, and is the author of Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation: Develop a Winning Style.