Three...or one?
On October 14, 2015 the NAMHSA Board of
Directors voted to accept a proposal to
change the three-judge system to one
that uses a single judge.
by Lesli Kathman
Although the Board voted unanimously to make this
change for the 2016 North American Nationals (NAN),
the sometimes heated debate that proceeded the decision
has continued, at times revealing deep divisions within
the model horse showing community. I have asked proponents of each system to lay out the best arguments for
their position. Because of the temporary nature of the
original proposal—it is a one-year trial—and because
the national show still faces a number of challenges, it is
likely that the subject will come up again in the near future. For that reason, it is important for entrants (and other
supporters of the show) to understand the strengths and
limitations of each approach.
to show), I can tell you why I think it is no longer an effective or efficient way to determine a national champion.
While one of the unique facets of NAN is the three-judge
panel, it is also another thing that is making it increasingly difficult to staff the event effectively. The show itself
has been allowed to adapt and grow, adding new divisions as they emerge in the hobby, but at the same time
we have not ensured that our judging pool has expanded
at the same pace. As our show becomes more refined
and divisions more specialized, we have failed to train
enough people to deal with the more nuanced and complex judging we expect at the National level.
Manpower, knowledge base & criteria
The issues of a multi-judge panel within the hobby are
numerous. Yes, they are used in other “real horse” competitions, and yes, not all judges are in perfect lockstep
across the board. That is not the point. In other multiplejudge competitions, those judges are typically trained
within that same system and are tested and licensed to
do their job. Literally anyone can judge a model horse
After the arguments for each of the two different posi- show. There is no official handbook on judging model
tions, Heather Malone-Bogle will give an overview of the horses. We make a lot of claims that showing is “just like
history of the show and how its format has changed over real horse showing”. Except it is not.
time. Then I will close with some comments about the
two schools of thought that have developed for judging Models horses are not real horses.
halter classes and how that impacts the national show.
Model horses have to get over a viability hurdle that is the
living horse default. Anatomy, biomechanics, and color
by Jackie Arns-Rossi
accuracy—the ABCs—have to be factored in for us, by us.
By the time you read this, the ques- Horses are alive and functional and colored already. They
tion of the format to be used for the exist, therefor they are correct on the basic realism level.
2016 Nationals—one judge versus The same cannot be said for models.
three judges—will be settled. I was a fan of the threejudge system right up until I needed to actually work When