A good judge must have an intimate knowledge of the rules that govern the sport and be able to concentrate and remain professional in high-pressure environments.
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António Vicente, WAWE judge from Portugal, worked closely with the Judge Candidates throughout the week.
António Vicente and Mario Canas Pimentel. These two International judges, who have both served as Ground Jury Presidents in the European Working Equitation Championships, not only gave us remarkable insight into the rules of international competition, but also our national rules for USA competitions. They provided refreshing techniques to evaluate and correctly judge the four different trials of Working Equitation.
Judging the sport of Working Equitation is complex. It requires a clear understanding of the technical requirements for correctly performing dressage movements such as 10, 15, and 20 meter circles, halt, rein back, leg yield, half pass, turn on the haunches, walk and canter pirouettes, and flying changes. It demands knowledge of each of the obstacles used in the sport and the criteria by which their performance is evaluated.
One of the ways in which WE United works “for the Integrity of the Sport” was recently illustrated by the week-long intensive Judge Seminar and TD Training the association offered March 14-18 (Judges) and March 19 (Technical Delegates) in Eugene, Oregon. The Judge Seminar was taught by two highly-respected Judges, both members of a very small group licensed by the World Association for Working Equitation (WAWE) to judge the sport internationally. As the international governing body for the sport, WAWE
depth of knowledge and many years of experience judging to the seminar.
licenses only the highest echelon of judges. António Vicente and Mário Canad Pimentel, both of whom traveled from Portugal to teach the seminar, brought an amazing depth of knowledge and many years of experience judging to the seminar.
The seminar included four days of classroom instruction and 11 hours of live judging practice at a licensed competition with 19 competitors from Introductory through Advanced levels, providing in-depth coverage of the United States Rules for Working Equitation as well as WAWE international expectations for the sport. On the last day of the seminar, Judge Candidates completed a written exam on the rules that included a scoring exercise to demonstrate their proficiency in correctly scoring and placing Working Equitation competitions.
Those in attendance were glowing in their evaluations of the Judge Seminar experience.
Jane Renner, who flew in from Colorado to participate, reflected, “The judging seminar hosted by WE United March 13-18, 2017 in Eugene, Oregon was an intensive week of instruction from WAWE judges