Should Judges Be Re-tested From Time To Time?

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Should Judges Be Re-tested From Time To Time?
Topic Started: Oct 7 2007, 01:12 PM (1,252 Views)
Linda Whetstone	Oct 7 2007, 01:12 PM Post #1
Member Posts: 12 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: February 12, 2007	I am a trainee judge hoping to go forward for assessment shortly. At a recent Seminar I became aware that not all those on List 6 have been assessed. One I was speaking to became a Listed judge 20 years ago without training or indeed any form of exam just because someone had suggested to her it was time she was! Since then while she meets her training requirements she is never 'reviewed'. Now that applicants are comprehensively assessed and indeed rejected quite frequently is it not also time that existing Listed judges were subject to a review from time to time eg every ten years. This will I am sure 'weed out' the weak one and indeed hopefully those that have become deskilled as they no longer compete and rarely judge. I appreciate we are despirately short of judges but to have some listed that are really fairly poor does nothing for the reputation of BD. Answer. After the war a small group of enthusiasts, led by Col and Mrs VDS Williams and Sheila Inderwick, began to develope dressage in the UK and then the British Horse Society set up the Dressage Group in 1961. As the questioner rightly says in these early days people were just appointed to be judges because of their knowledge and expertise but the building of a panel of dressage judges had to start from somewhere. Gradually a system has been developed to train and assess people before they become judges or upgrade, and to continue their training throughout their career as a judge. It is a good and much debated question as to whether judges should be re-tested from time to time. One point of view is that when you are accepted onto the list of official dressage judges, or upgrade, it is like getting a qualification from the BHS or to be a plumber or lawyer. For these qualifications you are not retested every x many years, providing you keep up to date with the required training and despite the fact that some would have achieved their qualifications earlier and probably under a less rigorous testing system. The fact that you no longer ride does not necessarily mean that you are no longer a good judge. Another point of view is that even if those with other qualifications are not re-tested from time to time that is no reason why dressage judges should not be especially as there is no retirement age for dressage judges. At the moment if someone feels they have been judged badly and sends their comments, sheets, and a video if available, to British Dressage, it is passed on to a small group of experienced dressage judges who consider the evidence. If they uphold the complaint then the judge in question will be asked to take part in more judge training and possibly also to be re-tested. Regular re-testing of all judges would be a huge task given that there are about 800 and it is not easy to identify the ones who are weak as most riders only moan when they feel that have been badly judged and don’t bother to send in any evidence on which BD could request a re-test.”


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