Attending the AQHA judges conference in Dallas – felt like being part of a large orchestra. One of 300 judges, tuning up to be on key with the standard, and in sync with one another. So many experienced, talented horseman,  yet personal preference, interpretation and bias were to be laid aside – a reminder to stick to the music score, without improvising.

We watched video after video dissecting technical faults, penalties… and excellence. We hit the controversial issues head on – everyone heard the same message, reading off the same sheet music.

We were reminded that it’s the judges who are largely responsible for perpetuating certain trends and training techniques that have become distasteful to the general public.

And for the first time in AQHA history, judges were tested to recertify.