The ability to rate and post reviews about judges

Hey all! I absolutely adore this site, it has made photo showing SO much simpler and easy to navigate. But I have a suggestion: I've noticed a lot of new shows popping up, which is great, but I have had some questions about the validity of judging choices in some of these shows. (Not to call out anyone in particular, I think most of these judges have the best intentions.) Now, I don't want to sound like a Karen lol. Its not that I think my horses deserved better placing then they got, on the contrary, I've been doing quite well. But a few times I have gone in to check the class lists after a show and seen horses far better suited for the class then mine, not place, while horses that don't even fit the breed standards place 1st or 2nd. While I think this site format is lovely, I also think its conducive to allowing inexperienced judges to hold shows, as well as people possibly using personal shows to give ribbons to their friends. I'm not saying thats what is going on, but its a possibility I see occurring in the future.

I would love to see an addition to the site where after a show, the participants of said show are invited to leave a review and rating of the judges for their class. It would definitely need to be monitored so that people aren't leaving shitty reviews for no reason other then spite, but it would be helpful for me as a shower to know which judges people find to be fair and knowledgeable. Judging of course is really subjective, but I feel like we can all agree that an accurate knowledge of anatomy, breed standards, and color genetics is key to a reputable judge. It feels like a hollow victory to be placed above horses I feel should do better then mine. As a judge, I would also love to know how my show participants think I'm doing so I can rectify my internal biases!

Just a suggestion! I hope this is something we can see in the future! 😁

I think this is a great idea. I too have wondered about some placings, mine as well as others. There needs to be some form of justification if we are to call these wins true “wins.” As with any competition there is always the chance of biased decisions. Your idea will help those of us concerned with this matter.

Maybe a rating by entrants at the end of a show could help us see what the overall feeling of the show was. I was a teacher for many years and got used to evaluations. I love to know where I excelled and where I need improvement. Each show holder should want to know how they did and not view an evaluation as anything negative.

I do think this is an interesting suggestion however I can also see it being abused when people just don't get the placings they want, a.k.a sour grapes. Judging is entirely subjective and as most every show packet says, live or photo - it's the judge's opinion in the end, and there's really nothing to do about that but accept or don't show under that particular person again. Perhaps instead of rating, judges or show hosts could be given "kudos" or something like that by people who felt the judging was fair. No way to give negative feedback, but by comparing the number of shows they have judged (viewable on the profile) and the amount of kudos they receive, perhaps it could give an indicator on how well they judge without giving people the option to send negativity their way.

Something we'll think about but I do not think we'll do it in a way that involves comments or negative ratings to avoid the potential drama that comes with it. :)

You can sort of get a sense of which judges are qualified & experienced by reading and reviewing some of judge's profiles HERE.