How to give a better set of oral reasons: Preparation for the next season of horse judging
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EmailSetting yourself up for success is important! Practice these tips to continue your growth.
Public speaking has been declared a fear that affects as many as four out of ten Americans. Which means oral reasons are often one of the most daunting parts of horse judging. However, there are a number of ways competitors can prepare for the oral reasons portion of a judging contest and help boost their scores, which results in higher overall placings. The following are four simple ways to improve your next set of reasons.
- Use bullet points when preparing your reasons. This ties into taking excellent notes, picturing the horse and coming up with a reasons flows you like. A reasons flow is a set way of explaining what you preferred about a horse (see an example later). By writing bullet points, it becomes easier to memorize your set within the short time of the contest, as you can write them quickly and practice saying them multiple times. Try this instead of completely writing out a set and only having a short time to practice saying your reasons.
- Take excellent notes. This may seem like a given, but by making sure your notes are filled in as much as possible in a way that you can understand them is crucial. Detailed notes will allow you to better remember each horse and picture that specific animal in your head as you are talking about them (which can be difficult after you have watched a large number of classes!). Picturing a horse in a class while you are giving your reasons will also make it easier for you to remember what you want to say about them.
- Come up with sets of flows you can remember and use any time you judge a particular class. For example, come up with a pre-determined way to describe a horse that is ideally balanced, has very structurally correct front legs or has the best trot in a hunter pleasure class. Having these go-to flows will make preparing and remembering your reasons much easier, which will give you greater confidence in front of the judges. Another great thing about this is that a reasons listener will never know how often you use those phrases or flows, all they will know is how comfortable and confident you sound giving your reasons. Here’s an example flow from Michigan State University horse judging team alumnus Alycia Drwencke, “X had a longer, shapelier neck that was cleaner through the throat latch and attached higher into the chest and withers.”
- Once you have some flows down, it’s time to practice in front of the mirror and other people. Watching yourself and having others watch you will help you become more comfortable with having direct and constant eye contact with someone while you are delivering a set of reasons. This also allows you to notice any weird faces you may make or any awkward and distracting nervous habits that may arise.
While oral reasons may not be your favorite part of judging, you don’t need to let it hold you back. By practicing and overcoming the fear of public speaking, you can easily improve your score in that section of the contest and enhance this valuable life skill!
Need more help preparing for the next season? Check out resources from the Arabian Horse Association and American Quarter Horse Association!
Interested in starting a 4-H horse judging team? Check out this useful Michigan State University Extension article, “How to start a 4-H horse judging team.” Also, be sure to “like” the Michigan 4-H Horse Program Facebook page for up-to-date information on state-level horse programs and events!
