Life as a dressage scribe
In my quest for that USDF judges card, I constantly am pursuing opportunities to learn (on the ground AND in the saddle). As I mentioned before, one of the ways I'm doing this is by scribing at dressage shows. A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to learn with a fantastic judge and experienced scribe. These two ladies offered some great guidance directly but I also learned by watching them together.
One of the most important things I learned yesterday was how critical running on time is. As a "novice-novice," I was unclear on the rules regarding time and show scheduling. But it became abundantly clear that (a) I needed to read my rule book more than I thought I might and (b) I needed to carry a watch. Part of my job, I didn't realize, is to keep the judge on track and help the show run smoothly. This means I need to pay attention to more than just the judge's words.
What I didn't realize is that part of the scribe's role is to ensure that tests go to the show office completely filled out AND that the judge gives the riders comments. I also need to keep things organized in the judge's box so that we can (you guessed it) stay on time. Tests should be organized in the order of going and it is important to let the judge know when a new level test will be ridden so the judge can have their own copy of the test ready in front of them. Again, not be prepared wastes several seconds and those seconds turn to minutes!
I also learned that I need to print out the scribe short hand cheat sheet found here. I've looked at it before, but by no means have it memorized. It would have been handy to have with me because I clearly need to write faster as I scribe! This was made quite obvious to me when the judge announced before the 4th level test, "Okay, let's bring in so and so (the experience scribe, who writes FASTER than anyone I have EVER seen)." I slithered back to the corner of the judges box and watched in awe as she didn't have to ask the judge to repeat herself, wrote clearly and quickly, AND managed to catch some wonkey window in the judge's box that needed fixing. I was so concerned about hearing what the judge was saying, I never noticed the window banging in the wind!
The hardest lesson to learn was to just be quiet! While I was excellent at not talking as the judge wrote her comments or while she was watching a test, I was noisy in the box while waiting for riders to start. I shuffled papers, moved things around in our show bin, rifled through my purse, and (the worst, scraped my chair across the floor). I come from a line of folks who believe in "desensitize, desensitize, desensitize" so it was odd for me to be a show and have the judge AND the experienced scribe tell me that I needed to be quiet for the green horses. Honestly, it was REALLY strange for me. While I don't think you should go around purposefully frightening young horses I do think horses should be desensitized to noises such as papers shuffling and chairs moving at a show ground. I left thinking, "well, my horses may not be show horses, but they wouldn't bat an eye at a judge's box with papers flapping and chairs moving." I was kind of proud of my herd of hooligans.
What a great day of learning. Yes, I spent 8 hours in the car for a 4 hour horse show; where I sat in the wind and rain (well, I sat in the judge's box and watched the riders test in wind and rain....but I digress), but it was so worth it and I feel ready for the next show!
Enjoy the weather, folks. If you live in WI, be prepared for rain, snow, and sunshine all in the same day....in May (yes, it happens) and keep on moving one hoof at a time!
What I didn't realize is that part of the scribe's role is to ensure that tests go to the show office completely filled out AND that the judge gives the riders comments. I also need to keep things organized in the judge's box so that we can (you guessed it) stay on time. Tests should be organized in the order of going and it is important to let the judge know when a new level test will be ridden so the judge can have their own copy of the test ready in front of them. Again, not be prepared wastes several seconds and those seconds turn to minutes!
I also learned that I need to print out the scribe short hand cheat sheet found here. I've looked at it before, but by no means have it memorized. It would have been handy to have with me because I clearly need to write faster as I scribe! This was made quite obvious to me when the judge announced before the 4th level test, "Okay, let's bring in so and so (the experience scribe, who writes FASTER than anyone I have EVER seen)." I slithered back to the corner of the judges box and watched in awe as she didn't have to ask the judge to repeat herself, wrote clearly and quickly, AND managed to catch some wonkey window in the judge's box that needed fixing. I was so concerned about hearing what the judge was saying, I never noticed the window banging in the wind!
The hardest lesson to learn was to just be quiet! While I was excellent at not talking as the judge wrote her comments or while she was watching a test, I was noisy in the box while waiting for riders to start. I shuffled papers, moved things around in our show bin, rifled through my purse, and (the worst, scraped my chair across the floor). I come from a line of folks who believe in "desensitize, desensitize, desensitize" so it was odd for me to be a show and have the judge AND the experienced scribe tell me that I needed to be quiet for the green horses. Honestly, it was REALLY strange for me. While I don't think you should go around purposefully frightening young horses I do think horses should be desensitized to noises such as papers shuffling and chairs moving at a show ground. I left thinking, "well, my horses may not be show horses, but they wouldn't bat an eye at a judge's box with papers flapping and chairs moving." I was kind of proud of my herd of hooligans.
What a great day of learning. Yes, I spent 8 hours in the car for a 4 hour horse show; where I sat in the wind and rain (well, I sat in the judge's box and watched the riders test in wind and rain....but I digress), but it was so worth it and I feel ready for the next show!
Enjoy the weather, folks. If you live in WI, be prepared for rain, snow, and sunshine all in the same day....in May (yes, it happens) and keep on moving one hoof at a time!
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