AUSTIN, Man. – Watching the judging of draft horses in a show class can
be a lot like sitting on the sidelines at a figure skating competition.
Both events can be fascinating to watch, but understanding the nuances
that decide which horse takes the ribbon can be difficult.
Jim Emmons, a horse breeder and judge, seemed to have the whole thing
down pat during the judging of the Clydesdale Classic in Austin two
weeks ago. The event was part of the annual Threshermen’s Reunion,
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where demonstrations of vintage farm equipment ran for much of the week.
On July 24, Emmons was in the show ring sizing up some of the finest
draft horses on the Prairies.
There were more than a dozen classes to judge that day. During several
of the classes, each horse was led prancing away from Emmons before
being turned and led back.
Then the horses were lined up facing the grandstand, and Emmons,
dressed in a shirt, tie and navy blue dress pants, would wend his way
among the entrants.
The judging was swift, and once his mind made up, Emmons would jab his
index finger in the direction of the winner and signal for the horse
and owner to come forward.
He was obviously in his element, which would come as no surprise to the
people who know him. Emmons began showing horses at the county fair
when he was a kid back in the 1950s and today, he remains part of the
dedicated fraternity of that shows and judges draft horses at
exhibitions across North America.
Emmons was obliging when asked about the things he looks for when
judging draft horses.
He looks for the same things prairie ancestors would have looked for
when buying a horse to till their fields or tow a wagon loaded with
sheaves: a sound animal that looks like it can deliver plenty of
pulling power.
When the horses are in motion, he pays a lot of attention to their
hocks. The movement and amount of lift in the hocks are important.
“The work horse that keeps its hocks together has more pulling power,”
he says.
His trained eyes also look for things like a toe that is turned in and
a heel that turns out when the horse is plodding away from him. Those
kinds of things can detract from the soundness of a horse as it ages.
When the horses are stationary, Emmons does what a horse buyer would
do. He starts at the front, beginning with a look at the eyes to make
sure they are both “functional.”
From then on it becomes an appraisal of bones and muscle: Do the cannon
bones run straight down from the knees? What are the length of the
pasterns? Is the back level? How wide are the hips on the mares? Wider
hips should mean easier birthing.
The limbs of the horses undergo some of the closest scrutiny.
“The old adage is: no feet, no horse,” says Emmons, while sipping a
cola after the judging.
“A great horse with poor feet won’t stay sound as long.”
According to Emmons, politics rarely enter into horse judging. If a
judge shows a bias to an acquaintance or buddy, word soon gets around.
“I don’t care what the nationality is,” he says, laughing a little as
he remembers the fiasco that erupted at the 2002 Winter Olympics, where
questionable judging almost cost a Canadian figure skating couple
their gold medal.
