Animal Sciences Department

State 4-H/FFA Horse Judging School

Pre-registration through 4-H Online can be found here!

The 2024/2025 State 4-H/FFA Horse Judging School will be on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at the University of Florida Horse Teaching Unit in Gainesville. The primary objective of the school is to assist in the preparation of judging teams for the State Contests. Anyone interested in horse shows and horse judging should benefit from this opportunity and is encouraged to attend.

The school will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. and run until just after 4:00 p.m. Registration/check-in will begin at 9:30 a.m. There is a brief break for lunch which is on your own.

Preregistration by December 6 is strongly encouraged and discounted to $10 a person, but on-site registrations will still be accepted at $15 per person. Please plan to arrive with enough time to get checked in (allowing for long lines) and be seated by 10:00 a.m.

Depending on availability, a coach's guide may be purchased for $11.00, a member’s manual for $4.00, and additional printed materials will be available at no charge. The UF Horse Judging Team will also have new (as of Spring 2024) horse judging manuals available for purchase at $15 per booklet.

Follow these links for directions to the HTU.

Online Horse Judging Information

Please note that all of the links below will take you off the UF/IFAS website (except the hand-out files).

Breed Associations
- American Quarter Horse Association
  -Youth Judging Manual
  -Informational Materials for Judges, under "Judges" section (includes "how-to's" for judging many class types, and many scoresheets)
  -Official QH rulebook
- American Morgan Horse Association
  -Morgan Ideal
  -AMHA’s entire Judging Standards
  -Morgan Youth Judging Guide
- Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ & Exhibitors’ Assn.
  -Conformation
  -Gaits
  -TWHBEA Forms and Literature
- Arabian Horse Association
  -Website
  -Description of type and conformation
  -Parts of the Horse and Skeleton charts
- American Saddlebred Horse Assn.
  -ASB Classes & Uses
- Appaloosa Horse Club
  -Guide to Identifying (colors & markings poster)
  -Ideal & Characteristics
- Pony of the Americas Club
  -Characteristics
  -Judging Criteria
- American Trakehner Association
  -Sport Horse Conformation
- Welsh Pony and Cob Society of America
  -Welsh Ponies & Cobs
- Paso Fino Horse Association
  -Breed Standards
  -Gaits (including video)
- American Paint Horse Association
  -Descriptions of patterns

Materials from Other States
- Kansas State University
  Horse Judging Manual
- University of Kentucky
  Horse Judging Manual
- Oklahoma State University
  Horse Judging Manual
  Pictures and descriptions of numerous horse breeds.
- Washington State University
  Horse Judging Manual
- University of Missouri - Columbia
  Horse Conformation: Form to Function
  Unsoundness and Blemishes
- North Carolina State University
  Resource list compiled by NC State.

Private Organizations and Sites
- National Reining Horse Association - pdf of rulebook; penalty diagrams are on page 165-169.

Judging Handouts (pdf)
- How to Score Contestants' placings
- Description of cuts; Characteristics of good reasons sets and suggestions
- Western Riding Scoring
- Reining Scoring
- Ranch Riding Scoring
- Hunter Hack Scoring
- Judging Western Horsemanship
- Judging Hunt Seat Equitation
- Reining & Western Riding penalty area diagrams
- AQHA's article on Conformation
- AMHA's Morgan Youth Judging Guide
- QH Ideal & Description
- Tennessee Walking Horse Conformation article
- Arabian Conformation
- Arabian English Pleasure
- Saddlebred Conformation flyer

2020 Judging Webinars
Horse Judging From Home series, Univ. of Tennessee:
- Judging Ranch Riding - https://youtu.be/bEJjxuN56N4, week 1
- Conformation - https://youtu.be/DOq5x6rsrO0, week 2
- Gaited Horses - https://youtu.be/4ODTHh23keY, week 3
- Equitation & Horsemanship - https://youtu.be/G1vNjMQVfa8, week 4
PA 4-H Equine Knowledge Contest, Horse Judging

(These are geared towards the PA knowledge contests specifically. But you can skip the "local" info and go to the time indicated for the universal content.)
- Judging Halter, part 1 - https://youtu.be/Ugr6NNsCKnU
  (non-PA content starts @ 8:00)
- Judging Halter, part 2 - https://youtu.be/hR7T1LDmN-s
  (some PA-specific at end)
- Oral Reasons - https://youtu.be/JThBjUEccD0
  (non-PA content starts @ 0:30; some PA-specific at end)
- Judging Performance Classes - https://youtu.be/Dl_8kR2oUwU
  (non-PA content starts @ 0:30; some PA-specific at end)
Lunch & Learn Lectures - Michigan State, via ExtensionHorses.org
- Judging Trail Classes - https://youtu.be/M7xlt65-1VY
- Judging Hunter Under Saddle and Hunter Pleasure - https://youtu.be/p7bviqvqN9o
SUPER Horse Showmanship Video which includes scoring, NDSU - https://youtu.be/6SHxnduuEhE

Craig Cameron Ride Smart Horsemanship
- Horse Conformation, part 1 - https://youtu.be/UchVvnkK91c
- Horse Conformation, part 2 - https://youtu.be/zpNANCJHOe4
- Horse Conformation, part 3 - https://youtu.be/Ijw2gEJarvo
Other Lunch & Learn Lectures; not Judging, but good information
- Getting Show Ring Ready - https://youtu.be/3YbzgXii8Z4
- Setting SMART Goals - https://youtu.be/pL2A7QzqcdU
- Careers in the Horse Industry - https://youtu.be/QN41OhGrc2s
- Biosecurity at the Horse Show - https://youtu.be/wHWF6qrGd6Q
- Horse Health & Vital Signs - https://youtu.be/ew2DkEtsPN4
- Basic Bits & Bridle Fit - https://youtu.be/xkBZzYcT8ks