Become an APHA Judge

Who is Eligible?

• Applicants must be at least 21 years old to apply.
• Applicants must be an APHA member in good standing for at least one full year prior to applying for an APHA judging card.

How to Apply

• The applicant must submit a judge application and its non-refundable fee.
• If you’re a new judge applicant, include the names of at least 4 references with the application. One APHA judge, 1 APHA member, 1 show management personnel who has hired you to judge, and 1 character reference. An individual may only be used one time as a reference on your application. Married couples count as a single reference. Family members, spouses, and significant others cannot be used as references.
• Urge your references to complete and return their evaluations as quickly as possible. All references must be received by APHA before your application can be submitted to the Judges Committee.
• The complete application must be received by APHA no later than November 20 annually.
• After your application is received by APHA, you will receive an open-book APHA Rule Book test. This test must be completed and returned before application processing can continue.
• Provide a recent photo with your application, suitable for publication, of yourself in the attire you would wear to judge a horse show. (The photo will remain with APHA.)
• All applicants’ names are published by APHA a minimum of 30 days prior to the Judges Committee review.
• Incomplete files cannot be presented to the Judges Committee for consideration. A file must be complete and ready for review no later than two years from the date the applicant’s name is published by APHA. Failure to do so will void the application and resubmission (including payment of a new fee) will be required.

Judges Committee Consideration

• Complete files will be reviewed at the next available meeting of the Judges Committee. To be eligible for consideration, a judge applicant’s file must be ready for review 30 days prior to the committee’s meeting. The Judges Committee meets a minimum of twice a year—at the APHA Leadership Gathering in February/March and at the APHA Applicant School in April/May.
• The Judges Committee reviews the completed files and selects applicants to be invited to the applicant school. Applicants remain under continual review throughout the entire application process, and APHA reserves the right to rescind an invitation to the applicant school. Successful applicants will be notified of the date and location of the applicant school. The applicant must attend this school in order to become an approved APHA judge.
• Scores earned at the applicant school will be presented to the Judges Committee at their next scheduled meeting. At that time, the committee determines if an applicant is approved for judging on a temporary status or if the application will be denied approval.
• If approved for judging status, APHA will publish your name and contact information as an approved judge. All approved judges must maintain their membership in APHA.

Judge Applicant Testing Tips

If you are approved by the Judge Advisory Committee and invited to test for your APHA Judges Card, here are some tips to help you prepare!

The APHA Judge Exam consists of 3 parts:

1. Rule Book Test: This consists of a written rulebook exam and penalty clip test. All judge applicants are sent a current APHA Rule Book when they’re approved to test; the current APHA Rule Book is also available online. Use our video learning platform horseIQ to practice—it includes a practice rulebook test and penalty clip tests in applicable lessons. Current APHA members receive a 30 percent discount on their horseIQ subscription. It can also be helpful to create your own flash cards, reference sheets, etc. Read the most current APHA Rule Book to make sure you have the most up-to-date information!
2. Judging: The judging portion of the exam consists of both video and live judging. Once again, horseIQ is a great resource to prepare for this section of the exam! Maneuver evaluation, penalty application, the resource library are all valuable tools. This will help you train your eye, memorize penalties, apply penalties and improve your knowledge overall. It’s also a great tool to warm up for events!
3. Interview: This is a pass/fail interview. Questions are asked by the director of judges regarding the classes judged, ethics, judging situations and your horse experience. Members of the Judge Advisory Committee will also attend. Practice your speaking skills—be confident and speak clearly. Use the numbers or descriptions to refer to the horses and riders in the classes you judged, not their names. Be professional and honest in your evaluations. Rely on your notes and scoresheets to refresh your placings in your mind. Be organized—keep your notes in order of the classes, as that is the order the questions are presented. Interview questions may not be discussed with other applicants.

General Testing Tips

• Dress is professional judging attire throughout the exam. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression.
• Bring your own clipboard, notebook and pencils/erasable pens.
• You will be provided patterns, scoresheets and judge cards.
• Scoresheets do not have to be turned in but should be kept and used for your interview notes. Be sure to write down major/minor faults so you can explain what faults occurred in each event. Write as neatly as possible so you can decipher your notes!
• Learn to write while watching the runs so you do not miss any penalties; you will not have a scribe.
• Do your own judging and try not to listen to your peers. We want your decisions and want you to be able to explain your placings.

How to Reapply

If your application is denied, you may resubmit an application one year from the date of denial. A second filing fee must be paid at that time.

If you are invited to the applicant school and fail to make a passing grade, you may reapply immediately. If a regular applicant needs to reapply, they will need to submit new references. Should an apprentice applicant need to reapply, they will be required to apprentice with four additional judges. Please see the Apprentice Judging Program tab for additional information on this program. If you fail to pass the second time, you must wait one year to reapply. Additional filing fees must be paid at the time of reapplication.