Become an APHA Judge
APHA judges are respected professionals who reward excellence in the show pen. Learn more about how to become a U.S. or International APHA-carded judge, specialty-event judge or apprentice judge in the tabs below.
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 10 references with the application. At least six of those references must be currently carded APHA or AQHA judges who have witnessed you judging; at least four must be from show management personnel who have hired you to judge. An individual may only be used one time as a reference on your application. Married couples count as a single reference.
- If you’re already an AQHA-approved judge applying for your APHA card, include at least five references. At least three of those references must be currently carded APHA or AQHA judges who have witnessed you judging; at least two must be from show management personnel who have hired you to judge.
- 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:
- 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!
- 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!
- 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.
Types of International Judge Cards
- European-Only: allows you to judge all APHA classes in European countries only.
- Latin American-Only: allows you to judge all APHA classes in Latin American countries only.
How to Apply
- Submit your APHA International Judges Application by mail or email to:
APHA
Attn: Judges Department
122 E Exchange Ave
Ste 420
Fort Worth, TX 76164
USA
Email: sandyj@apha.com
- Include a recent photograph in the attire you would wear to judge a horse show (photograph becomes property of APHA).
- Provide proof of current APHA membership.
- If you have any judging experience, include reference letters from show management or judges who have witnessed you judging.
- Pay the application fee by credit card or Paypal.
- Attend one of APHA’s approved educational seminars and complete the judge applicant testing there. The next seminars can be found on the Judge Seminar page.
After You Apply
- All applicants’ names will be published by APHA after completion of the approved educational seminar and testing, prior to application presentation to the Judges Committee. An incomplete file will not be presented to the Judges Committee for consideration.
- The scores earned at the clinic 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 temporary status or if the application will be denied approval. 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.
- If you are approved for judging status, your name and contact information will be published by APHA as an approved International-only judge.
- All approved judges must maintain a current APHA membership. International judges must also attend an APHA-approved educational judging seminar every three years to maintain their status.
- 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.
This program helps aspiring judges gain experience and references to one day apply for APHA judging credentials. Apprentice judging is not mandatory, but it might be useful to help acquire references.
Apprentice judge applicants are required to attend the horseIQ Live seminar prior to being allowed to apprentice. This event takes place annually in the spring at APHA headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas.
You need not apply for judging status prior to entering the Apprentice Judging Program. Apprentices who have applied for the Apprentice Judge Program, are current APHA members in good standing, attended or plan to attend horseIQ Live and completed at least six apprentice judging assignments under six different regular status APHA judges will have their file forwarded to the Judges Committee at their next scheduled meeting. The committee will decide at that time whether to issue the applicant an invitation to the Applicant School. You may also use this program if you have already applied for judging status but need additional judge references.
Who is Eligible?
- The apprentice must be 19 years of age or older.
- Amateurs are not allowed to participate in the Apprentice Judging Program.
How to Apprentice Judge
- The apprentice must attend horseIQ Live. If you are not currently carded in another recognized equine association, you must attend horseIQ Live prior to submitting your application. If you are already carded in another equine association, attend horseIQ Live by the end of your first year of being an Apprentice Judge Applicant.
- To find judges to apprentice under, refer to the Online Judges Directory.
- It is the apprentice’s responsibility to contact the judge and show manager to obtain permission to apprentice. Once permission has been obtained, email the APHA Director of Judges your completed Apprentice Show Information form a minimum of one week prior to each show. Failure to contact the association could result in the show not counting for your apprenticeship.
- A completed Apprentice Judge Application or an APHA Judge Application must be on file with APHA. Apprentice judges must be current APHA members in good standing.
- Following completion of the show, the official judge will be asked to fill out and submit an Apprentice Evaluation form to the APHA. APHA provides this form to the judge.
Apprentice Judge Rules
- The apprentice must abide by all rules as listed in JU-000.E., JU-000.F. and JU-000.G. of the current APHA Rule Book. (Exception: JU-000.G.2.)
- No more than one apprentice judge is allowed at a show and only one judge from that show may be used as an apprentice reference. You may not apprentice at back-to-back shows.
- Apprenticing with World Show judges is not permitted from the date of publication until after the World Show is complete. Apprenticing is not allowed at the European Championships.
- You may not apprentice at a show where a family member is exhibiting, judging or serving as a member of show management.
- The apprentice must judge the entire show from first to last class.
- The apprentice is responsible for providing his/her own judge cards. Judge cards are available online. Cards will be handed to the judge, not show management.
- There is no limit to the number of times a person may apprentice judge.
- Show management is not required to furnish the apprentice with hotel accommodations or meals.
- Judges are not allowed to receive remuneration for allowing someone to apprentice under them.
- Any apprentice who fails to attend three booked apprentice shows (regardless of the reason) will be immediately removed from the program.
- An apprentice should not be asked to complete any duty in an official capacity. (Example: having exhibitors show to apprentice in showmanship, call judge, etc.)
- Apprentices should only converse with the judge they are apprenticing with while in the arena.
