A few weeks ago, I attended with my SEPAR supervisor, an event for referees hosted by the Officiating Growth Hub at the University of Gloucestershire. I had some really great conversations with the referees, and it has given me a lot to reflect on.  

Many years ago, before I qualified as a judge, I attended an event (with Isobel Wessels if my memory is correct) that was aimed at introducing people to dressage judging. I remember her saying (I might be paraphrasing here, it was a really long time ago!) “I wear three hats, I’m a dressage rider, a coach and a judge, and judging is my least favourite, you work for next to nothing, no one remembers to make you a cup of tea and everyone hates you apart from the person who wins”. I remember thinking ‘that’s exactly why I will never become a dressage judge’.  

However, time moved on and when I had to retire my beloved horse due to arthritis, I decided I would take the opportunity and qualify as a judge with a view to it helping me be a better coach. I’ve now been judging for a number of years, and I have defiantly learnt a lot and I’m really glad I did it, but I must admit it certainly has its challenges. Being a coach and sports psychologist is great, I get to do what I love, I get to help people be better at doing what they love, and we all go away happy. However  with judging it’s a little different, I have had to make peace with the fact not everyone is going to agree with the decisions I make, they might grumble about me to their friends, they might even grumble about me on social media (although thankfully I’ve not experienced this yet). But it’s got me thinking with all the psychological challenges faced by our officials are we doing enough to support them? 

I have had to make peace with the fact not everyone is going to agree with the decisions I make

And I’m not just talking about dressage judges. Showing judges, jump judges, stewards, these are all jobs that can often put you in the line of unhappy riders looking to take out their anxiety or frustration on the nearest event official. I would like to point out I know the majority of riders are lovely and even those who aren’t are just riders who are stressed or frustrated. However, it still remains the case that being an official can be tough for a number of reasons.  

Firstly, evolutionary speaking, we have evolved to want to be accepted as part of the tribe, our ancestors who were rejected from the tribe and left to fend for themselves did not fare well! Therefore, it can be really tough making decisions you know some people are not happy with. Secondly, you have to have a good level of self-confidence. I’m not talking about confident to the point of arrogance, but the confidence to make a decision and move on, there is very little time, particularly in dressage judging to reconsider decisions. Finally, you have to be really motivated, not just motivated to get up super early on a Sunday while everyone else is in bed, so you can get the horses done and spend your day parked up in a field hoping someone will bring you the homemade cake that was promised a few hours ago, but motivated to be good at what you do, go to seminars, watch webinars, take exams.  

So, to be an official, you have to be resilient, confident, motivated, focused. These are all things that I and many others work to develop in riders. However, what about the officials, there is defiantly opportunity to develop technical skills but are we missing something? Should we be offering psychological education and support. Thoughts?