Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 18, 1990 TAG: 9006160098
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"One horse might not be as pretty as another, but if he thought he was it would make a difference," Edward Bennett said.
Bennett will judge the American Saddlebred category among others during the show, which is co-sponsored by the Junior League of Roanoke Valley and the Roanoke Valley Horsemen's Association.
The weeklong show is one of the largest sanctioned by the American Horse Show Association. Last year 30,000 spectators attended. Some 1,000 horses of 10 breeds are expected to be shown this year, said William Munford, show manager. They will compete for more than $200,000 in prizes. The largest purse is Saturday night's $60,000 Grand Prix for jumpers.
For those of us who don't know a horse's withers from its forelock, trying to figure out who's ahead in a particular event at the show can be bewildering. But show judges say that even casual spectators can spot a champion.
"I see the first thing you'd see," Bennett said in a phone interview from his Shelbyville, Ky., horse farm.
"A saddlebred horse is designed to catch the eye with its head carriage and expression. They hold their head so high you have to look around it. They have to look like they want to run off but won't.
"This horse is designed to do one thing - to show off. I could take you to a ring and if there's an outstanding horse, you could pick him out in 30 seconds."
Bennett compares the pioneer breeders of American Saddlebreds to members of a sports car club.
"Car clubs are all about someone's car being a little sportier than someone else's. At the turn of the century, our horses were our cars. A fellow might work in the field all day and then want to show off on Saturday night. If you were a rich kid, you had a plow horse and a riding horse."
Those who had riding horses trained and bred them to look proud and go through their gaits with smoothness and style, often in hopes of catching the eye of a pretty girl, Bennett said.
A little more than a century ago, several prominent Lexington, Ky., families started seriously breeding the American Saddlebred horse from a variety of breeds.
"We're mongrels - a mixture of Arabians, Morgans, thoroughbreds," Bennett said.
Then the breeders formed a committee that looked - for a small fee - at horses that their owners wanted sanctioned as saddlebreds.
"The fellow who taught me how to ride daddy's was on the committee, and he said people would give him whiskey and country hams. He never looked at the horses, he just said 3 1 HORSES Horses `OK,' "Bennett said.
A little more than 100 years ago, the committee said no more. Since then, only the descendants of those saddlebreds that came in under the cutoff wire are considered to be true to the breed.
"It's the only true show breed - it's bred to show. That's its number-one job," Bennett said.
The American Saddlebred horse has five gaits - three natural to the horse - and two developed for it by man.
"All horses have three natural gaits - walk, trot and canter. The slow gait and rack [a faster clip] are man-made. The horses have to be very smooth and comfortable with them," Bennett said.
"A saddlebred has to be everything. He has to be fast and slow, groomed impeccably and virtually unblemished. Everything has to be perfect. Even an amateur can ride him. He's judged on the overall picture. He's like a little sports car that spins its wheels. He says, `Pick me out.' "
Attitude and style also count significantly in the hunter category.
Each judge has his own scoring system, says Robert Caristo, who will judge the hunters and jumpers at the Roanoke show. Each hunter will go over a system of fences and obstacles.
"When it goes over a jump, it shouldn't be too aggressive or too slow. It should be smooth. Their legs are even, and they don't twist or split their legs. It has to paint a beautiful picture going over the jump, landing and going on to the next jump."
If a horse hangs a leg, twists or bumps a fence, its chances are hurt. More severe mistakes, such as throwing a rider, jumping out of the ring or stopping at a fence three times, can cause the horse to be eliminated from competition.
Unlike the hunters, jumpers don't have to depend on style. They're judged solely on the time they take to successfully complete the course. A horse can knock a fence with its hooves and, as long as the fences doesn't fall to the ground, the horse is home free.
Judging the hunters - like judging the saddlebreds, Arabians and other breeds - is more subjective, though. Judges such as Caristo and Bennett call on their eye and their experience.
"The horse that is most to my liking will win its class," Caristo said. "Pretty is as pretty does. The horse has to have beautiful ring presence. If one is pinning its ears back or being unruly, it's not my cup of tea. I may say, `Boy, I'd like to ride that horse,' or `I wouldn't want to ride that one,' " Caristo said.
"If you've worked with horses all your life and you go to the show ring and are successful, you're a good judge of horses," Bennett said. "If you're not successful, it should tell you that you don't have a good eye for horses.
"I'm 40 and I've done this since I was a kid. I still get goose bumps over somebody's good horse."
Daytime admission to the Roanoke Valley Horse Show is $2 Monday through Thursday, $3 Friday and Saturday. Evening reserved seating is $5 today through Thursday, $7 Friday and $8 Saturday. Senior citizens and children under 12 will be admitted free tonight and Tuesday evening.
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