34th Annual Horse Show (2004)

The Judging Process and the Judge

Judges are people. They trained riders who want to help 4H Club members learn. They are asked to be judges because they have special training and background in certain subject matters. Not all judges have the same training and background in the same subject, and that’s why judges sometimes differ in their opinions as to how something should be done. We need to understand this to gracefully accept the award we’re given.

The process of judging will never be perfect. Judges can evaluate only what they see. They can’t know how hard one member has worked or what obstacles another may have had to overcome, so that they must judge what they see according to a standard. They can guess a little about what to expect from members of a certain age or years of experience in demonstrating, but even here there is a difference of opinion.

We should accept judging for the best it can do for us and reconcile ourselves to some of the faults that are impossible to overcome. Learn what we can do from the judging, but don’t take it too seriously – don’t make it a matter of life and death. Consider judging an adventure to stimulate us to a greater achievement.

English, Western & Therapeutic Riding Divisions Judge

Kennis Fairfax judged all three divisions in 2004. Fairfax has been judging horse shows since 1975. He is an approved judge for the Appaloosa Horse Club, Pinto Horse Association, Andalusion/Lucitano Association and American Saddle Mule Association. He is certified for cutting, roping, reining and has completed the judges qualifying exam for the American Quarter Horse Association. He has judged in 40 states in the U.S., judged in Germany, Holland and Italy. In addition, he has been asked to judge in New Zealand and Australia.

Fairfax is active in the National Horse Show as coordinator for celebrity cutting, where he has worked with such people as Lynn Anderson, Ann Lockhart, Christy Brinkley, former Gov. Christy Whitman, Michael Keaton, Mel Blunt, Cactus Moser, George Strait, Chuck Norris, and many others.

A resident of Westfield, N.J., Fairfax does team roping and saddle bronco riding and is a member of the Black Rodeo Association, Professional Rodeo Association and National Cutting Horse Association. He judges about 20 shows a year and is a registered AHSA Western Division, Hunter Under Saddle and Hunt Seat Equitation judge. He has been a manager of many stables and breeding facilities and works for the youth division of the Newark Board of Education, focusing on vocational training for disadvantaged youth.