An oldie, but a goodie: Sara Wytrzes, the 2000 ASPCA Maclay Reserve Champion, competing at the New England Equitation Championships of the same year. Good equitation never goes out of style, and to all the equitation riders out there, let Sara's video be inspiration for your upcoming equitation finals!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPQqFXLLtJU

Posted in Bigeq Bigeq Classic , Cool Clips ,

Sometimes horse showing gets boiled down to black and white lists of results and a picture or two. Who's won this; who's won that; and of course, that's the way it should be. Shows are competitions, after all. Yet, there's another side to showing; it's the friendships, the sporstmanship, the comraderie of competitors, and their simple love of the horses.

Christina Lin (left) on Let's Win Again and Jessica Springsteen on Papillion 136 (center) enjoy some time with a friend.

What cute horses... smiling for the camera!

Soaring over an equitation course a few moments earlier.

Posted in Bigeq Show Shots ,

Hello,

this is a notice that we are doing some repairs and fixing some bugs with the website, specifically involving the photo and message systems on the site. We encourage all of our sellers to check their ads for accuracy, and make sure the correct photo is displayed with your ad. If you are having trouble uploading your photo(s) or the wrong photo(s) is being displayed with your ad, please notify us. Email us us the correct photo(s) and we will put them on your ad as soon as our repairs are complete.

Unfortunately, messages sent between Aug 20-21 were inadvertently deleted. Those buyers or sellers who sent inquiries/messages will need to initiate contact again. We apologize for the inconvenience.

if your ad is not visible, please also contact us immediately. We are aware that ads placed between August 20-21st are not visible, and we are working to fix this bug. We will be in touch with those who have placed ads on these days to restore their ads.

We expect to have these issues fixed in short order, and request your patience as we complete our repairs. As always, thank you for using our website to buy and sell your beautiful horses and ponies. If you have any questions, do not hesistate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Bigeq.com

Posted in Bigeq

Wiseguy and Alex Matz soaring over an oxer in a pony jumper class...

...and having a quiet moment together.

The handsome gray is a 14.1 hand, 14 y/o Connemara gelding. He was bred in Ireland and is by Templebready Fear Bur out of Deenogh Beauty.

Posted in The Pony Zone

 By Kim Ablon Whitney

I recently was asked to be one of the six judges for the Washington Equitation Classic at the Washington International Horse Show.  In addition to being honored to judge such a prestigious class at one of our country’s top indoor horse shows, I’m especially excited because of the format of the judging for the class.  The six judges sit in pairs, with each “team” producing a numerical score for each round. 

I’m also looking forward to judging the Rhode Island Medal Finals, another Final where I’ll be working as a team with another judge.

When two judges work together, both study each round and then sometimes during, but more often afterwards, discuss the merits and drawbacks of the performance. 

The expression “two heads are better than one” is never more relevant than in this scenario.  It’s ideal to talk over the nuances and to dissect any issues that arise.  Usually the judges agree and easily decide upon a score.  If one judge throws out an 85 and the other judge suggests an 81, we typically settle on an 83.

If there was an issue that arose on course—a quick stutter step off the ground that one judge saw at one jump, for example—there is another pair of eyes who can either say, “yes, I saw that too,” or “nope, didn’t happen.”

Only very rarely do judges who don’t see eye-to-eye sit together.  Most judges are not that far apart in their opinions and show managers also are smart in choosing their teams of judges.  Every judge has a reputation for his/her style, temperament, and likes/dislikes and good show managers don’t put “oil and water” on the same judging team!

So… shouldn’t all classes have two judges, you might ask?  Well, no.  While it’s wonderful to judge with another judge for the big classes or big shows*, for smaller classes it’s often nicer to “just be in your own head.”

When there is an extra judge around for a ring of smaller classes what works well is for the two judges to alternate the classes in a division.  For example, one judge takes the first children’s hunter class and the other judge the second children’s hunter class.  This gives both judges a break and keeps the judging fresh.  The fewer classes you have to judge, the sharper you are as a judge.

For A-rated sections at AA shows, judges can also choose whether to do the classes as a team, or alternate.  If given a preference, I typically prefer doing it together, and if I were competing that’s what I’d want the judges to do too.

*In A-rated sections of AA competitions, the rule is that a minimum of two judges must officiate.  Those two judges can judge the classes together or separately.  One judge, however, can not judge more than 60\% of the classes in a division.

Posted in Guest Bloggers

Bigeq.com Horse of the Day

Bigeq.com is pleased to announce the launch of the official Bigeq.com Facebook Application: the "Bigeq.com Horse of the Day." Facebook users can now install a wall box on their profile which will feature a new hunter/jumper horse or pony for sale every day. The box features a photo and links to the horse description on Bigeq.com. It's horse shopping made easy; the perfect application for horse shoppers and horse lovers alike! Install it now and invite your friends, too.

Add the application in three simple steps:

STEP ONE: Go to Application

Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=86267373157

STEP TWO: Allow Access
Don't worry we don't take or store any of your personal info! This just lets the application onto your profile.

STEP 3: Add to your Wall Tabs

YOU'RE DONE! Enjoy using the Bigeq.com Horse of the Day application. :) If you want, invite your friends, too!

Posted in Bigeq

The Art of Showing: a new series of artistic horse show photos, capturing the beauty of the horse and horse showing. When I go to shows, I see art all around me. The horse is the star, but it goes beyond that. I see beauty in the stitching on a bridle, the way a cooler drapes off a horse's body, or the mellow look of a gray horse waiting around to go to work. I see beauty in much more. And if you continue following the blog, you'll see what else!

Like this pic? Hate this pic? Know who it is? Leave a comment.

Posted in The Art of Showing

The internet is a blessing for online horse sellers. Never before in history have so many horses been accessible with a few clicks of a mouse. The internet can be a curse, however, if sellers do not present their horses appropriately and competitively in the market. The web allows many nice horses to be "seen" side by side for instant comparison by buyers, so sellers simply MUST make every effort to present the horse at its best. Otherwise their horse is likely to get lost in the cyber-shuffle. Here is an online selling tip to optimize your horse's ads and help them stand out in the crowd.

BIGEQ ONLINE SELLING TIP:

VIDEOS ARE VITAL

Videos are perhaps the most essential online tool for buying and selling horses online. Forget snail-mailing VHS tapes, and forget DVDs; get your video online! Ads on Bigeq.com with videos have the highest view rate of all ads placed on the site, viewed 20\% more often than ads with photos only.

Online sale videos should be a few minutes of footage which capture the buyer's interest. Some tips on shooting your own videos:

• Invest in a TRIPOD. Your horse's sale video should not resemble the "Blair Witch Project" or make viewers motion sick from viewing!

• KISS: Keep It Short & Simple. Videos should be no more than 3-4 minutes.

• Get your footage at horse shows. One or two over fences trips is usually plenty for a prospective buyer to call on.

• If you can't get to a show, pretend you're at a horse show. Horse and rider should be appropriately turned out. No crazy saddle pads, helmet hats, blingy tack, or anything that would distract a buyer from the horse. Include a brief section of flatwork, showing all three gaits and lead changes if applicable. Most of the footage, however, should be a few jumping courses.

• Zoom in on the horse as you tape. No one will learn much about your horse, if it looks like an ant on the screen.

So far away! Definitely needs to be zoomed in a bit.

• Don't zoom too close. Keep the horse in the middle of the frame, with a comfortable visual border.

Oops! Too close. This horse has been beheaded by the video.

Ah! Just right. The horse is centered on the screen with a comfortable margin.

• Avoid noise distractions. Try not to speak or have a conversation while taping, unless you plan to remove all sound. Don't program the video with music. It's fun to sellers, but can be annoying to buyers.

Agree or disagree with our list? Have your own video suggestions? Leave a comment!
Keep checking the Bigeq Blog for more in our Selling Tips series!

Posted in Online Selling Tips

Cindy Fuller flying over a bright yellow oxer in an adult amateur jumper class on Calitto, a nine year-old Danish Warmblood gelding.

Posted in Awesome Amateurs Show Shots ,

By Kim Ablon Whitney 

When I was an exhibitor, I used to have this idea that the judges were a mean lot who liked nothing better than to see a rider mess up so that they could announce some horrid score, like 16.  I’m not completely sure why I thought this about judges but I was convinced they were bitter, disgruntled people with no love or joy in their hearts—equestrian versions of the Grinch.

As a judge myself I now see how wrong I was.  Most judges aren’t mean or bitter.  We love horses, we love riders, and believe it or not we love spending all day watching round after round, even if it’s the modified adults.  (Well, maybe not all day of modified adults…)

When each exhibitor enters the ring, I’m hopeful.  If they pick up the canter and I like what I see, I start to get excited.  If the first few jumps go well, I move to the front of my seat and say a quick prayer.  The whole rest of the course I’m rooting for this team to nail it.  What you riders might not know, what I never knew, is that the judge wants you to do well! 

There is no happier thing for a judge than a beautiful round, a clear winner.  The worst feeling I ever have as a judge is when I get a class that has no clear winner.  A class where everyone made mistakes.  It’s those moments when I wish I could simply declare a “do-over” and run the class again, this time hoping for a winner.  But somehow I weigh the mistakes against each other and come out with someone to give the blue to.  As the results are announced, I wish I could add a caveat that says the winner wasn’t really the best, only the best of the worst.

You might think it’s easier to judge classes where people make mistakes or the quality of riding or horses is low.  But it’s much, much harder.  One of the best judges in the country, Brian Lenehan once said to me that his father, Daniel Lenehan, a very famous judge in his own time, had this comparison: “What’s easier, walking into a room of beautiful women and picking the most beautiful, or walking into a room of ugly women and picking the most beautiful?”  Since I’m a woman myself I’ll make the comparison about men—I would find it much easier to walk into a room of gorgeous men and pick the most gorgeous.  

Well, it’s the same for horses.  Judging a class with ten top-notch rounds is much easier.  There’s always one horse and rider who are just that little bit better or appeal just a little bit more to the preferences of the judge.

So next time you walk into the ring and sneak a glance at the judge’s booth, you’ll know that whoever’s in there is on your side.  We’re hoping more than anything you’ll put in the trip of your life!

~

For more information about Kim, please visit http://www.kimablonwhitney.com

Posted in Bigeq Guest Bloggers ,