Margo Ball makes reputation in horse show judging

By Marty Metzger
North Forty News

Judging by her words, Margo Ball really enjoys her work as a nationally recognized horse show judge.

She's accredited by the quarter horse, paint and palomino breed associations, plus event accredited by the National Snaffle Bit Association, the National Reining Horse Association and the National Reined Cow Horse Association.

For the past 24 years, Ball has traveled the country to critique equine competitors. She estimated these trips average 25 per year, each event lasting one day to a week. So, her devotion to her field is all the more commendable.

Although judges can generally set their own schedules, flexibility is a must. The Fort Collins native admits that being single somewhat frees up time for the frequent journeys. She does have three cats and border collie/Lab mix Bob, who is famous on the show circuit.

"Everyone loves Bob," Ball said.

She also owns 10 quarter horses and more in a family partnership with brothers Wayne and Tom on North County Road 11. Many of these equines are campaigned, which requires training, discipline and dedication. Luckily, Ball's brother Tom works with the animals in her absence.

One such trip was longer than originally planned. Ball had booked a San Antonio show nine months prior to its dates. Then she received a rather frenzied invitation to replace a judge who'd cancelled at the last moment in Medford, Ore. She accepted, bought a ticket and raced off to the show's four days, where one of the classes lasted 17 hours. Ball flew out from Medford at 8:30 p.m. on a Thursday, reached her San Antonio motel at 5 a.m. on Friday and began judging that three-day show at 9 a.m. Similarly, she once bounced around to Tulsa, Okla., Lincoln, Neb., and British Columbia to exhibit at one location and judge at two, all in one week.

Ball's judging record is impressive, including 14 World shows since 1988. In fact, of the 334 fully carded quarter horse judges, the same five women, including Ball, annually judge the most shows. She said more and more women are not only buyers and event participants (cattle classes being the exception) but are also joining the judging ranks. This wasn't the case in the 1980s and early '90s, she added.

She should know. Ball was one of the youngest people in the United States to be awarded a quarter horse card, and in a minority of women judges in the mid-1980s. Now, she said, the male/female ratio is about equal.

Ball chuckled as she recalled the 1991 Palomino World Show back in the male-dominated days. The cutting class was judged from the back of a pickup truck. Ball confidently hopped up into the bed. Unfortunately, the inner seam on the thigh of her previously altered pants didn't endure the athletic move. Feeling the draft, she calmly sat down and casually mentioned the sizeable split to her male ring steward. He panicked while she serenely judged the class. At its conclusion, she exited the arena in little, short steps with the steward walking closely behind to cover any view of the fabric faux pas. With pants reinforced with safety pins compliments of the show manager, Ball judged the remainder of her classes determined that the event's male "powers that be" not think "that woman" delayed the show.

Ball said judges usually set their own fees and can earn $500 to $750 per day at quarter horse shows. Plus, most events will pay meal, airfare, parking, mileage and other reasonable expenses. So, a well-traveled judge can earn a somewhat lucrative income or at least garner a healthy secondary one.

Are there any negatives for show judges? Ball's main complaint was dealing with airlines, although she now uses a travel agent for all her bookings. And what about that ugly word: politics. Ball is proud of her reputation for honesty and believes the largest percentage of judges try to do a fair and honest job, but recognizes that there have been and remain some problems in showing. Measures have been taken to assure accountability, such as video reviews and a score sheet system. If it's in black and white there's less temptation for human nature to go awry.

Ball not only expounds the merits of being a judge, but also mentioned that the quarter horse association, for one, offers a judging school complete with mock testing to encourage interested persons. To apply for a card, a hopeful candidate should first contact a particular breed headquarters for an application, which is reviewed by a judging committee and then an executive committee. Applicants must also pass a test consisting of video and live judging, interviews and a written test of the rulebook.

Ball explained why she likes her profession: "It's a challenge and exciting for me to judge a number of diverse classes, and do it well. I really enjoy it, even after all these years."