A Judge's Perspective

Helpful Hints from a Judge’s Prospective

By Lora Crawford

HALTER

Bring your best to the show         

  1. This means you and your llama.

  2. Your attitude is critical to your success.  Be positive and imagine yourself as a winner.  Always be a good sport.

  3. Before the show, have someone help you evaluate your llama.  Have someone walk your llama towards and away from you.  Look for straight tracking, and straight legs as viewed from the front and the back.

  4. Select a llama with style and presence. This means, “look at me aren’t  I something”.

SHOW your llama to the judge.

  1. Do not just lead your llama into the ring.   First impressions are the most important. Try to grab the judges’ attention; this will get the judge to take another look at your animal as you walk around the ring.

  2. Move out briskly. Your llama will walk better, be more alert, and show excitement in his/her movement.

  3. Keep the lead line up and his/her head up. Practice this at home, so the llama gets used to when he/she is on lead there is something exciting going to happen.

  4. Snap (gently), or jingle the lead line to keep your llama’s attention, not all the time, only when you see your llama loosing interest.

Set your llama up

  1. Do not take a lot of time to do this. Always be aware of how your llama is standing. Try to get him/her to stand square, or if he/her looks better standing offset, then do this and let it be.  Too much adjusting is distracting and will distract the judge.

  2. Be sure to get your llama used to having someone feel his/her top line.  If a judge cannot feel a top line, you may not get an accurate evaluation.

  3. Practice at home.  Move from side to side at the head of your llama as though there was a judge walking around your animal.  This will get your llama accustomed your movements without the need to respond in this situation.

Always look like a winner

  1. “It’s not over until the fat lady sings”  Always keep on showing until the final placings are recorded.

PERFORMANCE

Prepare your llama

  1. Be sure to establish a sense of TRUST before bringing him/her to a show.

  2. Do not expect your llama to do well in performance classes if you have not prepared him/her adequately.

  3. Expose him/her to a variety of situations at home or community, which will prepare him/her for the challenges ahead.

  4. You can not expose your llama to every situation encountered in the ring, but if you have that sense of trust your llama will follow you in situations unfamiliar because of that sense of trust.

Always lead with a loose lead line

  1. You will lose 2 points for a short tight lead at every obstacle if you do not have a “J” lead on your lead line.  The judge will accept you giving directions to your llama at an obstacle, but only briefly.

  2. It is understood that your llama needs guidance through the obstacle course, however once the command is given, the llama is expected to respond.

  3. Remember 2 new handler errors are:  Lack of handler rapport, and Lack of flow.

Refusals

  1. Plants all four feet refusing to budge.

  2. Will not respond to pressure on the lead rope to move forward.

  3. Steps to the side of the obstacle to avoid the obstacle.

  4. Takes a step backward from the obstacle.  Includes placing only 1, 2, of 3 feet in or on an obstacle, except such obstacle as the sidestep where only 2 feet enter.

The Judge’s Prospective

  1. The judge is comparing the performance of the llama going through the obstacle course to the IDEAL.

  2. What would the PERFECT llama look like going through the obstacle?

  3. The score of each llama completing the course is not based on a comparative basis, but on the IDEAL as outlined by the ALSA guidelines.