Judging 102:

One of my best and shrewdest secret agents E mailed me about the Judging 101 piece.   I’m thinking he called the thought process REVERSE judging and that’s pretty much what I was talking about.  First you think of the total score a guy needs to be to win what you think he should… then based on the total score you figure out what your sub total needs to be … then the toughest part is to figure out how you want the stock and ride marking to be in order to get the sub total you need. 

It really doesn’t matter to me HOW you get those numbers.  I notice that some of the better X bull rider judges like to keep their bull scores in line in order to let me know what the bull REALLY is.  So if three 20 point bulls get ridden in order to get the guys placed the way they want them to be they’ll leave the bulls at 20 and just place them with their ride scores.  The ride scores might be 22-21-20 resulting in sub total scores of 42-41-40 or if they are leaving room to place other people if necessary they might make their ride scores 23-21-19 resulting in sub total scores of 43-41-39.  

That works okay in herds where the rides that win money are on 19-20 point bulls.  You get into ranker herds where they ride quite a few 21 point bulls in order to get your spread you’ll run out of ride points to use.  That’s why it is best to first create spread in the bulls then use your ride points to get guys placed as you get further along in the rodeo.

A question the Secret Agent had was… “will this mess up the NFR selections because we’re going to have 20 point bulls being marked 21-22?”   Don’t worry about it.   We are getting that anyway.  With the Commissioner’s edict, the seminars, and stock contractor pressure scores have risen.   It’s been for the betterment of rodeo.  About all we use the bull scores for anymore is to locate the best bulls within their own herds.   A 22 bull in a weak herd might only look like a 19+ or a 20 in a stronger herd.  

When we start cutting down the list from 250 or so bulls to 100 it becomes a process of comparison.   How many trips… how many miles… been indoors…. who’s been on them, etc.   And when it gets down to where we’re trying to fill the last 15 holes it is still all about comparison.  We try to find people who have actually seen the animals we’re comparing and ask them—which is the better bull?    Sometimes we’re lucky enough to have video to compare but more often or not it comes down to secret agent opinions particularly if they happen to be making the NFR themselves. 

I know some X bull rider judges can’t make themselves mark bulls higher because they believe that it will hurt their credibility with the bull riders.  I wouldn’t worry about it.   If you judge a lot they already know you’re stupid and probably suspect that you were an abused child or flunked out of dentistry college. 

So I guess they bottom line is…. while marking those 20+ bulls 22’s provides whining ammo for stock contractors (some of which have threatened to sue) getting the scores up and guys PLACED is more important to the event and the rodeo business.

Bryan McDonald
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