How to Apply

•  Applicants must have been an APHA member-in-good-standing for one full year prior to applying to become a judge.
•  Applicants must be 21 years of age in order to apply.
•  There is a $100 application fee. This fee is nonrefundable.
•  As soon as your application is received at the APHA office, you
  will be sent an open-book APHA rule book test. This test must be
  completed and returned before your application can be processed.
•  Judge applicants are required to submit a completed application
  and provide a minimum of 10 references. Six of the 10 references
  must be from currently carded APHA or AQHA judges who have
  witnessed you judging. The remaining four references must be from
  show management personnel who have hired you to judge. (Note: A
  reference may be used only once on an application, meaning that the
  same name cannot be used both as a judge and a management reference. Also, a husband and wife count as only one reference.)
  Applicants who are approved AQHA judges are required to submit a
  minimum of five references—three references from APHA or AQHA
  judges who have witnessed you judging and two references from
  show management personnel who have hired you to judge.
•  Urge your references to complete and return their evaluations as quickly as possible. All references must be received by APHA before your application can be submitted to the Judges Committee.
•  Applicants who are applying through the Apprentice Judging Program
  will have their file automatically forwarded to the Judges Committee
  once they have completed apprenticing under a minimum of six
  judges (2 must have cattle class information), attended the APHA
  Educational Judges Academy, completed an application and paid the
  $100 application fee. No other references are required. Additional
  references are optional.
•  Provide a recent photo, suitable for publication, of yourself in the
  attire you would wear to judge a horse show. (The photo will remain with APHA.)
•  All applicants’ names will be published in the Paint Horse Journal
  a minimum of 30 days prior to the Judges Committee review.
•  Periodically, the judge applicant will receive a letter stating the number and type of references still needed to complete the reference requirement. It is up to the applicant to either send in new references—indicating the type of reference being submitted—or to ask that reference letters be re-sent to names on the original list.
•  An incomplete file cannot be presented to the Judges Committee for consideration. However, you may submit additional references at any time prior to submission of the file to the committee.
•  A statute of limitations applies to applications. A file must be complete and ready for review no later than two years from the date the applicant’s name appears in the Journal. Failure to complete the application process within this time will result in the file being declared void, and require that the application process, including repayment of the application fee, be started over.

Judges Committee Consideration

•  Once the references have been received by APHA, the judge’s file will be held until the next scheduled meeting of the Judges Committee. To be eligible for consideration, a judge applicant’s file must be ready for review one month prior to the committee’s meeting. The Judges Committee meets three times a year—at the APHA Applicant School in April, at the APHA Workshop in June and at the APHA Convention in October.
•  The Judges Committee reviews the completed files and selects
  applicants to be invited to the applicant school. Applicants should keep in mind that they are under continual review throughout the entire process. An invitation to the applicant school can be rescinded if additional unsatisfactory information is received.
•  Successful applicants will be notified of the date and location of the applicant school. The applicant must attend this school in order to become an approved APHA judge.
•  The scores earned at the applicant school will be presented to
  the Judges Committee at their next scheduled meeting. At that
  time, the committee determines if an applicant is approved for
  judging on a temporary status, or if the application will be denied approval.
•  If you are approved for judging status, your name will appear in the Paint Horse Journal as an approved judge. All approved judges must maintain their membership in APHA. Your name is also added to the list provided to those who are seeking the names and addresses of approved judges. The list of approved judges is also printed in the Journal each January.

How to Reapply

•  If your application is denied, you may resubmit an application one year from the date of denial. A second filing fee must be paid at that time. If you are invited to the applicant school and fail to make a passing grade, you may re-apply immediately. Reapplying will require an apprentice applicant to apprentice with four additional judges and a regular applicant to submit new references. If you fail to pass the second time, you must wait one year to reapply.

For more information, contact APHA Director of Judges Candy Jebavy by phone (817) 834-2742, extension 416 or by e-mail at cjebavy@apha.com.