HORSE-SHOW MANAGEMENTS 195 



he should be scratched, and the fine imposed by the 

 association for so doing is quite sufficient punishment 

 to prevent promiscuous and unnecessary scratching. 



In regard to jumping and hunting classes, I would 

 suggest that all shows follow the example of the Na- 

 tional. Have the secretary of the show correct wrong 

 entries on receiving them and not leave it to the ex- 

 hibitors to file complaints against horses entered both 

 in fight and heavy weight classes, etc. 



I am sorry to say that more than one prominent 

 exhibitor is guilty of "swapping" horses from middle- 

 weight to lightweight classes to suit his convenience. 

 Such errors can readily be checked up by the Official 

 Horse Show Blue Book, and unless the judges them- 

 selves are responsible for the change, offenders should 

 be heavily fined or suspended from showing for a 

 definite period by the National Association of Horse 

 Shows. 



In thoroughbred classes, shows should demand that 

 the horse's " certificate of registration" accompany 

 the entry. Unfortunately some secretaries seem un- 

 able to distinguish between the certificate of a regis- 

 tered thoroughbred and the certificate of the American 

 Saddle Horse Association, denoting a pure-bred Ken- 

 tucky animal. The trouble is that the word "thor- 

 oughbred" is too loosely applied. 



The ring committee for the jumping classes should 

 be selected not for their social standing or their wealth, 

 but for their knowledge of horsemanship, and this 

 committee should undertake to see that the jumps 

 are carefully and correctly put up and at the same 

 height for each contestant. At most shows this is left 

 to ignorant ring hands; the bars are placed crookedly 

 and the wings in impossible positions. Fortunately, 



