• The candidate must be a financial member of the Arabian Horse Society of Australia Ltd. and must have been financial for the preceding year.
• The candidate must agree to provide a Police Clearance Check and/or Working With Children Check and be prepared to sign a declaration stating that the candidate has no criminal convictions, in particular for child related offences or any form of animal cruelty. (refer below for links to the relevant state websites)
• The candidate must agree to his/her contact details being public.
• The candidate must nominate by completing the Judge Candidate Nomination Form & Statutory Declaration available on the website at http://www.ahsa.asn.au/judges-information-and-forms of this document and returning to the address listed with the nomination fee of $50.00.
• The candidate must have attended at least one AHSA Arabian workshop, training day or National Conference. The more attended the better.
• The candidate must have stewarded, shadow judged or judged at shows prior to sitting the Assessment. Please keep a diary of the dates and details of any workshop, Judging appointments and stewarding appointments for future reference. The names of Arabian judges the candidate may have trained with at shows, together with dates, to be kept as a reference source.

• It is most important to study the AHSA Standards of Excellence for Purebreds and Derivatives as well as the Study Notes and Rule Books. Read as much study information as possible and plan which Workshops the candidate will be attending. The Judge and Officials Committee can advise of seminars, workshops, clinics and training days in your area. It is strongly recommended that the candidate attend as many workshops and training days etc as possible. It is also strongly recommended that the candidate Steward at shows as often as possible prior to sitting the Assessment. Please keep a diary of the dates and details of any workshop, Judging appointments and stewarding appointments for future reference.

• Once the candidate has met the above requirements, the candidate will be eligible to sit an initial Assessment.
• The initial assessment is a written paper of 2 hour’s duration which requires general knowledge of points of the horse, the Standard of Excellence for Arabians & Derivatives, general conformation faults, an idea of how to judge halter and ridden classes and some true or false questions. There will be a section on the Rule Book which will be an open book test. The pass mark for this section is 85%.
• The Assessors will review the theory papers and will have a general discussion with the candidate to clarify any points from the assessment paper. The candidate will undergo a further practical assessment of the Purebred Arabian Halter and/or Derivative Halter and/or Saddle, this may be occasionally waived depending on the background and judging experience of the candidate. This practical assessment may be conducted as a standalone event or at a show, whichever is deemed practical by the JOC.
• The assessor/s will forward their recommendations to the Judge and Officials Committee who will in turn, forward the JOC’s recommendation to the AHSA Board for approval. Should the candidate request or should the candidate be related to or have business dealings with a member of the JOC then the assessor/s shall forward their recommendations directly to the AHSA Board. Once this has been approved, the JOC will advise the candidate of the outcome.
• Candidates who pass will then gain a Level One License and will be submitted for inclusion on the AHSA Judges Panel as a Level One Judge.
• All persons when first approved for classification as an AHSA Panel Judge shall first receive a Level One Judge status regardless of age or experience (unless the Judge has previously qualified as an Arabian recognised Arabian Judges’ Panel of another country as recognised by the Society).
• By definition a “Level One Judge” is a person who has passed the approved entry level Assessment and is therefore so approved by the Judge and Officials Committee and appointed by the AHSA Board as certified and licensed to represent the Society and is entitled to officiate alone at any recognised show with a show grading of ‘B’ or below which he/she is invited to judge.

• The Level 1 Judge is responsible for applying for such an upgrade and applicable forms are available http://www.ahsa.asn.au/judges-information-and-forms.

• The Level 1 Judge must attend a National Conference and/or an Arabian seminar.
• The Level 1 Judge is required to have judged at least 6 shows with a minimum of 2 of those 6 shows judging Arabians.
• The judge must have been on the judging panel for at least 2 years prior to requesting an upgrade. (In exceptional circumstances there may be a relaxation of the timeframes and the JOC would make a decision on a case by case situation.)

In addition to the requirements noted above, in order to upgrade to a Level 2 Judge, the Level 1 judge is required to have:

• Completed an Application to Upgrade, which is available on the AHSA website under the Judges tab and submitted to the Judge & Officials Committee via the information on the upgrade form.
• Attended a mentoring session with AHSA accredited mentors/examiners regarding their level of expertise in judging. Discussion at this time will be around experience, continuing education and any issues that have been advised to the AHSA Board or the JOC regarding any judging assignment previously undertaken. The Assessors will make recommendation to the JOC who will then make recommendation to the Board of the AHSA Ltd. Should the candidate request or should the candidate be related to or have business dealings with a member of the JOC then the assessor/s shall forward their recommendations directly to the AHSA Board.
• Kept their Judge’s status active & up to date on the AHSA website.
• Completed their judging returns each year and submitted to the Judges and Officials Committee.
• Completed an open rule book assessment with 90% pass mark.

A successful upgrade can only be achieved when all the above have been fulfilled.

• Throughout this process, the judge needs to continue to judge, steward and attend seminars and training days.
• By definition, a “Level Two Judge” is a person appointed by the Judge and Officials Committee and approved by the AHSA Board as certified and licensed to represent the society and has demonstrated sufficient knowledge and experience to hold a ‘Level Two Judges status’. He/she is entitled to officiate alone at any recognised show with a grading of ‘A’, or ‘B’, with the exception of any State Royal Shows, that he/she is invited to judge in Australia or New Zealand.

• The Level 2 Judge is responsible for applying for such an upgrade and applicable forms are available http://www.ahsa.asn.au/judges-information-and-forms. When applying for National Panel status a judge may be accredited to adjudicate in only one, two or all three divisions – Purebred Halter Derivative Halter and/or Performance. There may be several reasons for this, more comfortable judging halter, or performance, or derivatives, or perhaps a health issue, whatever the choice is a judge may apply to change their status at any time by contacting the Judge and Officials Committee for a revision and review. This may or may not be agreed to and the Judge and Officials Committee decision will be forwarded to the Board for determination and approval.

• The Level 2 Judge must attend a National Conference and/or an Arabian seminar.
• The Level 2 Judge is required to have judged at least 6 shows with a minimum of 2 of those 6 shows judging Arabians.
• The judge must have been on the judging panel as a Level 2 Judge for at least 2 years prior to requesting an upgrade. (In exceptional circumstances there may be a relaxation of the timeframes and the JOC would make a decision on a case by case situation.)

In addition to the requirements noted above, in order to upgrade to a National Panel Judge, the Level 2 judge is required to have:

• Completed an Application to Upgrade and submitted to the Judge and Officials Committee. This can be submitted at any time throughout the year.
• The Level 2 Judge must complete a written examination paper (3 hours). The pass mark shall be 85%.
• The Level 2 Judge must have attended a National Conference &/or attended an Arabian seminar on the scoring system.
• The Level 2 Judge must attend a mentoring session with AHSA accredited mentors/examiners regarding their level of expertise in judging. Discussion at this time will be around experience, continuing education and any issues that have been advised to the AHSA board or the JOC regarding any judging assignment previously undertaken. Proficiency in using the scoring system for judging will be required. A scoring system assessment will be required, this will undertaken by the examiners unless proven proficiency in utilising this method of judging has been demonstrated. The Assessors will make recommendation to the JOC who will then make recommendation to the Board of the AHSA Ltd. Should the candidate request or should the candidate be related to or have business dealings with a member of the JOC then the assessor/s shall forward their recommendations directly to the AHSA Board.
• The Level 2 Judge must have kept their Judge’s status active & up to date on the AHSA website.
• The Level 2 Judge must have completed their judging returns each year and submitted these to the Judges and Officials Committee.
• By definition, a “National Panel Judge” is a person so licensed by the Judge and Officials Committee and approved by the AHSA Board as certified to represent the society and is entitled to officiate alone at any Show in Australia or New Zealand irrespective of show grading he/she is invited to judge, in the section of the schedule they are qualified and licensed for. A National Panel Judge license may be held for Purebred Halter (PH), for Derivative Halter (DH) for Saddle/Performance (P), or two or all three of these categories.

• The National Panel Judge is responsible for applying for such an upgrade and applicable forms are available http://www.ahsa.asn.au/judges-information-and-forms. A National Panel judge must be accredited as a Purebred halter judge in order to be eligible for consideration.
• When applying for International Panel status, the judge should be mindful of the physical and emotional demands that will occur when undertaking judging at major overseas shows. Judges will be expected to be able to withstand considerable pressure from exhibitors and will be expected to be able to judge in an efficient manner.

• The National Panel Judge must attend a National Conference and/or an Arabian seminar.
• The judge must have been on the National Panel, qualified to judge Purebred Halter, for a minimum of five (5) years.
• The judge must have proficiency in the use of both the scoring and comparative methods of judging.
• The National Panel Judge is required to have judged at least 6 shows with a minimum of 2 of those 6 shows judging Arabians.

In addition to the requirements noted above, in order to upgrade to an International Panel Judge, the National Panel judge is required to have:

• Completed an Application to Upgrade and submitted to the Judge and Officials Committee. This can be submitted at any time throughout the year.
• Successfully completed an examination/assessment which shall include proficiency in using the Judge Scoring System. The Examiners will make recommendation to the JOC who will then make recommendation to the Board of the AHSA Ltd. Should the candidate request or should the candidate be related to or have business dealings with a member of the JOC or should the candidate be a member of the JOC then the assessor/s shall forward their recommendations directly to the AHSA Board.
• The National Panel Judge must have kept their Judge’s status active & up to date on the AHSA website.
• The National Panel Judge must have completed their judging returns each year and submitted these to the Judges and Officials Committee.

By definition, an “International Panel Judge” is a person so licensed by the Judge and Officials Committee and approved by the AHSA Board as certified to represent the Society and is entitled to officiate alone at any Show throughout the world he/she is invited to judge.