Question
Hello Monty, I'm Brazilian and it's a pleasure writing to you. Here in Brazil we have a breed of horses whose main quality is the comfort of the rider, the breed is called Mangalarga Marchador. In this sense we have marching tests to evaluate the best horses with the best gear and their types. Assessing the rider's comfort, elegance of the gait and morphology of the animal. In the United States of America do you also have a “test" in any event in order to choose the most comfortable and soft horse? If so what proof would it be?
Thank you,
Marcio Cortez
Answer
Dear Marcio,
Thank you for an interesting inquiry. Let me say that I was made a qualified horse show judge by the American Horse Show Association in 1949. I relinquished my judges card in 1966 when we began our work here at Flag Is Up Farms principally in the Thoroughbred racing industry. This certainly does not mean that I forgot all that I learned about judging the elements you have outlined. You probably know that I have conducted demonstrations in Belo Horizonte at the championship show for the Mangalarga Marchedor.
Sincerely,
