United States Eventing Association

Para-Equestrian Debbie Stanitski Will Jump Judge Another Year at Rolex Kentucky

Former event rider Dr. Debbie Stanitski was injured in a riding accident but now competes in para-equestrian competitions with her mare, Biara. But once an eventer, always an eventer, and the horsewoman of Charleston, South Carolina, will be jump judging at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event for the fourth time this year.

A friend of FEI steward Pat Maykuth, Debbie mentioned several years ago that she’d like to jump judge at Rolex, and Maykuth made a couple of calls to get her the coveted volunteer position. But jump judging at America’s biggest event and only four-star competition is not all about rubbing elbows with celebrity riders and drinking cocktails in the VIP tent – there’s some serious work involved.

She explains, “There’s a mandatory session on Friday afternoon at the Visitor’s Center. We all sit down they basically explain what you have to do, explain the current rules like what constitutes a stop and how many penalties for what. You have to wear certain clothes, you find out what your fence is, and all that sort of thing.”

A couple of months before the event, organizers offer you either a boxed lunch or free parking, and ask what size T-shirt you wear. “Everybody has pretty much the same clothing: you can wear a white long-sleeve T-shirt under your T-shirt if it’s cold.” Attire isn’t the only concern, with NBC Sports filming the competition. “They also warn you not to pick your nose or scratch your bottom or anything like that because you never know when you’ll be on TV!”

On Friday night, it’s time to get organized for the big day. She explains, “You pick up a bag with stopping flags and your T-shirt and course map and rules and all that stuff; the whole thing takes a little under an hour, and that’s usually at 5pm on Friday. We all sign in so [the coordinator] knows who’s there. Then she tells us when to get to our fence the next morning so we have time to do radio checks. Usually cross-country starts at 9am and we should be at our jump by 8, but we aim for 7:30 just in case. Certain vehicles are allowed on course, so we can get a ride to our fence.”

Unlike many lower-level events, jump judges aren’t on their own at the high-stakes four-star competition in Kentucky. “There’s a head judge for every fence, an area Steward in charge of several fences, and assistant fence judges, which is me. Pat’s had The Sunken Road and several fences before and after that for several years now.”

Debbie has judged a water complex, bank complex, and a more straightforward jump, but says, “I had a fence with four elements one year and it caused all sorts of problems - it was fence nine, two years ago – and it was actually fun not just ticking off a list and saying ‘next.’ The jump was offset, and you could jump the first fence at 90 degrees, the way that looked straight, but a lot of horses jumped the first element and ran right past the second fence. We couldn’t even count the ways that fence could be jumped wrong! It got a lot of big-named riders, too. I think William Fox-Pitt was eliminated on one of his horses at this fence.”

For several years Debbie also participated in the cross-country course walk with Jimmy Wofford. “He’s a very funny, intelligent guy,” she says. “His course walk is very popular now, it’s huge. It was fun having him describe how the riders should jump the fences. There are multiple course walks available, but I always enjoyed his; unfortunately the jump judge’s briefing is the same time as his walk so I haven’t been able to go since I started jump judging.”

Debbie’s List of Essentials for Jump Judges:

1. Get one of those fold-up chairs that has a cover. It saves you from the sun and/or the rain. You have to sit there all day and it could be 80 degrees or 35 degrees, and unless there’s lightning, you’re on course from 7am until the last horse goes through the finish flags and your score sheets have been collected. You also have to go to a post-cross country briefing during the protest period. You’re ready to lie horizontal and have a margarita, but you’ve got to wait and make sure nobody wants to protest anything!

2. If it’s cold, make sure you have enough clothing, like a long-sleeve T-shirt and outerwear, or whatever. Often they’ll give you a Rolex baseball cap that you have to wear, so you’re not allowed to wear your own hat. They prefer that you don’t wear a heavy jacket over your “uniform,” so bring a backpack to stuff it into when the weather warms up.

3. This is key: you may be far from a port-a-potty and you should know that you’re allowed to jump the line (just show your jump judge armband) but it could take you a while to walk to one. I bring my cane with me so I don’t do a face plant out in the field! Toilet paper and hand sanitizer might be a good idea too.

4. They provide box lunches but bring drinks, bug spray and sunscreen, as along with your decent chair.

5. Remember that you’re not supposed to use your cell phone; not only are they distracting, they can also be annoying in the background on the TV cameras.