'You be the Judge' with Cameron Shepherd

This story appeared in July 2017 Horse Deals magazine. To see what's in the current magazine, click here

Cameron Shepherd has been involved in Polocrosse since 1985 and has represented the top levels, playing at both Queensland State and Australian National level. Here Cameron places these 3 horses in the order of his preference, looking at them specifically as a potential polocrosse horse.

How would you place these three horses in order for a career in Polocrosse?

Here is a closer look at them

Scroll down the page for the Cameron's answer!


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WINNER
8yo, 15.1hh, gelding.
My first impression of this gelding was he looked terrible because of his coat. But you soon look a bit and see that as an athlete he is put together reasonably well. He is reasonable in the hindquarters, but could be on the lighter side when worked up. He could be a bit straight in the hind legs, but in saying that I have over the years seen plenty of horses perform at a high level with straight hind legs. He has a reasonable rein, maybe a link too short and maybe a little thick in the gullet. I always like horses to be not too thick there. He doesn’t look too bad in the head. He also has a nice soft eye. I always like to see a nice relaxed eye. For me his size of 15.1hh is a concern as he is probably a bit small.

SECOND
2yo, 15.2hh, brown mare.
My first impression of this mare is that for me she is a bit too heavily built. This to me might be a concern to her overall athleticism. This mare also looks too short in the front legs.
Molly does have a nice strong hindquarter. I always like this in a horse because this is where your power comes from and the mare also is nice and short in the barrel.
I like to judge a horse as well on their head, but it is a bit hard not being able to see from the front.

THIRD
8yo, 15.2hh, chestnut mare.
My first impression of this last mare is that she is not for me. She paints a bad picture for me in her stance. Her front end is all wrong for me as she is too short in the rein.
The mare’s head carriage would be not good for me and I do not like the look in the mare’s eye. It looks scared and nervous. She also has no wither.
She is a little too long in the mid drift. Her hindquarter is not really what I look for in a horse and her tail doesn’t hook onto the hindquarter that well, and she has it sticking out, which I don’t like to see a horse doing.

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Story from Horse Deals magazine July 2017