Judging Arabian horses’ conformation takes practice, but anyone who has spent time around these beautiful creatures can learn to do it. Judges usually look for a combination of balance, structure, muscling, gait, and breed-specific features. For the 2020 Aachen edition, I had the honour to interview Dr. Gianmarco Aragno from Turin, Italy. He was pleased to walk me through the main aspects of his professional experience in judging Arabian horses. Hello Dr. Gianmarco Aragno. Just to set the scene with our readers, give us some background to you, to your fa- mily and education please. My father was a vet and I’ve always wanted to be a vet sin- ce I was a kid. I did military service as a veterinary lieu- tenant where I had to take care of 180 mules. When I got back home, I had a trip to Poland and I bought 6 horses in 1974. Then I started with the jumping, the cross-country and then the races with Arabian horses. Later I became a professional trainer and continued with the racing until the racetracks in Italy closed down. When did you start getting interested in the pure-bred Arabian horse? Which are your favourite bloodlines? Why? I’ve been involved with Arabian horses since I was a kid. My favourite bloodline is the Polish bloodline because Polish have been breeding Arabian horses for three cen- turies and, until a few years ago, all Polish-bred horses were brought to the racetrack from an early age and so each horse had a solid structure and limbs and a great movement. These horses were not only beautiful, but also athletes and had a sportive attitude. When did you become a Judge? What specific prepa- ration did you get? I became a judge around 30 years ago. I had no speci- fic preparation, instead I built my knowledge on expe- rience. Before becoming a judge, I used to go to each Arabian Horse event around Italy and I was involved with all type of horses. Then the Italian National Asso- ciation of Arabian Horses (ANICA) asked me to beco- me a judge of purebred Arabian Horses and I still am one nowadays. What do you feel has been your most rewarding expe- rience as a judge? I have many great memories as a judge. First of all, the wonderful memories I share with my dear judge friends. One of my most rewarding experiences was to have had the opportunity to judge the All Nations Cup in Aachen many times, that, to me, is the most beautiful show in Europe. What horse or horses have you judged that have left the greatest impression on you? Many horses have left me a great impression. One example could be the mares classes in Aachen some years ago: classes full of Polish mares, one more beau- tiful than the other, it was almost impossible to choose the best among them. Another horse I have been very impressed by is the beautiful Kwestura. What are, in your opinion, the strengths of the breed and how do you tackle the concepts of ‘beauty’ and ‘functional correctness’? The main strengths of the Arabian horses, in the first place, their intelligence, vivacity, courage and move- ment. The Arabian Horse is a horse that was used to improve other breeds and this says a lot. The beauty of a horse is a functional beauty: it is not a beauty for its own sake. Beautiful is the horse that works best and it is willing to do that and that is less likely to get injured. Which particular skills are necessary to become an accoun- table judge? First of all, it is fundamental to know a horse, to have been personally involved with horses for years and years and to have ridden a horse. Riding is the only way to really know what movement is like. Then, it is important to have an ana- tomical knowledge of the horse, of what the functional par- ts are, such as the bones, the muscles, the tendons, etc. Last but not least, a judge needs to have the ‘eye’ for a horse. To be able to see if a horse is beautiful or not by just looking at it.This knowledge is impossible to get: either you have it inherently or you don’t. At least in Europe there have been some complaints about handlers/trainers abusing horses. Do you feel these are isolated incidents or do you feel they may be more widespread? Probably there are some handlers that use some unor- thodox methods with horses. In my opinion, the best system to train a horse is the Polish system: they used to train the horses since they were foals in a delicate and sweet way. In fact, horses that have been trained in Poland usually trust their handlers, seem to be relaxed and not scared of them while being shown. Do you think that the Arabian World has been a bit in a downtrend lately? Yes, the Arabian Horse world is for sure in a downtrend lately. The market is quite open only for top-class hor- ses winning shows or for mares that have an impor tant pedigree and a proven record as breeders. There is no market for average horses also because people, in Italy at least, don’t ride horses anymore. Abroad, where people ride more, there is market for geldings, stallions and mares that cannot aim for shows, even though the selling prices are not very high. Unfortu- nately, in Italy, people don’t ride Arabian horses much, besides those who do endurance or some aficionados. If you were empowered to effect change in the Ara- bian World, how would you go about it? Back to 20 years ago, the world of shows was comple- tely different: small breeders used to take part in these shows, they used to breed their own horses and have fun and enjoy showing them in the competitions, re- gardless of the final result. The atmosphere was frien- dly and relaxed. Nowadays there are too many finan- cial interests, there is too much money involved and, therefore, people and atmosphere are not as friendly and chilled as they used to be. Unfortunately, I think there is no way for this to go back to how it was becau- se, as I said, there is too much money on the bill. Do you feel like leaving a message to the readers of this interview? The Arabian horse should be used more as a saddle horse to enjoy a ride with and as a friend too. People who are used to riding an Arabian horse cannot go back to another breed because it is the most intelli- gent, the smartest and most lively, and, in my opinion, the Arabian horse is the real saddle horse. Dr. Gianmarco Aragno, thank you very much for your contribution. It was an honour to interview you. May the Arabian horse cast a spell on us and keep us together forever and ever!