PAULA BÖHMER

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 2022 Special Middle East issue, I had the chance to interview Ms. Paula Böhmer from Aalten, The Netherlands. She was pleased to walk me through the main aspects of her professional experience in judging Arabian horses. 1. Hello, Paula. Thank you very much for accepting our invitation so kindly. Just to set the scene with our readers, give us some background to you, to your family and education please. 1. My farm is in Aalten, the Netherlands, where I live with my daughter Sophia, who is 4 years old. We have between 20 and 25 pure-bred Arabians at home, as well as some ponies. My passion for horses began when I was 6 years old and started riding ponies. When I was around 10 years old, I got my first own horse, which was a pure-bred Arabian named Evita. Via the Dutch studbook AVS and Mr. Pieter Stoop (who is the organizer of Arabian Horse Weekend) I became more and more involved in events specifically for Arabian pure-breds. This is how I started visiting national and international shows, including the All Nations Cup in Aachen and the World Championships in Paris, and became fond of the breed and its scene. Besides my courses in horse breeding and judging, I studied photography and art and thus I am a semi-professional photographer besides being a horse breeder. 2. When did you start getting interested in the pure-bred Arabian horse? Which are your favourite bloodlines, if any? 2. I was hooked on the films of the "Black Stallion" and since my first own horse was an Arabian, there never was a true other breed for me. For me, each bloodline has its positive aspects, but in general the Egyptian (related) bloodlines catch me. It is also these lines that I like to include in my breeding program. 3. When did you become a judge? What specific preparation did you get? 3. I officially became a judge in 2016 (when I was admitted to the ECAHO list). Since I was 15 years old, I did some informal "internships" on premium inspections and along the side line at shows with Toto Modderman-van Dorssen (a former international A judge for the Dutch studbook). After that, I did a training program for breeding judges at the "Koepel Fokkerij", an overarching association for horse breeding in the Netherlands. This included a theoretical exam and a practical internship at three different studbooks of different horse breeds (I did the Dutch Shetland studbook, the Dutch Welsh Pony studbook and the Dutch riding horse and pony studbook "NRPS"). I also followed an internal course at the AVS studbook and of course I followed the ECAHO program. 4. What do you feel has been your most recent rewarding experience as a judge? 4. I felt it as a great honour to judge the Qatar Nationals in November 2021. This show was so rewarding due to the very large number of horses that we had to judge. 5. What horse or horses have you judged that have left the greatest impression on you? 5. There are several horses that left a great impression, but at a show in Syria in 2019 I had to judge some classes of authentic Syrian Arabians. These horses and these bloodlines were the base of the modern show Arabian you see in the arena's around the globe nowadays, and their history and legacy are a very valuable contribution to the breed. I was really impressed by the authenticity and pureness of these horses, their background and their overall appearance. 6. What are, in your opinion, the strengths of the breed and how do you tackle the concepts of 'beauty' and 'functional correctness'? 6. The strength of the Arabian breed is its hardness and stamina which make it a really good utility horse. Furthermore, the Arabian is super friendly and people oriented, which makes it a good family horse. Its sensitivity and kindness make that a connection, maybe even a friendship, is created between the Arabian as a horse and its human owner. Beauty and functionality come together in the overall balance of the horse. A good Arabian for me is a horse with good conformation, that is in balance and being able to move with/over its whole body. Together with a showy attitude and not losing that tender, kind glance I mentioned above, makes a horse a true Arabian for me. 7. Which particular skills are necessary to become an accountable judge? 7. A proper judge needs to have a good eye for the overall balance and details of a horse that I mentioned before. You need to know how the equestrian body functions and you also need to be able to determine any defaults and/or pains in a horse (on the spot in real life I mean, outside the checklist from a book). And of course, and this may be an open door, a good judge at all times is independent, impartial and neutral. 8. To what extent has the current global health crisis been affecting the industry? Has it impacted your job? 8. I would like to keep this answer short, as COVID-19 and the current global health crisis to some can be a sensitive subject. Luckily, I have been able to judge some national and international shows in the past two years, however due to the ever changing measures in the several jurisdictions, it may sometimes be difficult and uncertain for me whether a request for judging can be accepted. For example, ad hoc and immediate lockdowns and quarantine may be problematic in order to return home to horses and family on schedule. 9. Paula, what else would you like to achieve at this stage of your professional career? 9. In the end, I would like to become an international A judge for ECAHO and educate ambitious people in becoming better horse judges and breeders. 10. What else do you do when not judging? Taking care of my lovely, sweet daughter Sophia, my horses and the other animals at my farm (like dogs, cats and chickens). Furthermore, I really like to go out for a nice dinner, when I get the chance. 11. If you could effect change in the Arabian Horse World, how would you go about it? 11. I really would love to see that the Arabian horse, and horses in general, are seen as an individual, a friend, a family member, and not as a status symbol. Therefore, I advocate for better welfare at shows and less pressure on the horses, so that they can show their real beauty and kindness in a more natural way. Also, I would like to emphasize that it is better to breed less horses of good quality than to breed average horses in bulk. 12. Would you like to leave a final message to the readers of this interview? 12. Enjoy and connect with your horse(s) and share your passion with friends from the scene, by celebrating each other's successes! Thank you, Paula. We enjoyed your interview very much!