Am looking for ideas to separate the two. So far planning on a clear shower curtain and hoping to stiffen the front to prevent too much movement, maybe with an edging of some kind that slips on and weighting it down as well. Any other ideas? Thanks!
is there any reason why scribes couldnāt be remote?
There are many shows that are not tech enough to be able to put judges/scribes in separate locations and have 100% stable and predictable communication. Shows that I have worked at that are totally paperless in the booths still have a book of backup tests - tech that is power dependent or network dependent can go down - sometimes in the middle of a ride. Itās happened to me.
OP - If you canāt do separate enclosures - can you do plexiglass? Iāve seen many places that have set up plexiglass with clamps rather than permanently installing it.
Iād be worried about a shower curtain blowing all over the place with the smallest amount of breeze, which would be 1) annoying as h*ll for the judge/scribe and 2)potentially very spooky for the horses.
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as someone who has done 1000s of hours scribing
remote scribing is only as strong as your electronic network. If sound quality fails or if there is a total failure you are in a bad way. I would say this is a total no go. Sometimes it is hard enough hearing a judge when they are seated right next to you.
what is your set up? Do you have a booth? how wide is it? If it is movable, I would suggest moving it, so that the judge is centered on āCā at one edge of the booth and the scribe at the other. Riders will need to be aware that the booth is offset and not to aim for the center. Novice show riders may be confused.
Masks for both. A masked judge needs to be even more well heard and distinct in their speech. More the reason to keep your partition, if you really feel it is needed, to be minimal and unable to make noise in itself
If you wish to make a partition, I would spend just a little bit more and get a rigid plastic panel. They are not that expensive, I had one cut at the hardware store for my fireplace and it was less than 15$. Remember the judge and scribe still need to be able to hand back and forth and it is not unusual that judges want to glance over at the sheet while the scribe is writing. I can see a shower curtain, most likely opaque still blowing and billowing are air moves, or worse, cutting off any level of ventilation in the booth. I dont think there is any possible way to create a perfectly taut plastic curtain/ sheet that isnt going to be giving someone fits. A rigid clear plastic panel clamped in a frame is probably the best you can do and quite frankly, probably an exercise in futility given the way air circulates around.
I would contact your judge(s) and ask how they feel about the situation and what restrictions are acceptable. Perhaps some have already seen some improvised things.
Make sure your scribes are comfortable with wearing a mask PROPERLY.
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I just spoke about this with our local organizers and their plan is to have them in separate booths side by side using a Cee Coach, or connected by phone using headphones
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If you donāt have booths, can also seat judge and scribe in two vehicles (judge at C, scribe offset). Using cell phones with earbuds allows both to have windows down if they want. This is assuming youāve got good reception at the show.
Thanks you all.
I have scribed a lot and I agree that you really need to be in proximity to a judge in case you get off and need to instantly communicate to get back together.
we have judges stands. I am definitely concerned about blowing wind.
Thanks for your thoughts and ideas, I appreciate them.
Thereās a photo on Eventing Nation of a shower curtain. It might be worth contacting the author to see how it worked - https://eventingnation.com/a-return-to-volunteering/
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Thank you!
Just a heads up on plexiglassā¦ i use it in my business from time to time. Prices have gone through the roof and we are being quoted 6 month lead times, so most of us need to come up with alternatives.
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What about Tyvec?
At the Florida Horse Park there are rigid plexiglass dividers between judge and scribe. About 2x2 ft, wooden frame, set in 2x4s as a base, stood on the table between us. Easy construction. I scribed there today and they were not intrusive at all.
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so then how is the test transferred from scribe to jduge for last remarks and signature? not sure about you, but my cell phone would not last all dayā¦
This weekend at the show it was judge and scribe in same vehicle, windows down, both in masks.
Phone calls are free nowadays. They wouldnāt have to be in the same area.
I canāt find the article now of course, but I thought that one of the shows that ran with a barrier of some sort did not pass the tests at all. The scribe had mentioned that they had bins to put the tests in to pass to the runner, who would bring back a clean bin in exchange. No passing back and forth of tests, so I guess the scribe wrote in the last remarks.
If youāre sitting in a car, you can charge your phone throughout the day, or plug it in at lunch break, etc.
- Only if the car is running.
- Lunch break?? LOL I doubt my phone will charge in 45 minutes. ANd where? No access to office for non-office workers.
I suppose you could use a power bankā¦ - I have seen barriers with pass-thru under the plexiglas.
May have been this article talking about how they ran dressage at Waredaca: https://useventing.com/news-media/neā¦d-19-protocols.
The car doesnāt have to be running - it just needs to be in the āonā position (where thereās power to put down the windows, etc).
You have, however, reminded me to charge up my power bank for this weekend 
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Thank you, that was the article. Although now Iām now sure about how exactly they ran dressage, because thereās one sentence that implies that the scribe is writing the final comments, and then also she says that they both had bins for their tests, which means both the judge and scribe had a bin. I donāt know why the judge would have a bin if he/she wasnāt handling tests.
āI really liked the āno contactā test pick up, where we both put our tests in a plastic bin when finished.ā (bolding mine)
āno handing the papers back and forth or to the test runnerā (Plantation and Waredaca) and āāI also liked not having to hand the test to the judge quickly after the last halt and saluteā¦ā
