We found a great article hosted on the Practical Horseman by Danny Robertshaw called

What Makes a Winning Hunter Round

We encourage you to check it out. Here is a short excerpt…

“What Your Riding Is Telling the Judge” 

“Although your position and technical riding skills don’t affect your score directly in hunter classes the way they do in equitation classes, your riding does matter. The judge wants to see you riding effectively enough to show off your horse’s best attributes while also staying quiet in your body and subtle in your aids so as not to distract the judge’s eye from your horse.
One factor many onlookers may not realize judges are considering is the amount of trust a horse and rider demonstrate in one another. This is evident in the actions a rider makes in the saddle to try to influence her horse. A winning trip shouldn’t look manufactured. Rather than working visibly to get your horse right to every jump, you should appear simply to allow him to do it. You want to make him look like a genius.”

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