Happy Ratters judges keep trials fair, safe, and fun — and you don't need to have judged anywhere before to become one. New judges start as provisional judges, working real trials alongside an experienced judge until they've met the requirements below and move to Approved status.
Fill out the application right here on the website. It includes the judge's exam — open book, so keep the rule book handy. Prefer paper? There's a printable version with the same questions — fill it in and email it to forms@happyratters.com.
Once your application and exam have been reviewed, someone from the Happy Ratters team will call you to talk through next steps.
Clinics are a great way to learn the craft from experienced judges. Watch the Happy Ratters and HR Hosts & Judges Facebook groups for upcoming clinics.
Work real trials under a supervising judge until you've met every requirement below, filling out a Provisional Judge Report for each trial you judge and emailing it in after the event. You'll appear on the judge listing as a provisional judge, so host clubs can find you and book your supervised days.
Once you've judged the required number of days and runs and all forms have been submitted and reviewed, you'll move from provisional to Approved status. Approved judges earn $2–3 per judged run; compensation for provisional judging days is negotiated with the host club.
No host club or trials near you? Don't let that stop you — you can still become a judge. Send us a message and we'll find a way to get your judging days done.
You've already judged in another dog sport/venue.
You haven't judged before.
Three sets of eyes report on every provisional judge: the applicant, the host club they judged for, and the judge who supervised them. Everything is emailed to forms@happyratters.com, and the subject lines below matter — using them exactly lets the Happy Ratters office pull up everything about an applicant in one search, so nothing gets lost. All of the PDFs are fillable: type into them on a phone or computer, or print them and fill them in by hand at the trial.
Fill out one Provisional Judge Report for each trial you judge — one report covers the whole event, however many days you judged. Sign the certification at the end and email it in after the trial. Subject line: Provisional Judge — [Your Name] — Report
Each report also asks for your running totals — your judging days and runs so far, and which of the required games you've covered across all of them — so your progress toward Approved status is always up to date without any separate summary form to fill in at the end.
After a provisional judge works your trial, email your evaluation directly to Happy Ratters — don't hand it to the applicant, so your feedback stays candid. Subject line: Provisional Judge — [Judge's Name] — Host Club Report
Same idea: email your evaluation directly to Happy Ratters after the trial. Subject line: Provisional Judge — [Judge's Name] — Supervising Judge Report
Where does it all go? Every completed form is emailed to forms@happyratters.com with the subject lines shown above — it goes straight to Jean MacKenzie and into the site's submissions dashboard at the same time. Questions about any part of the process? Get in touch and choose the Hosting/Judging topic.