EXPLANATION TO SCORES AND GRADING

To understand the Norwegian grading system, the horses are not competing with each other as in a riding competition, but towards a set standard.

YOUNG STOCK - GRADING
For young stock in official classes (2 year old colts and 2 and 3 year old fillies) the "approved" grade is called Ribbon. For young stock in inofficial classes (1 year old colts and fillies) the "approved" grade is Yearling Ribbon. The judges are stricter on colts than they are on fillies, and there are many colts that don't get the Ribbon. For an owner it is a valuable tool to get professional judges to assess their stud prospects. Getting the Ribbon is a signal to keep the colt intact and show him next year.

MARES AND STALLIONS - GRADING
The lowest grade for Mares and Stallions that pass is called Approved. Next grade is 3rd Premium, then 2nd Premium and finally 1st Premium is the highest grade. For instance young mares/stallions (3-4 years old) the best they can obtain at that age is 3rd Premium. Good mature horses with a good performance record or good offspring can get a 2nd Premium. Only a very few top quality older mares/stallions that have a lot to show for through their life can get a 1st Premium. If a stallion gets Approved, it is some times for a limited time (for instance if it is a 3 year old, or if the judges want to see the stallion again later), then it has to reappear within a year or two, for a new inspection, in order to keep the breeding licence. If the stallion gets a Premium grade, it is approved and has breeding license for life, unless it in rare cases is called back to inspection.

GELDINGS
Mature geldings are sometimes allowed to be shown at official inspections, but in unofficial class.

QUALITY AWARD
If the horse (any age) is of very good quality, it can in addition to the grade get a Quality Award. If there are more than one in the same class that get the Quality Award, they will be ranked as No. I in Quality, No. II i Quality and so on.

BEST-IN-SHOW (SITE CHAMPION)
The best horses in each breed/class, typically the ones that got Quality Awards, are often asked to remain to compete about the Best-in-Show title. Typically at a large inspection of 50-100 horses, it might be 10-15 horses that remain. For a mare inspection or young stock inspection (or combined), these horses are of different breeds and ages, so a 1 year old can compete with a mature mare of a different breed so to speak. The horses are walked around by hand in the ring, and are asked to trot a stretch, one by one. The judges watch and discuss, and then they say thank you to three of the horses, who then leaves the ring. This is repeated several times untill there are just two or three horses left. Now they are watched even harder, untill only one remain, which get the title of Best-in-Show (site champion).

SCORING
All horses are judged on the following areas:
Type, body, legs, movements, overall impression.
Mature horses are in addition judged on temperament.
Horses over 4 years of age has to show ridden or driven test
Stallions at stallion inspections has to go through a thorough veterinary inspection with flex tests, check of legs/hooves, heart, lungs, eyes, teeth, testicles etc.

Each area is scores from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best (the top score is almost never given).
To become approved no score should be under 5. For a stallion to be approved his overall impression score should be at least 7