The Name Game

One of the biggest challenges an announcer faces is pronouncing names, affectionately referred to, by me, as the name game. Not just competitor names, but judges’ names, horse’s names, and sponsors names too. Most announcers, including myself, prefer to say names correctly. Some people don't care if their name is pronounced right so they don’t correct the announcer, but others want their name pronounced correctly and let the announcer know. I don't mind when someone finds me and teaches me how to say their name or gives me a note with the phonetic spelling. I understand why it’s important because I grew up with a tough name to pronounce and my married name isn’t much easier. There are a few things I try to do to minimize the number of names I mispronounce.

One of those things I do is look at my class rosters as early as possible. When I’m looking at rosters, I look at horses’ names as well as competitors names. This usually gives me time to investigate if I need to. Sometimes I have the chance to ask a competitor how to say their name or their horse’s name, but not always. The show secretary is a great resource, they know most everyone already. If I need to, I write it out phonetically. It is not uncommon for me to have a name list on my showbill or the scratch pad I keep close at hand. Avoiding trying to work it out over the microphone while announcing placings is the goal.

Sometimes, no amount of prep or investigation helps and I have to give it my best shot until otherwise corrected. There are a few names I've stumbled through for almost an entire show before getting it right. But, for the most part, I come pretty close more often than not. I am not a savant at names by any means. I’ll let you in on a secret. The credit goes to 4-H, specifically a presentation during a monthly club meeting. Mr. Takatsuka was teaching us how to breakdown names to pronounce them correctly. He started by asking us who the club member with the most difficult name to spell was so he could demonstrate, D-E-G-R-E-G-O-R-I-O. Mr. T nailed it the first time. He went on to explain how he breaks down the word by using the placement of the vowels. Usually there is only one per syllable. In our example, it is pronounced like this: Dee Gra Gore E O. Don't know why that lesson stuck, but it did, and it has served me well.

I was announcing a buckskin show one year and a large youth showmanship class was in the ring. It was show and go so competitors were exiting the arena when they completed their pattern. I knew I had a bit before the class was complete, so I hopped off the stand to ask a young lady how to say her last name. From the tears that welled up in her eyes it must have meant a lot to her that I cared enough to check. When I announced placements and got to say her name she was beaming. I know it feels good to hear your name pronounced correctly, especially for kids, because I was a kid with a difficult name once.

I want to get the horses name correct too. That's someone's teammate, their pal. Horse names can be tricky. Not all of them though: Honey, Pepper, George, easy peasy. Some registered names aren't too bad, they're just long: I'm A Good Horse At Night. Simple enough. Character limits for some registries kick the difficulty up a notch when owners need to use every space to get the name they want: Hesjustasweetthingdaily. Or the owner gets creative and it’s a name that can sound inappropriate if you don’t enunciate just right: My Buckin Big Deal. The highest level of difficulty for me is names in languages I don't know. When I announced my first Arabian show, I went to the site the night before I was supposed to announce to go over the roster with the show manager. We spent about 45 minutes going over people and horse names. He appreciated the extra effort very much. The Egyptian horse names were new to me, but with a little practice, I did ok. I like to learn, so it was a fun exercise for me.

Sometimes the difficulty isn’t in pronouncing the name correctly, it’s in simply reading the name. Many open shows use a system that requires competitors to complete an entry slip for each class they are competing in. If the announcer can’t read the handwriting, the competitor or horse’s name may not be announced correctly. The next time you’re filling out those little entry slips, please take your time and write clearly. I’ve had competitors write the name phonetically in parenthesis on those slips. As long as it’s legible, that can be a big help. More and more competitors are filling out the slips ahead of time on the computer before they print them. Both the office and announcer appreciate this extra effort.

Don’t get me wrong, I've ruined judges, horses, and competitors names from time to time. Playing the name game will always be part of my job as an announcer. I win some and lose some, but I try to tilt the odds in my favor as much as possible because I know it’s important. Competitors and horse owners have always been patient and understanding with me over the years. I’ve even made a few of them laugh because of my “unique” interpretation of a name. Just remember, most announcers want to know the correct pronunciation and are very approachable about it.