Show Helper 2.0

In 2016, we used an App created by my then-sixteen year old son, Ryan, to record the Jennifer Show results.

It wasn't a success only journey. There were a few hiccups and unforeseen issues along the way. However, the judges all seemed to like the program, and when it worked (which was most of the time) it worked beautifully.

Ryan is now nineteen years old and a Sophomore studying computer science at the University of Colorado, Denver. As his skills have grown, so has Show Helper. In 2016, the system was entirely local with the codes and names - which were recorded in a flat file - saved in the same place as the server. Now, the information is maintained in a MySQL database and saved in the cloud. The new version of the App is written in NodeJS and uses codes to quickly and efficiently scan and store data.

Before show day, the Jennifer Show entrants must enter their models into Ryan's database. 

This app generates tags for each model, which the entrants can print out at home.

photo by Jasmine Lay

On the morning of the show, each judge will be given a clipboard with a QR codes for all her classes, and an Android phone or tablet with a camera.

The judge will scan the code for the class she is judging.

A judging sheet will open on her device. 

She then scans the QR codes of her first, second, third and fourth place horses. 

She double checks to make sure they're right. If they are, she hits the Upload button.

That sends the results to Ryan's computer, which will compile them into the standard show results format.

Of all the Jennifer Show innovations, this is the one that excites - and scares - me the most. If this works as well as I think it's going to, it will revolutionize the way we judge and record model horse show results. Thank you for all your hard work, Ryan. I am proud of you!