I think the car looks better with the top down than with the hardtop on. However, the hardtop does show where the name "Pagoda" came from, and I think it's nice when different Pagodas in a show are displayed in different ways, so if I discover someone else will have the hard top on, I take mine without the hardtop and then put the soft top down during the show, usually after judging.
If you leave the hardtop off, judges will typically want to see the condition of the soft top if it's not already up.
Chris