The skill of horsemanship. As a sport it can fall into one of four categories; show jumping, dressage, three-day eventing (also known as horse trials), and carriage driving. The governing body is the International Equestrian Federation.
Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive sports.
Overview of equestrian activities
Horses are trained and ridden for practical working purposes such as in police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in competitive sports such as dressage, endurance racing, eventing, horseball, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, vaulting, polo, horse racing, puissance and rodeo. Other popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows, where horse perform in a wide variety of disciplines. Horses (and other equids such as mules and donkeys) are used for non-competitive recreational riding such as fox hunting, trail riding or hacking. There is public access to horse trails in almost every part of the world; Horses are also ridden for therapeutic purposes, both in specialized paraequestrian competition as well as non-competitive riding to improve human health and emotional development.
Horses are also driven in harness in racing, exhibition, and competitive show events. For more information on the uses of horses in harness and driving, see harness racing and carriage driving.
History of equestrianism
andThough there is controversy over the exact date horses were first ridden, the best estimate is that horses first carried riders approximately 5000 years ago. The earliest archeological evidence of horses being ridden was in the military: chariot warfare in ancient times was followed by the use of war horses as light and heavy cavalry. The horse and horseback riding played important roles throughout history and all over the world.
Horse racing
Humans appear to have long expressed a desire to know which horse (or horses) were the fastest, and thus horse racing has ancient roots. Gambling on horse races appears to go hand-in hand with racing and has a long history as well.
Types of horse racing that usually allow gambling
Under saddle:
Horse racing. Thoroughbred horse racing is the most popular form worldwide. In the USA, horse racing is governed by the Jockey Club of North America) Steeplechasing involves racing on a track where the horses also jump over obstacles. Seen mostly in the United States, sanctioned by the American Quarter Horse Association. Arabian horses, Akhal-Teke, Appaloosas, American Paint Horses and other light breeds are also raced worldwide.In harness:
Standardbred horses race in harness with a sulky or racing bike. The United States Trotting Association organizes harness racing in the United States (the horses may trot or pace).Races without gambling
Endurance riding, a sport in which the Arabian horse dominates at the top levels, has become very popular in the United States and in Europe. Endurance races take place over a given, measured distance and the horses have an even start. Ride and Tie involves three equal partners: two humans and one horse.Olympic disciplines
The following forms of competition are recognized worldwide and are a part of the equestrian events at the Olympic Games:
Dressage ("training" in French) involves the progressive training of the horse to a high level of impulsion, collection, and obedience. Competitive dressage has the goal of showing the horse carrying out, on request, the natural movements that it performs without thinking while running loose. One dressage master has defined it as "returning the freedom of the horse while carrying the rider." Show jumping comprises a timed event judged on the ability of the horse and rider to jump over a series of obstacles, in a given order and with the fewest refusals or knockdowns of portions of the obstacles. Eventing, also called combined training, horse trials, "three-day event," "the Military," or "the complete test," puts together the obedience of dressage with the athletic ability of show jumping, the fitness demands of an endurance phase (also known as "roads and tracks") and the "cross-country" jumping phase. In the last-named, the horses jump over fixed obstacles, unlike show jumping, where the majority of the obstacles will fall down or apart if hit by the horse. Website The "World Famous" Lipizzaner Stallions in the USA The South African LipizzanersHorse Shows
Horse shows are held throughout the world with a tremendous variety of possible events, equipment, attire and judging standards used. However, most forms of horse show competition can be broken into the following broad categories:
Equitation, sometimes called seat and hands or horsemanship, refers to events where the rider is judged on form, style and ability. Pleasure, flat, or under saddle classes feature horses who are ridden on flat ground and judged on manners, performance, and quality. Halter, in-hand breeding, or conformation classes, where the horse is led by a handler on the ground and judged on conformation and suitability as a breeding animal. Harness classes, where the horse is driven rather than ridden, but still judged on manners, performance and quality. Jumping or Over Fences refers broadly to classes including both show jumping and show hunter, where horses and riders must jump obstacles."English" disciplines in the United States
In addition to the classical Olympic events, the following forms of English riding competition are also seen in the USA:
Hunt seat or Hunter classes judge the movement and the form of horses suitable for work over fences, known as show hunters. A typical hunter division would include classes over fences as well as "Hunter under Saddle" or "flat" classes (sometimes called "hack" classes), in which the horse is judged on its performance, manners and movement without having to jump. The over fences classes in Hunter competition are judged on the form of the horse, its manners and the smoothness of the course. A horse with good jumping form snaps its knees up and jumps with a good bascule."Western" riding
Western riding evolved from the cattle-working and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West.
To allow for communication with the horse, even with a loose rein, the bridle also evolved. Most "Western" horses are expected to eventually perform in a curb bit with a single pair of reins that has somewhat longer and looser shanks than the curb of an English Weymouth bridle or a pelham bit. Both styles require riders to have a solid seat, with the hips and shoulders balanced over the feet, with hands independent of the seat so as to avoid jerking the horse in the mouth and interfering with its performance.
Rodeo
Main article: Rodeo
Rodeo events include the following forms of competition:
Timed events
Barrel racing and pole bending - the timed speed and agility events seen in rodeo as well as gymkhana or O-Mok-See competition. In a barrel race, horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern of barrels, making agile turns without knocking the barrels over. In pole bending, horse and rider run the length of a line of six upright poles, turn sharply and weave through the poles, turn again and weave back, then return to the start. Steer wrestling - Also known as "Bulldogging," this is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a steer and 'wrestles' it to the ground by grabbing it by the horns. This is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy, who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse head first and missing the steer, or of having the thrown steer land on top of him, sometimes horns first.Calf Roping - A calf is roped around the neck, the horse stops and sets back on the rope while the cowboy dismounts, runs to the calf, throws it to the ground and ties three feet together. (If the horse throws the calf, the cowboy must lose time waiting for the calf to get back to its feet so that the cowboy can do the work. The job of the horse is to hold the calf steady on the rope) This activity is still practiced on modern working ranches for branding, medical treatment, and so on. One horse and rider, the "header," lassos a running steer's horns, while the other horse and rider, the "heeler," lassos the steer's two hind legs. When the calf is roped, the horse stops, allowing the calf to run on, flagging the end of time when the string and flag breaks from the saddle.
"Rough Stock" competition
In spite of popular myth, most modern "broncs" are not in fact wild horses, but are more commonly spoiled riding horses or horses bred specifically as bucking stock, many of whom were rescued from a fate as horsemeat.
Bronc riding - there are two divisions in rodeo, bareback bronc riding, where the rider is only allowed to hang onto a bucking horse with a surcingle, and saddle bronc riding, where the rider is allowed a specialized western saddle without a horn (for safety) and may hand onto a heavy lead rope attached to a halter on the horse. Bull Riding - though technically not an equestrian event, as the cowboys ride full-grown bulls instead of horses, skills similar to bareback bronc riding are required.Other horse sports
Bullfighting (rejoneo) Campdrafting Carriage driving, traditionally two or four wheeled carriages pulled by a single horse, or a tandem or four-in-hand team of horses. Pleasure competitions are judged on the turnout/neatness or suitability of horse and carriage. Dressage Endurance riding, a competition usually of 50 to 100 miles or more, over mountainous or other natural terrain, with scheduled stops to take the horses' vital signs, check soundness, and verify that the horse is fit to continue. Vaulting (gymnastics and dance on horseback) Fox hunting Gymkhana also known as O-Mok-See Horse hacking Horse show Hunter Pacing or Competitive Trail Riding, sports where a horse and rider team travel a trail at speeds based the ideal conditions for the horse, with competitors seeking to ride closest to that perfect time. The horsemanship and management skills of the rider are also considered in the scoring, and periodic stops are required for veterinarians to check the vital signs and overall soundness of the horses. Polocrosse Rapa das bestas Reining Rodeo Show Jumping Steeplechase Tent pegging 3-Day Eventing- a competition where you are judged on your total score from a day of dressage, stadium jumping and cross country Trail Riding, The art and sport of riding any breed horse, any style across the land. It is important for trail riders to know which areas are safe and which allow horses to cross.Criticism of horses in sport
Most horse owners are interested in the well being and welfare of horses. Some are allied with various animal welfare organizations that try to end genuine abuse of horses. Most high-intensity sports like show jumping, endurance riding, eventing, rodeo, and horse racing are closely monitored by veterinarians to prevent and treat injuries. On the other hand, there are genuine abuses of horses that do occur. Some people, often motivated by profit or a desire to win at all costs, may inflict pain, overwork, injure, neglect, starve, or drug horses in ways that harm the animal's physical health and mental well-being.
Orgainzed groups dedicated to protecting all animals, such as the Humane Society of the United States, and animal rights groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, target some horse sports with claims of animal cruelty. Horse racing and rodeo are most commonly targeted both because of their visibility to the non-horse-oriented public and because these are sports where it is sometimes difficult for people who do not know much about horses to differentiate between pushing equines to perform to their peak and actual abuse. While some individuals consider even fairly drastic discipline of horses as non-abusive, others consider abuse to be anything done against the will of the animal in question. For example, horse professionals claim they know better what is best for horses than people who live horseless lives, easily influenced by propaganda.
However, many people take a middle ground, primarily concerned that certain sports or training techniques may unnecessarily cause pain or injuries to horse athletes, just as they do for human athletes. Some people who advocate use of horses in equestrian activities point out that horses in the wild have a shorter average life expectancy and are injured more often and more severely than those used in sport.
Some behaviors and activities are widely condemned as abusive by people within the horse industry. Use of many performance-enhancing drugs is prohibited in most competitions, and organizations that sanction various events spend a great deal of money testing horses for illegal drugs. However, in spite of a federal law in the United States prohibiting this practice and routine inspections of horse shows by inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture, the practice is still widespread and difficult to eliminate. Among these are horse-tripping, a sport where riders chase and rope a loose-running horse by its front legs, throwing it to the ground.
Horse racing is also seen as cruel by some people, particularly when animals are injured while racing. However, race horse trainers point out that horses who are abused will not perform at their peak ability. Furthermore, racing itself is conscious of the need to continually work to improve safety for both horses and jockeys and has made many improvements that have reduced or eliminated past abuses. The screening process for banned drugs is the most rigorous in the industry, and many retired racehorses have a satisfying future off the track as either breeding animals or pleasure horses.
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