Introduction

The horse is an incredible animal; it can be thought of as a metaphor for life itself, an example of life’s mystery and unpredictability, of life’s generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated contemplation.  To sit astride this animal and experience the harmonious synchronization of action and movement between horse and rider is truly awe inspiring.  Riding is not only a sport; it is an art form, one requiring skill, nerve, cool determination, and mutual sympathy and understanding.  Jumping can afford anyone an enthralling subject for study, in fact the more one learns about riding and jumping the more one realizes how little they know.

History

The History of horseback riding is one that dates back thousands of years.   Horses played an integral role in helping the progress of modern human society.  They made long distance travel possible, they facilitated the ability to ship “freight”, whether on their backs or after the invention of the wheel, via cart and wagon.  They also played a very important part of our military past, allowing us to conquer our enemies with greater speed and power than ever before.  As human society progressed horses where also used for entertainment and sport. 

Fox hunting was a common pass time enjoyed by upper class society starting in the 1600’s.  In fox hunting riders follow a pack of hunting hounds as they trace the scent of a fox across the country side.  As time went on and farm lands were increasingly more fenced off it became necessary for the hunting horses to be able to jump these “fences”, this was the start of what is today modern jumping.

Sport

Early jumping competitions were actually called “leaping contests”, one of the earliest recorded being at a Paris Harness Show in 1866. Early jumping events were quite rudimentary, consisting of plainly decorated fences, and very basic courses. These early contests were based mostly on raw power with very little emphasis on skill. As modern jumping has evolved the courses have become much more technical and even the obstacles are now more complex, being constructed of creative combinations of different shapes and colors. Nowadays jumping is a sport of technical skill and masterful training. There are three subcategories of jumping at today's horse shows, they are; Hunters, Jumpers, and Equitation. The following is a brief explanation of each.

Hunters

The division of “Hunters” is the one most directly linked to the foundation roots of fox hunting. Show Hunters are judged subjectively almost entirely on the horse and its movement, manners, way of going, and jumping form. An ideal Hunter has a long low sweeping stride, the horse should also carry itself in a longer more stretched out frame (frame is the shape in which the horse carries its spine from nose to tail) and is often ridden with a slightly looser rein. It is very important that a Show Hunter possess good jumping form, the horse should jump with its forearms parallel to the ground or higher, with the lower legs tucked neatly and evenly beneath them. The horse should also jump with a round “bascule” over the top of the jump, using its body and back in much the same way as a dolphin might jump out of the water. Over all, the Hunter must be a horse with a calm and relaxed demeanor that is obedient to its rider.

Jumpers

Also known as Show Jumping, this is the only sport of the three that is judged objectively based on time and penalties versus a subjective opinion.  Show jumping is an international sport (unlike the other two that are found primarily in North America) and is also one of the sports held in the summer Olympics.  In the Jumper division the horse and rider with the fastest time and fewest penalty points wins.  Penalty points are accrued by knocking down elements of a jump, refusing a jump, or from going slower than the time allowed.  The courses used for Show Jumping are also quite different than those found in the Hunter arena, they tend to have more technical turns and striding options, they will have more combinations (combinations are a series of two or more jumps in a row, set at specific distances from each other), they are also typically made up of much more colorful and unique types of fences.  Although in Show Jumping the objective is to have the fastest “clear” round, it is not necessarily all about going fast.  In today’s modern Show Jumping, classes are often won by the horse that can turn the best, as this ability greatly cuts off the distance the horse must travel in between fences thus allowing it to make a faster time.

Equitation

The Equitation division, known as Hunt Seat Equitation, is also judged subjectively, however in this division the rider is the one being judged.  Equitation is a kind of hybrid of Hunters and Show Jumping, originally it was created as a means to prepare riders for upper level Show Jumping but the sport has caught on and is now a pursuit unto itself.  Some Equitation classes are also referred to as “Medal Classes”, these are individual Classes that each have their own specifications as well as point systems, one of the most well known of these medal classes is called the ASPCA Maclay, this medal has a national finals in New York each fall.  Equitation courses are more closely related to those found in Show Jumping, involving lots of turns, combinations, and various striding challenges.  These courses are designed to test the skill of the rider to control and maneuver the horse smoothly in various situations.  The riders form is also very important as a good position creates the proper biomechanics for effective riding.  A good equitation rider should be smooth and graceful to watch as well as effective at communicating and getting desired responses from the horse.