Western Riding.



A horse with Western Tack on.

This style of riding was brought to America, from the Spanish Conquistadors. It developed to meet the needs of cowboys working on the ranch. The saddle is large and sturdy for the cowboys comfort, as he/she may well be in the saddle for hours. The saddle has a horn out of the front of it, which helps the cowboy lasso cattle. The horses are trained to turn with the light pressure of the reins on there neck (English riding uses the direct contact to the mouth from the reins). The horses also use their natural instinct to follow the cows movement.

Some of the type of competitions are;

Cutting- the horse and rider have to separate a cow from the herd and stop it returning to the herd. judges award points.

Reining- this is similar to the English dressage test.


Barrel racing.

English Riding - Eventing.

Eventing has three disciplines; dressage, showjumping and cross country. There are different lenght events, from one day up to three day. Eventing was originally started to test the discipline of the cavalry horses. But it is now a popular sport.

The first phase is dressage. This is ridden in a small arena (20x40 or for international 20x60) and a series of movements (a test) judged by one or more people. Every movement by horse and rider is judged. They look for rythem from the horse, relaxation, rider position and most of all acurracy. This shows that a horse who is fast and fit for cross country also has training for a very diffferent test. At the end of the test the rider gets a score out of a 100. the lower the score the better.

A horse and rider doing a dressage test.

Show Jumping.

The next phase of eventing is generally show jumping. Show jumping is a course of fences in an arena. The fences are made up of poles, which can be knocked over. They can be bright colours and use different fillers. The hight and technicality changes with your level. Show jumping tests obedience and jumping skills. The round is timed. Faults are collected if a polo is knocked, the horse runs out or stops, if they cross there tracks and go over the time aloud. Jumping the wrong fence or a fall off the the horse or if the horse falls it is elimination. The points collected show jumping will be added to the dressage score.

Cross Country.

This is the final discipline and the most physically demanding of both horse and rider. Cross country tests fitness and stamina, courage and trust. The pair will be jumping solid fence (unlike show jumping) and will be galloping in between.The fences resemble natural objects e.g logs and ditchs. There can be 12-20 fences for lower competion and as many as 40 for the highest level. A run out or stop, circling near a fence and going over the time aloud results in penalties. If the rider falls off or if the horses shoulder touchs the ground this is elimination. In resent years there heve been many serious injuries and deaths out cross country, this has led to new rules beening brought in and changing the design of some of the jumps. A hat and back protector that is approved must be worn out cross crountry. Faults collected are add to faults for the show jumping and the dressage test.

The winner of the event is the rider with the least points.

Equestrianism

Equestrianism is a word to describe the many different styles and methods of horse riding and driving.