The Olympics: for many sports, the pinnacle of international competition. One of the most popular sporting events in the world, the Olympics are what thousands of sportsmen and –women aspire to.

Of our many disciplines, only three have made it to the Olympics. Unfortunately for Western riders, all these disciplines are English: showjumping, dressage, and eventing.

This three-part series started with dressage, and will now continue with arguably the most crowd-pleasing English discipline: showjumping.

Showjumping Basics

Showjumping is a fast-paced, high-action sport that is highly popular due to its simple, spectacular nature, making it appealing even to the non-equestrian. While deceptively difficult in its execution, the principle of showjumping is not hard to grasp. A fixed pattern of jumps (known as “fences”) is set out in an arena, usually at least 60x40m. Depending on the level, the height of the fences can vary from poles on the ground for beginners to upwards of 1.70m (about 5’ 7”) at international competitions. The mission is simple: Clear all the fences in the correct order and from the correct direction. Knocking down a fence incurs four faults; stopping at a fence incurs another four, unless the horse stops three times, in which case he is eliminated. An error of course or a fall of horse or rider also spells elimination. Time penalties can also be acquired.

If in the first round of a competition, the horses with the fewest faults are tied, they will enter into the jump-off. The jump-off is ridden over only a selection of the most challenging fences on the course, and in this round, speed counts even more than before. The cleanest and fastest round in the jump-off wins.

Another very popular form of showjumping, usually as an unofficial sideshow at the big events, is the puissance or power jump. A thrilling challenge of skill, talent and courage, in this event horses and riders take turns to jump a single fence. The fence gradually gets higher, and horses are eliminated should they stop or knock the fence down. Eventually, the horse that jumps the highest wins.

In 1949, a Thoroughbred stallion named Huaso (originally Faithful) set the International Equestrian Federation’s record for the highest fence cleared by any horse. This talented equine and his rider Captain Alberto Larraguibel managed to clear a staggering 2.47m (over eight feet).

Showjumping Origins

This horse sport found its origins not in war or agriculture, but in hunting. Foxhunting on horseback was a popular pastime for the English gentry of as far back as the nineteenth century, and since foxes can dash under fences and hedges, the horses and hounds had to follow. The obstacles the original jumping horses – known as hunters – had to clear in those days would make many of today’s showjumpers think twice. Stonewalls, hedges with deep ditches on the unseen side, banks, and rivers were all considered quite manageable, no matter how awkward the approach might be.

As can be imagined, this early form of showjumping was quite ungainly and did not involve a lot of control. However, as better methods of pest control came into the scene, horseback hunting began to die out. Devotees of jumping horses learned to confine their sport to the arena, where it became safer and, eventually, much more technical. The original hunter only had to be fast, brave, and able to jump virtually anything from virtually any angle; but today’s showjumper has to manage tight corners and be adjustable to ensure a quick, clean round in the jump-off.

Showjumping Horses

For years, the ideal showjumper was the Thoroughbred. Because of his natural athleticism and speed, the Thoroughbred can tear around the fences at a terrific pace. His spirit and courage makes him a game jumper and many Thoroughbreds have good technique.

In recent years, the Warmblood took over the showjumping scene. Showjumping courses became slightly smaller, but much more technical. Balance and obedience became more important than before, with spirit and speed declining in importance. Because of the Warmblood’s milder and quieter temperament, it became the breed of choice.

Another reason for the Warmblood rising to the top in showjumping was that while most Thoroughbreds are bred for racing and change to showjumping later in life, Warmbloods are bred specifically for showjumping. This means that they have more scope and can jump better than Thoroughbreds.

Some of the best jumping lines come from the Hanoverian Warmblood, such as the mighty stallion For Pleasure, or from the Dutch Warmblood, such as the famous Hickstead. French lines have also been successful in the showjumping arena. However, many showjumpers today still have a goodly dose of Thoroughbred blood, notably from the stallions Furioso, Orange Peel and Ladykiller.

Any horse can learn to do showjumping, and indeed some of the best jumpers in the world have been of dubious breeding. Although most jumpers are very tall (16.1hh and taller), smaller horses and even ponies have been successful. Stroller, a British pony who participated in the 1968 Olympics, stood only 14.1 hands high.

Showjumping Fences

There are many different types of fences to be jumped in any given jumping course, but all fences have some features in common. Unlike cross country fences, showjumping fences are constructed from light poles or blocks that fall when struck, minimising the danger to horse and rider. They are usually made of poles or planks, but in some competitions (such as derby events) solid walls made of light “bricks” are part of the course. Fences are usually painted in bright colours, making them easier for the horse to see.

Some of the basic types of fences include:

• The upright or vertical. This is the simplest fence, and is merely a set of horizontal poles set between two uprights (vertical poles). Whilst it is only as wide as the poles, it can be an intimidating obstacle for a horse to jump.
• The cross or cross-rail. This fence is seldom seen in serious competition, but is a very popular training fence. It consists of two poles set in a flat X shape between their uprights, with one end resting in a cup and the other end on the ground. It is a highly inviting fence and helps to train a young horse to jump straight.
• The oxer. This jump consists of two pairs of uprights with their horizontal bars, making the horse jump far as well as high. There are many types of oxers, but the most common ones seen in competition are the ascending oxer (an oxer with the front bar being lower than the back bar) and parallel oxer (an oxer with both bars at the same height).
• The triple bar. A very wide jump with three bars, with the front being the lowest and the back being the highest, also known as a staircase.
• The liverpool. This jump is usually an upright, and unusual in that the jump itself is in the middle of a pool of water. The water and the jump must all be cleared in one leap.
• The water jump/water tray. Simply a shallow pool of water, this is usually a wide obstacle which the horse has to clear without touching the water.
• The combination. A combination is a set of two or more jumps that are set close together, usually meaning that the horse has to adjust his length of stride and fit one to four strides in between fences. Combinations are usually doubles (two jumps) or triples (three jumps). A combination is referred to as a single fence, the individual jumps known as efforts.

Showjumping: Enjoyable for All

Showjumping is an extremely popular discipline and is available in most areas, although there is no special division for disabled riders. Any horse and rider can learn showjumping at the lower levels, and even small children can compete on a lead rein at training shows. Many horses thoroughly enjoy jumping and it is a welcome break from hours of flatwork for both horse and rider.

You don’t need to have a horse or any type of skills to enjoy showjumping, though. It has become a wonderful spectator sport; visually appealing with its sleek horses and bright fences; engaging with its exciting action and fast pace; and easy to understand with its simple rules. A day at a horse show, watching the brave riders and beautiful horses strut their stuff, can be a wonderful day out.

Showjumping as a Celebration of Creation

Thrilling, exciting, spectacular. Showjumping is less an art than it is an adventure. It seems almost impossible that half a ton of sweating, snorting, plunging horseflesh, with the spirit and strength to clear huge obstacles at high speeds, would allow a puny human being to sit on its back and guide its movements.

And yet, in this wonderful world that God made, it can be done. The horse is so much more powerful than a human that it could hurt us with just one movement. In fact, we have only to look around us to realise how physically superior many animals in our world are. But God made us in His image and gave us dominion over the earth, and He alone made it possible for horse and man to showcase their breathtaking combination of speed, power, intelligence and bravery together. All the glory goes to Him.

In the next part, we’ll investigate the ultimate competitive test of horsemanship and equine talent: the three-day event. Until then, may God bless you.

The Olympics: for many sports, the pinnacle of international competition. One of the most popular sporting events in the world, the Olympics are what thousands of sportsmen and –women aspire to.

Of our many disciplines, only three have made it to the Olympics. Unfortunately for Western riders, all these disciplines are English: showjumping, dressage, and eventing.

In this three-part series, I’ll briefly look over the three Olympic disciplines, starting with the one in which a British rider recently shattered world records: dressage.

Dressage Basics

Dressage is the dance of the horse world. More art than sport, it combines the horse’s muscular strength, incredible memory, and willing spirit to create dazzling displays of masterful horsemanship and advanced training.

Dressage consists of a series of prescribed movements performed in a certain order (known as “tests”). Depending on the country, there are several different levels, starting with only very basic paces and figures and finishing up at Grand Prix with advanced movements such as the piaffe and passage. At its most basic, dressage is the simple flatwork training that forms the basis of any horse’s schooling. In fact, the word “dressage” comes from a French word meaning “to train”.

This sport is performed in a flat 60x20m arena. A panel of judges watch the horse and rider perform individually, then award points for each part of the test. At the end of the test a percentage is worked out and this forms the rider’s score. The rider with the best score wins.

The most popular form of dressage is the musical freestyle. Instead of being a set test, the freestyle is a selection of compulsory movements choreographed by the individual rider and set to music. This graceful display of horsemanship is wonderful to watch. Some horses have such an ear for the music that it looks as if they really are dancing to it.

Dressage Origins

Considering that the Greek general Xenophon wrote the first manual on dressage, On Horsemanship, in 400 B. C., it may well be the oldest discipline in the world. While Xenophon didn’t use the term “dressage”, his description of the horse’s way of going and the rider’s position agrees with many modern dressage principles.

Dressage originated in Europe. Technically, it’s been around for as long as men have been training horses, but the sport itself was born in the fashionable riding schools of the Renaissance era. Originally, these riding schools prepared men and horses for war, where almost all of the modern dressage movements come from. Later on it was in fashion to learn to ride these advanced movements and so the rich and noble started to refine these movements for competition and not war. Eventually, dressage was given a name and became a sport in its own right.

Dressage Horses

While any horse can do dressage at the lower levels, some breeds are more suited to it than others. Most dressage riders agree that a trainable mind is the most important asset of a dressage horse.

The first dressage horses were early Iberian horses, the predecessors of today’s Pure Spanish Horse, Lusitano and Lipizzaner. These breeds remain some of the best dressage horses because of their uphill build, strength, and ability to collect and elevate their movement. Lipizzaners especially have a reputation for extreme trainability; the famous stallions performing at the South African Lipizzaners and the Spanish Riding School in Austria are a testament to this fact.

The most popular breed for dressage today, however, is the Warmblood. Warmbloods were originally a cross between cold-blooded carthorses and hotbloods like thoroughbreds and Arabs, but the modern Warmblood is a tall, quality, free-moving horse well suited to the highest levels of sport. KWPN (Dutch) and German Warmbloods are among the best in the world. Mighty dressage horses like Jerich Parzival, Totilas, Salinero and Valegro come from Dutch and German bloodlines.

In fact, the Netherlands and Germany ruled the dressage circuit for many years. It was only at 2011’s FEI World Cup, and later the 2012 Olympics, that the British rose to the top, with Charlotte Dujardin scoring a world-record-breaking 88.022% at Grand Prix level, an Olympic-record-breaking 83.784%, and winning double Olympic gold. Her mount was the Dutch Warmblood Valegro.

Para Dressage

Para dressage is the only horse sport at the Paralympics, and athletes with a diversity of disabilities are able to compete. As horse therapy is prescribed for many disabled people, dressage has many physical benefits for the disabled, as well as boosting their emotional well-being. Athletes with disabilities as severe as complete blindness and severe paralysis compete in categories according to their disability. South Africa’s Phillippa Johnson, for example, is completely paralysed on one side of her body and can still compete successfully.

Dressage is for Anyone

Anybody can compete in dressage on any sound horse. It is a widespread discipline supported by most countries. Because it requires degree of control over the horse, and subtlety of the rider’s aids, dressage is a very technical and difficult discipline, but also extremely rewarding. The schooling of a dressage horse takes many years and is a wonderful journey well worth undertaking. The sense of achievement is incredible, and it even benefits multi-discipline riders by improving their position and understanding of the equine mind and body.

Dressage as a Celebration of Creation

At its best, dressage is a wonderful celebration of God’s creation. He alone could design an animal so massive, so graceful, and so intelligent, and then give it a mind and a memory so willing that a human can control its bulk and make it dance. A great dressage horse in passage defies gravity; he seems to float, balancing on air, weightless. His rider is so still and supple on his back that she seems to be a part of him, guiding him with invisible cues that he obeys joyously. Watching them, one cannot help but marvel at the phenomenon of what a mighty horse and an intelligent rider can achieve together. Only God’s intelligent design makes it possible for a human to control half a ton of muscle and spirit and make it dance.

Next week, we’ll explore showjumping, the most thrilling and crowd-pleasing Olympic discipline. Until then, may God bless you.