Showjumping is an Olympic sport and team GB compete at least once a year whether it be at a European Championships, the World Equestrian Games or the Olympics.
Looking after the sport in Britain is the British Showjumping Association. It formulates the rules of the sport and codes of practise under which all affiliated competitions are held.
Ellen Whitaker
One of the members of the GB showjumping team, and one of my favourite famous riders is Ellen Whitaker.
Twenty-three-year-old Ellen is the daughter of Carol and Stephen Whitaker, and the niece of international riders John and Michael. As a member of the famous Whitaker show jumping family, she was born with the sport in her blood.
Ellen grew up on the family farm near Barnsley in South Yorkshire where she began to ride as a toddler.
She still lives there today with her parents, her brothers, Joe, Thomas and Donald and her dog Lucy.
Ellen is currently ranked 13th in the UK and is working hard to achieve her goal of attending the 2012 Olympics.
This is a picture of Ellen taken during one of the final rounds of the puissance, at the Horse Show, Olympia.
Puissance is the high-jump competition in the equestrian sport of show jumping.
The competition involves a maximum of five rounds - opening round followed by four jump-offs, not against the clock. The first round consists of four to six large single obstacles including the puissance wall, the starting height of which may vary from 1.70 to 1.80 m in height. For the jump-offs, in which the fences are raised for each round, there are only two obstacles—a spread fence and the wall—although an optional practice fence is included. In the event of equality after the fifth round, riders share first prize.
The puissance wall often has become taller than 2 metres. The current indoor record for puissance is held by German rider Franke Sloothaak, who in June 1991 jumped 2.40 m in Chaudfontaine, Belgium on Optiebeurs Golo, breaking his previous record set on Leonardo.
TREC in France
TREC stands for Technique de Randonnee Equestre de Competition and originated in France. TREC was designed to test the competency of professional trekking guides, but proved so popular that it soon expanded to include equestrian tourists being guided by these professionals.
TREC is composed of three phases:
1. The POR (Parcours d’Orientation et de Regularite), which is the Orienteering phases. Riders follow a given route on a map at given speeds. Checkpoints are placed along the route, but their locations are unknown to the riders. The distance starts at 12kms for beginners and can be as long as 45kms at Championship level.
This is an example of an orienteering map, riders must be able to read the map and then ride the given route at certain speeds.
This is a picture of an orienteering map, riders must read the map and then ride the given route at a certain speed.
2. The CoP, Control of Paces (Matrisse de Allures) where riders are asked to show control over their horse’s pace. Competitors have to walk and canter (without breaking into trot) along a 150m corridor that is 2- 4m wide. The highest marks are awarded for the slowest canter and fastest walk.
3. The PTV (Parcours en Terrain Varie), the Obstacle Course, is the Cross Country element of TREC. The course is generally between 1km to 5kms long and consists of 16 obstacles, which can be both mounted and led. No obstacle is compulsory and riders can chose to avoid an obstacle and still be eligible for competition.
This is a picture of one of the obstacles used in TREC called the "S bend". It tests the horses and riders ability to turn tightly in an S shape. Marks are awarded for style and also for not touching the poles marking out the shape.
The Spanish Riding School
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria, is a traditional riding school for Lipizzan horses, which perform in the Winter Riding School in the Hofburg. Not only is it a center for classical dressage, the headquarters is a tourist attraction in Vienna that offers public performances as well as permitting public viewing of some training sessions. The presentation builds on four centuries of experience and tradition in classical dressage. The leading horses and riders of the school also periodically tour and perform worldwide.
The methods used by the Riding School are based on Francois Robichon de la Gueriniere. It is a common myth that the movements were developed to aid in battle; in fact, they were used to strengthen the war horse's body and mind and make him a supreme athlete, not to actually attack. All movements are based on those naturally performed by the horse when at liberty, with the exception of one-tempi changes.
Here is a picture of a Lipizzan horse in the Spanish riding school.
Horse racing in Co.Kildare (the thoroughbred county)
The diversity of horses and their uses even comes to our own County of Kildare. Which is known all over the world for thoroughbreds- both their breeding and racing.
County Kildare is world famous for staging the most exciting horse racing events in Ireland. The Curragh, Punchestown and Naas racecourses attract people from all over the world who come to see the top international horses and jockeys compete in races throughout the year. Highlights include all five Irish Classic races which are run at the Curragh and the Irish National Hunt Festival at Punchestown.
The national stud in Kildare showcases many of the worlds top thoroughbred mares, stallions and future racing successes. The national stud is open to members of the public and is an exciting place to see some of the finest horses in the world.
