Competing with horses dates back to early days of human civilization
Print Edition
WITH the smell of burnt rubber still on the pavement at the Shanghai International Circuit, another grand prix is coming to town. But this time around the competitors aren’t 1,000 horsepower cars, they’re the world’s most powerful horses. The Longines Global Champions Tour, the world’s premier international show jumping event, has come to Shanghai. Here are a few things to know about this unique sport.
Origins of show jumping
Competitive racing with horses can be traced back to some of the earliest days of human civilization. Chariot racing, in which a driver in a carriage was pulled by a team of two to four horses, was one of the most popular sports during the Greek, Roman and Byzantine eras. Only until relatively recently, however, did equestrian sports develop into the more refined and technical art of show jumping.
Show jumping courses consist of a series of obstacles, including verticals, spreads and double and triple combinations. The basic intent is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time, with penalties given for time and jumping infractions.
It was an Italian cavalry officer, Federico Caprilli (1868-1907), who paved the way for show jumping by revolutionizing the technique of jumping while on horseback. Caprilli used photographs to examine horses free jumping (without tack or rider) over fences. From this he developed his theory about the position a rider should take while over the fence, one which would not interfere with the horse’s jumping movement and most importantly would not touch the horse’s mouth. He also thought that the horses should be able to think for themselves, without needing the rider’s guidance.
Freeing the horses of often painful interference from riders, Caprilli’s new position made them more willing to jump obstacles, which in turn made it possible for show jumping to evolve into the international phenomenon as it is today. Show jumping made its debut at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, and has been an Olympic event ever since.
A good horse to ride in on
A show jumper must have the courage to jump large fences as well as the athletic ability to handle the sharp turns and the bursts of speed necessary to navigate the most difficult courses. Many different breeds of horses have been successful show jumpers, and even some horses with unknown parentage have been champions in the sport. Most show jumpers are of warmblood or thoroughbred breeding, and are usually quite tall at 163 centimeters, but horses as short as 145cm have also carried riders to Olympic and other international medals.
When comparing a show jumping horse with a racehorse, one of the most important differences is length of career. Typical racehorses only compete for a couple of years at most, whereas performance horses used for show jumping will compete for a minimum of five years, and are usually older than racers. Andrew Hoy, one of Australia’s top event riders, competed in the 2012 London Olympics on a nine-year-old horse — a horse considered young and inexperienced. In contrast, it is rare to find a nine-year-old racehorse competing in the top ranks.
The human-horse connection
Equestrian is unique among the Olympic Games, in that, it is the only discipline in which a human athlete relies on another non-human creature to compete for the gold. For show jumping, a pairing of the most athletic horse with the best rider isn’t worth much if the pair hasn’t first established a mental connection. In top-level competitions with the most difficult obstacle courses, minor differences in timing and position can make the difference between clearing a jump or incurring an infraction. Only when the horse can anticipate what the rider is thinking and vice-versa will the pair be successful in competition.
However, show jumping is but one of many examples of the connection between humans and horses. For thousands of years, horses played an invaluable role in human development worldwide, both in warfare and in peaceful pursuits such as transportation, trade and agriculture. The growth and prosperity of our civilization would surely be stunted were it not for these noble creatures. So, even if we’re not attending the Global Champions Tour this weekend, we can still take a moment to appreciate our indispensable equine friends.
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