Mackenzie Campbell, Campus Carrier content creator
If you don’t think that horseback riding is a sport, then you have never tried controlling a 1,500 pound horse with a mind of its own. Riders are decicated to their practice, giving their time, money and perseverence to high-stress competitions. Equestrian is a real sport with practice, workouts, team meetings and other team commitments.
One of the common misconceptions is that the horse does all the work. This is not true. You have not lived until you are sore in muscles you didn’t know you had. It would be just like if you told a basketball player that the basketball just went into the hoop by itself. The rider does a lot to produce the results that you would see in a show. They are steering, looking where they are going and making sure they are on the correct diagonal. It’s basically putting on a performance. On top of all this, you are riding a horse you have never ridden before, which adds another challenge.
The physical demands of the sport are very tough. You have to have core strength, coordination and stamina. If you don’t have enough core strength, it makes riding difficult. Riders have to be in peak strength for the season. Then, there is also is a mental factor of horse riding. Riders have to be thinking the entire time they are riding, thinking constantly about the horse. You have to be fully in sync with your horse to
be efficient when riding.
Equestrian is also a huge time commitment. Going to a lesson could start off as only an hour, but easily ends up being two or more in the long run. You have to get to the barn early and get your horse from the pasture, clean them and tack them up. At this point, it would officially be time for your lesson. Following practice, you go back down to the barn and get the horse untacked, give it a good bath and make sure they are cared for. Horseback riding is a big responsibility because horses are athletes just like their owners. It takes both a horse and a rider working as a cohesive team in order to compete.
The partnership with the horse is valuable because both have to have full trust in one another to be able to perform to the best of their abilities. It takes communication between horse and rider in order to work cohesively during time together. The rider also has to know that the horse is an animal and has its own mind. It could decide that it doesn’t want to work out that particular day, and the rider must respect that and understand that it has feelings too. If a rider tries to force their horse to work out against its wishes, it can strain the bond between the two and ultimately hurt the trust that took so long to create.
Equestrian is a sport whether people believe it or not. From the practice for the competition to the care you must have when taking care of your horse, the dedication is a factor people don’t consider. If you ever decide to try out horseback riding, you will find that it is harder than it looks.