| Horse Life: COMPETITIONS |
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| Many riders only ride for fun, but some people enter in competition. Here are some of the common types of competitions: DRESSAGE: In dressage, the horse and rider must complete a series of complex movements. There is no jumping involved. The goal of dressage is for the horse and rider to work as one to make the course performed look perfect. SHOW JUMPING: In show jumping, the horse and rider must go over a series of jumps. The emphasis is on speed. However, the horse and rider will lose points for knocking down jumps or poles or if the horse refuses to jump a fence (this is called a refusal; after three refusals the horse is disqualified). HUNTER: Hunter classes in horse shows are like jumper ones. However, the horse is judged on how they look going over the jumps instead of their speed. CROSS COUNTRY: In cross-country, horses complete a course of obstacles. This differs from show jumping because the horses are running through the country as they complete the course (wonder where they got the name?) THREE DAY EVENTING: In 3-day eventing, dressage is done on the first day, cross country on the second, and show jumping on the third. RACING: You've probably already heard of this one. Horses race around a track, and the one with the fastest time wins. ENDURANCE RIDING: Horses and riders race on a long course of up to 100 miles through the country. |