Show jumping

Show jumping or "jumpers" is a member of a family of English-discipline equestrian events that includes dressage, eventing, hunters and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at Horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are limited exclusively to jumpers, sometimes jumper classes are offered in conjunction with other English-style events, and sometimes show jumping is but one division of very large, all-breed competitions that include a very wide variety of disciplines.

Overview

Jumper courses are held over a course of show jumping obstacles, including verticals, spreads, double and triple combinations, and many turns and changes of direction. The purpose is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time; time faults are assessed for exceeding the time allowance. Depending on the type of competition, jumping faults are incurred for knockdowns only, or horses may be also penalized for "ticks" (where the horse touches the fence during a jump but does not knock it down) and blatant disobediences, such as refusals (when the horse stops before a fence or "runs out"). For every obstacle that is knocked down, four "faults" are earned. Horses are allowed a limited number of refusals to take an obstacle before being disqualified, but fault points are added to their score for each one. Until recently, three faults were incurred for each refusal, but was changed to four faults by the FEI (Federation Equestrian International), as it was decided that a refusal is a more serious mistake than a downed fence on the part of the horse. If they take more than the time allowed for the course, they earn one quarter of a fault per extra second. Tied entries jump over a raised and shortened course known as a jump-off; if entries are tied in the jump-off, the fastest time wins. Riders walk both the course and the jump-off course before competition to plan their ride.

The more professional the competition, such as "Class A" shows in the United States, or the international "Grand Prix" circuit, the more technical the course. Not only is the height of an obstacle raised to present a greater challenge, technical difficulty also increases with tight turns and shorter or unusual distance between fences. For example, a course designer might set up a line so that there are six and a half strides (the standard measure for a canter stride is 12 feet) between the jumps, making it more difficult for the rider.

Jumper courses, especially at the highest levels, are highly technical, requiring boldness, scope, power, accuracy, and control; speed is also a factor, especially in jump-off courses and speed classes (in which time counts in the first round). A jumper must jump big, bravely, and fast, but he must also be careful and accurate to avoid knockdowns, and must be balanced and rideable in order to rate and turn accurately. A jumper rider must ride the best line to each fence, saving ground with well-planned turns and lines, and must adjust the horse's stride for each fence and distance, while avoiding knockdowns. In a jump-off, a rider must must balance the need to go as fast as possible and turn as tight as possible against the horse's ability to jump cleanly.

The final rankings are based on the lowest number of points or "faults" accumulated. In case of a draw, the horse with the fastest time ranks higher.

History of show jumping

Show jumping is a relatively new equestrian sport. Until the Enclosures Acts which came into force in England in the eighteenth century there had been no need for a horse to jump fences as there had been none. But with this act of parliament came new challenges for those followers of fox hounds. The enclosures act brought fencing and boundaries to many parts of the country as common ground was dispersed amongst the wealthy landowners. This meant that those wishing to pursue their sport now needed horses which were capable of jumping these obstacles.

In the early shows held in France there was a parade of competitors who then took off across country for the jumping. This sport was, however, not popular with spectators as they could not watch the jumping. Soon after the introduction of these parades fences began to appear in the arena. This became known as ‘Lepping’. Fifteen years later, ‘Lepping’ competitions were brought to Britain and by 1900 most of the more important shows had ‘Lepping’ classes although they rarely attracted more than 20 competitors. The ladies, riding side-saddle, had their own classes.

At this time, the principal cavalry schools of Europe at Pinerolo and Tor-di-Quinto in Italy, the French school in Saumur and the Spanish school in Vienna preferred to use a backward seat when jumping for safety purposes with long length stirrups. The Italian Instructor Captain Fiederico Caprilli heavily influenced the forward seat with his ideas that the forward position would not impede the balance of the horse negotiating obstacles. It is this latter style which is commonly used today.

The first big showjumping class to be held in England was in the Horse of the Year Show at Olympia in 1907. Most of the competitors were servicemen and it became clear at this competition and in the subsequent years that there was no uniformity of rules for the sport. Judges marked on their own opinions. Some marked according to the severity of the obstacle and others marked according to style. Before 1907 there were no penalties for a refusal and the competitor was sometimes asked to miss the fence to please the spectators. The first courses were built with little imagination; many consisting of only a straight bar fence and a water jump. A meeting was arranged in 1923 to rectify it and this led to the formation of the BSJA in 1925.

Showjumping was first incorporated into the Olympic Games in 1912 and has thrived ever since, its popularity due in part to its suitability as a spectator sport which can be viewed on television.

Original scoring tariff

The original list of faults introduced in The United Kingdon in 1925 was as follows:

Refusing or Running out at any fence:

1st: 8 faults

2nd: 8 faults

3rd: elimination

Fall of horse, rider or both: elimination

If a horse touches a fence without knocking it down, there are no faults, as they are only incurred if a pole or any other part of the jump is knocked down. For every jump that is knocked down four faults are incurred. For a water jump, if a horse lands with any number of feet in the water, four faults are incurred.

Water jumps were once at least 15 feet (5 metres) wide, although the water had often drained out of them before the last competitor jumped them. High jumping would start with a pole at around 5 feet but this was later abandoned, as many horses went under the pole. It was for this reason that more poles were added and fillers came into use. In the early days time penalties did not count and competitors were not penalized until 1917.

Rules have since evolved, with different national federations having different classes and rules, plus those of the FEI which govern Olympic competition. Typically a fence knocked down now given four faults, a horse falling or rider falling off still results in immediate elimination, refusals are penalized with cumulative penalties and usually a third refusal results in elimination.

Types of Competition

Grand Prix: usually the most challenging competition with the highest purse money at a show. Horses are scored on a combination of faults and time.
Speed Derby
Puissance: a high-jump competition, where the final wall may reach over 7 feet tall.
Six-Bar: riders jump six fences set in a straight line. In most places, fences are placed at equal distances apart, the first fence is the lowest and each subsequent fence is higher than the one before. Horses are either penalized or eliminated from competition if they knock down a rail. After each round where more than one competitor goes "clean," or is tied for fewest faults, the six fences are raised in height each subsequent round until there is a winner. Occasionally, if there are multiple jump-offs, the final fences can be raised to well over 6 feet.
Gambler's Choice: An event where exhibitors choose their own course, with each fence cleared worth a given amount of points based on difficulty. The entry who accumulates the most points within a set time limit on course is the winner.
Calcutta: A jumping event where spectators bet on which horse will win by means of an auction where the highest bidder has the exclusive bet on a given horse. Though the exact mechanism varies by region and culture, as a rule, the spectator who bets on the winner collects all money bet and then splits the purse with the owner of the winning horse.
Maiden, Novice and Limit: Jumping classes limited to horses with fewer than one, three or six wins. Fences are usually lower and time limits more generous.

Types of Show Jumping Jumps

Vertical - a jump that consists of poles right above each other with no spread, or width, to jump.
Oxer - Basically two verticals close together, to make the jump wider. Also called a spread.

- Square Oxer: Both top poles are of an equal height.

- Ascending Oxer: The furthest pole is higher than the first.

- Descending Oxer: The furthest pole is lower than the closest.

- Swedish Oxer: The poles slant in opposite directions, so that they appear to form an "X" shape when seen head on.

Triple Bar - Is a spread fence using three elements of graduating heights. It is a relatively easy jump although usually very wide.
Wall - This type of jump is usually made to look like a brick wall, but the "bricks" are constructed of a lightweight material and fall easily when knocked.
Hog's Back - A type of jump where the tallest pole is in the center.
Filler - This is not a type of fence but is a solid part below the poles, such as flower boxes or a rolltop. It can also be a gate.
Combination - any number of jumps in a row, with a certain number of strides in between.
Fan: the rails on one side of the fence are spread out by standards, making the fance take the shape of a fan when viewed from above.
Open water: a wide ditch of water
Liverpool: a ditch of water under a vertical or oxer

The Horses

Some of the Great show jumping horses in history have been:

Important show jumping events

CHIO Aachen - The biggest show jumping tournament, in Aachen, Germany.
Spruce Meadows in Calgary, Canada, Tournaments include "The National", "The North American", "Canada One", and "The Masters"
The British Open Show Jumping Championships - Top class international Show Jumping, Horse Ball competitions and Thrilling displays.
Horse of the Year Show - The Show of Champions. Packed full of action from both the showing and show-jumping worlds.
London International Horse Show - Information on the show, including Quadrille dressage to music finals and the Shetland Grand National, along with the international standard showjumping and qualifiers.
Dubai International Horse Show - The world's richest show jumping competition offering a prize fund of USD 1,250,000. Also named as Al Maktoum Challenge.
Indoor Brabant Den Bosch - International Equine Event in Den Bosch, The Netherlands.
Dublin Horse Show - The Fáilte Ireland Dublin Horse Show is Ireland's leading Equestrian and social event of the Summer.
The Summer Olympic Games

External links

Videos of show jumping

Equestrian sports

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