- Breeding
- Breeding Costs: Things to Consider
- Cookies With a Clue For Your Horse
- ELITE DINING AND HOSPITALITY CLUB TO DEBUT AT 53rd WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW
- Buying a Horse
- Do you need insurance for horses?
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- General Horse Articles
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- First Rides: Evaluating a Horse’s Vocabulary
- Horse Feeding
- Keeping the Horse Replenished - Equine Electrolytes
- Cookies With a Clue For Your Horse
- 5 Horse Feeding "Don'ts"
- Horse Grooming
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- OmegaTri & the Equine - Reducing Inflammation, Restoring Balance
- What do do when the Panic is On to keep our Horses Safe!
- Horse Health Issues
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- Horses & History
- Horses in Art: An Abridged History
- Top 5 Strange and Unusual Horses
- A Brief History of Horse Breeding
- Horses & Sports
- In Defense of Horses in Sport
- Nearly $7 Million Generated Annually for the District of Columbia
- Healthy Horse Boutique Supports Haddad Staller In Her Olympic Quest
A Guide to Horse Show Events
03/30/2009
Here’s our comprehensive list of what kind of competitive sports you can expect at horse shows.
Everyone has a few equestrian events that they particularly enjoy. Some like horse shows that are fast and intense, so they’re drawn to races or jumping. Others prefer horse shows that highlight the beauty of the horse and its movements—those people gravitate towards dressage or show jumping. But there are other events and competitive sports at horse shows that fly under the radar. Here’s our comprehensive list of what kind of competitive sports you can expect at horse shows.
1. Reining
Reining is an event you typically see at Western riding horse shows. Reining involves racing a horse through an obstacle horse of stops, circles, loops, and turns. A branch of reining is barrel racing, popular in Western horse shows because of the break-neck speed of the race. Because the emphasis is put on the harmony of rider and horse, reining has the reputation of being “Western dressage.”
2. Vaulting
Many sports seen at horse shows have human equivalents, and vaulting is no exception. Described as “gymnastics on horseback,” vaulting is a spectator sport at most horse shows—though it is a competition at the national and international level. Vaulters (both individuals, duos, or teams) mount the horse, then do a series of jumps, kicks, and flips while the horse trots or canters in a circle. At vaulting horse shows, both the horse and the gymnasts receive a score.
3. Tent Pegging
Tent pegging is one of the most ancient equestrian sports you can find at modern horse shows. The term has two uses—one is to describe a specific game where riders on horseback attempt to poke and pick up various ground targets. The other more broad definition of tent pegging is the kind you’ll find at Renaissance fair horse shows—where riders on horseback carrying “weapons” reenact cavalry games. This can be anything from jousts to mounted archery.
4. Horseball
Horseball is an equestrian sport not typically shown at horse shows except as a spectator showcase. There are however, international competitions where people can play this combination of polo, basketball, and soccer (all on horseback).
5. Show Jumping
Show jumping is one of the most popular equestrian sports you can find at horse shows, with a history that dates back to English nobility hunting parties. A branch of the English riding school, show jumping involves a rider on horseback guiding a horse through an obstacle course. The horse must jump over a series of bushes, fences, or water, depending on the individual horse shows’ preferences.
6. Dressage
Dressage is another popular event in horse shows, and probably the most formal of all the FEI events. In dressage, a horse is lead through a series of prances, turns, steps, and movements, as if it is dancing. At horse shows, the most important aspect of dressage is ease and harmony—the horse and the rider must move together instinctively, without effort or coercion.
7. Combined Riding
Carriage rides are more than just a way to see Central Park—it’s also a way to enjoy some fierce competition. Many horse shows feature combined driving events, the branch of equestrian sport that involves a horse pulling a carriage. Combined Riding is made up of 3 phases: presentation, dressage, and then a marathon which includes obstacle driving. This sport is the most popular at English horse shows, though you can sometimes see it in American horse shows.
8. Endurance Riding
Endurance riding is another equestrian sport not often seen at horse shows because of it’s similarities to marathon racing. Most endurance racing is between 50-100 miles over a period of 12 hours—a little bit too much of a commitment for your average horse shows attendee!
9. Eventing
The equestrian equivalent of the triathlon, eventing at horse shows is a combination of dressage, cross-country, and show-jumping events that take place over the course of several days. Eventing has its roots in military horse shows and cavalry training, so there is a certain military tone that pervades the event. Eventing is perhaps one of the most competitive sports you can find at modern horse shows—and one of the most thrilling.
