There are a lot of exciting reasons for owning a horse. Aside from being a hobby, many want to venture into horse competing. For those that do, there are plenty to choose from.
Eventing
For those who prefer the English riding style and want to compete, they may want to get into eventing. This is like a triathlon for horse and rider. It is comprised of three events which are:
- Dressage: this allows the horse and rider to show how well they perform as a team which is displayed through various movements.
- Cross-Country: In this segment, it shows the durability of the horse and rider as well as their fitness. They have to tackle numerous obstacles and handle different forms of terrain.
- Jumping: This final segment of eventing is for the horse to be able to clear a series of hurdles under the control of the rider in a specific time. There are also opportunities to compete in these different classes separately.
Western Events
The western riding show circuit has a long list of different types of competitions that include:
- Barrel racing
- Roping
- Trail
- Pleasure
- Reining
and several others.
Getting Into Competing
There is a lot of work for those who want to get into horse competitions. First, it has to be determined what the horse would be best suited for. Different breeds of horses perform their best in specific events. For example, the quarter horse is a popular breed for many of the western events.
Warmbloods such as Belgian or Dutch Warmblood along with several others may perform well in the English events.
Training of Horse and Rider
The events are competitive, so anyone that is going to enter into them has to be prepared for this. It means that both horse and rider have to spend many hours practising. In a lot of cases, the competitors will hire trainers to prepare them for the competitions. Usually, the trainers will work with both the horse and rider.
Time Commitment
Aside from the time that is needed for training and practice, there is a time commitment required for the various competitions. Quite often there are different levels of these such as local, regional, national and then world if the rider is wanting to go that far. There are normally a series of shows, and some riders compete in more than one type of event.
Although all of this takes a big commitment, the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from it is well worth it.