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Anyways I think I need to do a horse talk to calm me down.
Let’s talk about......Showjumping
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Let’s talk about......Showjumping
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Well, internationally it’s called “Showjumping”. You might recognize that title from the Olympics! Bc that’s probably the general public’s only awareness of this sport (in America.) But you may have heard Hunter/jumper. I’ll get into that in a moment. (Photos: London/Rio)
Olympics are the big leagues yes-but so are World Cups!
FEI is the international governing body of horse sports. World Cups happen every year & its kind of complicated to qualify, I wont go into all that. Here& #39;s a video of the winning round of 2019! https://youtu.be/H9tg_dO9XBg ">https://youtu.be/H9tg_dO9X...
FEI is the international governing body of horse sports. World Cups happen every year & its kind of complicated to qualify, I wont go into all that. Here& #39;s a video of the winning round of 2019! https://youtu.be/H9tg_dO9XBg ">https://youtu.be/H9tg_dO9X...
However, to get at *that* level of competing requires not only an insane amount of talent and comitment--as well as a talented and well trained horse--it also requires a TON of money. Horse Sports are truly the sport of kings--because hardly anyone else can afford it.
I DO NOT mean to say the riders at the top are not insanely gifted and work EXTREMELY HARD, but.......well, let me explain:
The horses at this level of showjumping are each worth well into the 6 figures. A weekend of horse showing may cost $2k. At this level, you are competing at times every single weekend. (On different horses, because you have to have multiple for that)--
---Monthly board, with full care and training, at least $1500 per horse. Vet bills. Farrier bills. Add all of that together: That& #39;s not the kind of money anyone under the Upper class of society has laying around.
But, let& #39;s take a step back here--let& #39;s talk about how you even *enter* into this world. ESPECIALLY if you are not someone from that part of society.
Many young riders start out in summer camps, at their local hunter/jumper barn.
Many young riders start out in summer camps, at their local hunter/jumper barn.
And many fall in love with it, and beg their parents for lessons. Basically this means you ride one of their lesson horses, & lesson! In the early stages you& #39;re taught on a lunge line. This allows you to let go of the focus on controlling the horse--and only controlling your body
A lunge line is a long rope the trainer holds onto, as you, the rider, learn how to have the correct posture, and learn how to do things such as the sitting trot, posting trot, 2-point (jumping position) & most importantly, learn how to relax on a horse.
Notice so far how the beginning of this journey is literally just, learning how to hold your body on a horse? Well that& #39;s only the very first step. And it& #39;s not something you perfect and then move on and learn all the movements and how to collect a horse and all that--
--no, it& #39;s a life long process of perfecting your position. You have to learn basic positions to learn basic skills like asking a horse to walk/trot/canter--because function follow form--but oh, does riding (and jumping) get a thousand times more complicated than that.
But, you& #39;ve done months work of lunge line lessons, your ready to walk/trot/canter off the line--you know how to hold a 2-point, and your begging your trainer to point you to a jump. No. not ready. It& #39;s polework time.
The polework NEVER GOES AWAY. GRAND PRIX RIDERS DO POLEWORK.
But essentially: if you can& #39;t handle polework, how the hell do you think you& #39;re going to handle a jump? Poles teach you what jumping is *really* about: controlling your stride.
But essentially: if you can& #39;t handle polework, how the hell do you think you& #39;re going to handle a jump? Poles teach you what jumping is *really* about: controlling your stride.
You know how video games with horses have you hit a button to make them jump? That& #39;s not what happens. There& #39;s no *jumping command* It& #39;s about judging your stride, and setting your horse up for take off. That& #39;s why polework helps SO MUCH. We even use them WITH jumping training.
Okay so: you& #39;re now *finally* jumping with your lesson horse! And you& #39;re doing fantastic--you& #39;re now jumping *courses*, you& #39;re fearless coming to a 2ft 6 oxer, and you& #39;re finding every lesson a breeze. Well. That& #39;s when your trainer has *the talk* with your parents.
The talk about how: you have reached beyond the level that the lesson horses can do. Meaning. If you want to go further in this sport....you gotta get your own horse.
There it is, the first major gatekeeping aspect of this sport: You have to be able to afford a horse.
There it is, the first major gatekeeping aspect of this sport: You have to be able to afford a horse.
Now, a horse that can do the & #39;A& #39; circuit (have I mentioned that? That& #39;s the American H/J show circuit), not even necesarrily win, but be able to compete and do either the children& #39;s hunters or childrens jumper (whatever route you& #39;re going), we& #39;re talking...15k. At minimum. Yikes.
If you& #39;re wondering why I& #39;m talking about money so much, is that you cannot talk about this world without the money it takes to even get to be a part of it.
However; there are some aspects I& #39;d like to touch on:
Leasing. And Working Student Programs.
However; there are some aspects I& #39;d like to touch on:
Leasing. And Working Student Programs.
There are two forms of leasing: Full lease means you pay a portion of the horses& #39; worth & their training/board, & they& #39;re yours for the timeframe agreed on. Half lease usually means you only pay board/training, & you may have to still split your time with the horse with the owner
If you& #39;re lucky--you get to half lease an amazing horse that the owner just went off to college and doesnt want to sell their amazing bigeq horse bc they love too much. (I got lucky when I was 14).
I ALSO, however, was a working student. I& #39;ll explain that next.
I ALSO, however, was a working student. I& #39;ll explain that next.
Working student can mean SO many different things; for me, since I also had my own horse, (leasing), it meant I had my lessons on them for free, while in exchange I did some barn chores--but since I wasn& #39;t a lesson rider, my "working" aspect was a bit different.
I didn& #39;t clean the lesson horse tack, I cleaned my trainers. I also tacked up my trainer& #39;s horses for him, was there to help set jumps when he trained, & also started to hack his horses in training. It was way for me to both have a chance to give my parents a break on the money,
and give me experience, which eventually led to me getting the chance to show his sale horses, and travel and compete all across the country. However. This is the biggest, wide open potential for an imbalance of power, and improper use of that power in the equestrian community
