The different types of equestrian competitions

There are a multitude of possibilities when you want to practice horse riding. From show jumping to vaulting, the range of equestrian disciplines is very vast. Here is a certain panorama.

Endurance

As its name suggests, the goal of endurance is to cover long distances outdoors with your horse, while knowing how to moderate your pace so that the horse does not tire very quickly and does not exceed its limits. It is a question of covering up to 160 km on a marked course, all at a free or imposed speed. Endurance is a discipline that is very popular in Arab countries. In principle, before starting this activity, veterinary examinations are carried out in order to check the horse's ability to cover very long distances.

The aerobatics

Performed in a team or individually, vaulting is an activity that consists of performing different figures on the back of a horse that masters the three gaits. Thus, during vaulting, the horse walks, trots and gallops in a circle of 15 meters in diameter at most. It is also equipped with a surcingle which is a kind of strap with rings. This surcingle provides support to the vaulter. It can be obtained from La Sellerie Française .

The hitch

When we talk about harnessing, we must divide this general discipline into two major sub-disciplines. We will talk about simple harnessing and traditional harnessing. In these two types of harnessing, a driver directs one, two, three or even four horses that are harnessed to a two-wheeled vehicle. If we must emphasize the activity on traditional harnessing, the vehicle here must be an old model.

Divided into three days of testing, the harnessing will consist of a dressage test, a marathon and a so-called handling test, a sort of slalom. These are tests that will validate key skills as well as the ability of the driver. These skills also test the excellent physical condition, submission, frankness and flexibility of the horses. The little special feature here is that the driver has the possibility of being accompanied by one or more teammates who will be installed in the vehicle.

The CSO show jumping competition

CSO, show jumping competition, is one of the leading disciplines in France. This discipline represents over 80% of competition activities. Here, the horse and its rider must complete mobile obstacles of varying height, width and length, without making a mistake. This while respecting the time allotted to them. Then come several difficulties that are spread out over the course. The fall of the mount or the rider is punished through a penalty or by elimination. If bars are knocked over and the horse refuses the obstacle or the latter passes next to it, penalties are taken. Those who have not made a mistake are separated according to the time it took them to complete the course. This is a discipline that requires agility as well as technique. The distances, the type of obstacle, the angles as well as the turns must be studied and must be taken into account in order to succeed in the course much faster than the others.