History of Horse Show Jumping
The history of show jumping has quite a political significance, as its origins relate to one of the major political developments that took place in Europe, that is, the introduction of Enclosure Acts in the 18th century. Before these acts were enforced, there was no fencing anywhere as boundaries to restrict activities like animal grazing to certain areas. With this act which brought about fencing and building boundaries between lands, there came up new challenges and problems to sports of fox hounds. Since there was no common ground anymore, those who wished to pursue this sport now faced the need of training horses to jump the (newly created) fences and hurdles.
It did not immediately start off as a formal sport. The early shows in France were just like practice sessions for the competitors, who formed a group to jump off across the country. It was first given the name “Lepping” with the introduction of fences in these competitions. It became a significantly popular sport when it was brought to Britain. By 1900, most shows included “Lepping” classes in the competitions with a separate part for the ladies. However, until that time, this was not a popular sport among the spectators and therefore had very few participants.
Most related European schools which included these classes had backward seat and long length stirrups as their preference for jumping to ensure safety. Although this methodology ensured greater safety for the rider, it impeded the horse’s scope to use its full capacity to pass the hurdles.
It was not until an Italian instructor named Capt. Federico Caprilli introduced the idea of a forward position and short stirrups in the field of horse jumping. He proposed that a forward seat and shorter stirrups would not affect the safety of the rider and balance of the horse during the game. It was adapted immediately and is a commonly used methodology today.
Until this time, however, there were no defined rules for the game. Even its first major competition in 1907 at Olympia in England called “Horse of the Year Show” was a subjective one, where all judges had their own respective marking criteria. Some went on style whereas the others on the ability to cross the obstacles. Furthermore, the sport was often not taken to be a serious competition, when the rider was asked to skip the hurdles mainly in the case of a refusal just “to please the spectators”. There was also no penalty in case of a refusal.
The early courses were fairly simple ones, until the British Show Jumping Association (BSJA) came into being in 1925 after it was decided to consider show jumping as a formal support in a meeting in 1923. The American Horse Shows Association (now known as the United States Equestrian Federation) was also formed in 1917 out of the similar need to establish show jumping as a formal sport with proper schedules, rules and regulations.
Show jumping, when it evolved till 1900, remained a very simple sport, with very few requirements and evaluation criteria. However, this sport met great advancements in a relatively short time. Today, it requires much more effort and hard work with highly technical training courses. Many changes have been made to the sport since it started, such as introducing the element of time evaluation and a greater test of the rider and horse’s boldness, power, precision and abilities, depending on the type of competition.
The form of show jumping that we see today was first included in the Olympic Games in 1912 and has remained its part since then, despite various controversies. The argument mainly relates to Olympics being a fight of men with men, with no involvement of any other species. However, this controversy could not come to an end and show jumping is still a part of Olympics held every after four years. Show jumping competitions are held at several instances during the year, which the spectators enjoy at the venue or on television.
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