Is horse riding (cometition show jumping) considered aerobic activity?

Question

My P.E. teacher is trying to tell me that it is not. But you have to constantly have to keep your breathing rythmatic so you dont pass out because of all the squeezing you do with your legs, and all of the pulling you do with your arms.

Answer 1

Rags is incorrect- when people are riding and jumping at speed, such as on a cross country course, they burn about 450 calories EVERY MINUTE that they do this, and it is EXCELLENT cardiovascular exercise !!! There is NO BETTER WAY to lose weight and to get in shape than this one. Showjumping is also very much an aerobic activity, for BOTH horse and rider !!! Your PE teacher needs to get educated herself about these things- have you ever seen a FAT Olympic competitor in horse sports, or a FAT jockey?  If your answer is no, then you know that what I am saying is true. Look at the top riders in the sport of show jumping- really look at them. There isn't one of them who is at the top of the sport that is overweight or out of shape- and most of them are rather slender, in fact. People like McClain Ward, Lauren Hough, Margie Engle, and the like, who compete in the sport for a living, are all in great shape. Michael Matz, who was a show jumper and Olympic medalist before going into training racehorses, is slim enough that he exercises some of the horses he trains for racing himself. In order to do this, he has to be in great shape all the time.  Riding of this sort is a wonderful sport and great exercise. Your teacher may mean well, but she doesn't know what she is talking about.

Answer 2

Your gym teacher is essentially right. You burn more calories riding than just sitting around, certainly, but it really isn't aerobic exercise for you, the rider. Go here to see a cool calculator that shows how many calories you burn horseback riding:http://www.self.com/health/activity/calc...

Addendum: Starlight, with all due respect, riding at the gallop does burn about 400-500 calories an hour but there is no way the rider's heart rate is up for a consistently long enough period to count as serious aerobic activity. Riding IS exercise for the rider, just not the same as jogging or running or jumping rope. Also, the fact that top level show jumping riders are slim and fit in no way means they got that way from just riding. You could not be at the top of this sport if you were fat. Your horse would be at a distinct disadvantage having to carry a very heavy rider around the course. All the top jockeys and equestrian competitors all do other forms of exercise to keep fit for riding!

Also, you do not burn 450 calories per minute riding a cross country course. That is how much you would burn in one hour. There is no activity that burns 450 calories "per minute." Go here for a great chart comparing horseback riding calories burned to other fitness activites:http://www.shapefit.com/calories.html