Rozi Arabian Horse stable: September 2014

Terdapat empat katogeri yang dipertandingkan di bawah seliaan Majlis Equin Malaysia iaitu Dressage, Endurance, Eventing, Jumping

1- Dressage
WHAT IS DRESSAGE
There are a lot of confused people wondering just what dressage is all about and for some reason it is often explained in a way to make it sound more confusing.
My interpretation is that it is training to enhance the natural movement of the horse. A horse likes showing off to other horses but it is difficult with a rider until the horse can learn to carry more weight with its hind legs and lighten the front end. Most horses are seen “jogging” with weight on the forehand, legs shuffling out behind and very little lift. Dressage encourages the horse to take strong upward steps with bounce.

The whole training process is designed to gradually strengthen the horse to be able to do a range of movements that require great physical strength and a good partnership between horse and rider to perform in natural beauty.

“The rider must balance the horse and aim to give lighter aids to gain a better result.”

To achieve this the rider must first be balanced and not rely on the reins or gripping for support. The rider must work on their balance in the seat to be sure they are not putting more weight in one seat bone than the other and that one hip is not further forward than the other. They must have equal weight: to hold the weight of the leg) in the stirrups and legs long and in the correct place for giving the aids.

The rider must carry their arms and hands and not lean on their own hips or rest on the horse. Correct position can be checked in any book and it is a gradual process to achieve it, keep the primary aim of keeping the hands separate from the rest of the body right from the beginner stage. The legs must not grip but cuddle the horse and the rider should think of feeling the hair of the horse and not squashing the horses insides out.

When an aid is given it is an electric touch then off and try again. This needs to be reinforced with a touch of the whip (not sharply) if ignored.
Firstly “Ask” if ignored …”Tell” if ignored …”Demand” . If ignored… try the sequence again (perhaps it was misunderstood). It will encourage the horse to respond on the first gentle “ask” command but be sure the horse is not confused and never punish them in a way to cause stress.

The difference between ask and demand is the difference between an invisible and a visible aid. Consistency is very important. Never allow your moods to “demand” without “ask” and always reward by voice or a pat.

“The rider must assume the role of the teacher and gently explain what is required. “
No student likes to be yelled at for no reason, why should a horse be different. Whisper your aids… don’t shout them. They cannot speak our language, you must explain what you want and they will want to continue to learn.”

As the rider progresses from training the basic priorities of “forward, rhythm, balance and straightness” they can start to encourage the horse to step under themselves more but the rider must be light in the saddle, very flexible in the lower back and have a light independent hand. Hold the reins as though you are holding a childs hand, if the horse leans, briefly drop the contact forward for a second and drive the horse under more (tap, tap, not squeeeezzzzzeeee). Do not pull the horse back, feel as though you are pushing the horse under and allowing the back to bow upwards.

A common beginner fault is to resume a “foetal” position and pull which makes the horses back bend the wrong way or hollow. The rider must open up and stretch tall, hips forward and in balance. The horse will become more comfortable to ride as they gain balance, rhythm and spring.
Collection is more difficult and an instructor will assist the rider to apply the corresponding restricting aids when the back foot lands and the propelling aids when the back foot is about to step forward. This is when the horses natural paces start to really improve and gives you bounceability. Any backward blocking of the rein will prevent the inside hind legs from coming forward properly.
Competition dressage is judged on the paces, impulsion, submission and the riders effectiveness over a series of carefully prepared test movements. It is the judges responsibility to give guidance to the rider to tell them if they have consolidated the horses correct training enough at the level required before advancing. The national levels are: preliminary, novice, elementary, medium and advanced. The international levels are Prix St George, Intermediaire 1, Intermediaie 11 and finally Grand Prix. Most competitors start off at unofficial levels before progressing to the more demanding official competitions.
Dressage is a sport of beauty and is only possible when there is a true partnership with the horse and rider. The skills are difficult but once learnt will help the rider to improve any horse and help both horse and rider enjoy any discipline.
This article is kindly provided by the equiworld.net.

2-Endurance
ENDURANCE
ENDURANCE RIDING
An Introduction

Endurance Riding is one of the newest and perhaps the fastest growing branch of equestrianism.
Although organised endurance rides were held in the US as early as the mid- 1800s, the modern sport of endurance riding really began in the in 1955 when the Tevis Cup, a one day 100 mile ride from Squaw Valley, Nevada to Auburn California, was first run. Other rides followed and the first national endurance riding association, the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) was founded in 1972.

Endurance Riding is a sport for everyone, with rides to suit every ability and age, from 10 mile pleasure ride right up to endurance rides of 100 miles in a day, and longer over several days.

Although endurance rides are often hotly contested, at every level of endurance the welfare of the horse is paramount, with the strictest veterinary checks of all horse sports, and awards for best condition often being regarding as important as wining. For many people the unofficial motto of the sport ‘To finish is to win’ sums up the satisfaction they feel bringing their horse home sound and healthy.

THE ENDURANCE HORSE
Most people starting out in endurance do so on their current horse, and it is true to say that any healthy horse can compete at the lower levels of endurance.
Arabs are often thought of as the ideal endurance horse, but at any endurance ride you will see representatives of many horse and pony breeds competing successfully.

In general a good endurance horse will have a balanced conformation, a relatively light build, a strong back and excellent feet. Most importantly the horse’s temperament must suit the rider – 100 miles is a long way if you can’t work as a team!

This article is kindly provided by the Endurance Horse and Pony Society.

3-Eventing
Eventing is the most complete combined competition discipline recognised by the FEI where men and women compete as equals in both individual and team events.
It demands of the competitor considerable experience in all branches of equitation and a precise knowledge of the horse’s ability and of the horse a degree of competence resulting from intelligent and rational training. It covers every aspect of horsemanship: the harmony between horse and rider that characterise Dressage; the contact with nature, stamina and extensive experience essential for the Cross Country; the precision, agility and technique involved in Jumping.

Eventing is one of the three disciplines in competition at the Olympic Games, the other two being Jumping and Dressage.

There are two types of modern competitions: with or without steeple chase in the Cross Country phase.

WITH STEEPLE CHASE
This competition comprises three distinct tests:

1. Dressage
2. Cross-Country
3. Jumping.

They take place on separate consecutive days during which a competitor rides the same horse throughout.

Dressage Test
After an opening veterinary fitness inspection, a Dressage test is performed, the object of which is the harmonious development of the physique and ability of the horse.
The test consists of a series of compulsory movements at walk, trot and canter gaits, within a rectangular arena 60 m. long and 20 m. wide. To perform a good Dressage test, the horse needs to be flexible and fluid.

To keep the strong, Eventing horses under the firm control required by the exacting Dressage movements involves great knowledge and understanding. A good Dressage test lays the foundation for the rest of the competition and horses that are found wanting in this phase face an uphill struggle to get up amongst the prize-winners.

Cross-Country
The focus of the entire event is on the Cross-Country test, the objective of which is to prove the speed, endurance and jumping ability of the horse, while at the same time demonstrating the rider’s knowledge of pace and the use of his horse.
It consists of four distinct phases (as shown below). The four phases are quite independent as far as the timekeeping is concerned and loss of time in one cannot be compensated for by gain of time in another.

Exceeding the time allowed in any of the four phases results in penalties. Penalties are also given for refusals and falls of horse or rider. All penalties are added together and recorded for inclusion in the final classification. The first fall of a horse and second of a rider entails elimination.

Phase A: Roads and Tracks.A Sort of warm up phase.
Phase B: Steeplechase. This phase was designed to test the speed of horse and rider over jumps and requires horses to jump 8 – 12 brush fences, depending on the level of competition.
Phase C: Roads and Tracks. This is a recovery phase after the exertions of the steeplechase, usually carried out at the walk and trot.
Phase D: Cross-Country. This is the most difficult part of the test consisting in a course, usually twice the distance of the steeplechase, comprising 30 to 40 Jumping efforts on natural solid obstacles, such as stone walls, woodpiles, water, ditches, etc. The aim is to jump all the fences within the limits of the time allowed.
Jumping Test
The Jumping test takes place on the last day after a third veterinary (horse) inspection.
Riders may voluntarily retire their horses if they seem unfit to continue. This test is run in reverse order of merit and its main objective is to prove that the horses have retained their suppleness, energy and obedience in order to jump a course of 10 to 13 obstacles.

The winning individual is the competitor with the lowest total of penalty points. The winning team is the one with the lowest total of penalty points, after adding together the final scores of the three highest placed competitors in the team.

WITHOUT STEEPLE CHASE
These competitions comprise the same three tests, but the Cross Country test does not include Phases B & C.
Moreover, phase A, before the Cross Country Obstacle Test, is optional. This format has contributed to developing the sport in countries traditionally less familiar with Eventing and has become the standard for the sport at all levels.

4- Jumping
Show jumping is an equestrian event where each horse-rider combination must clear a number (on average 15 to 20) of obstacles on a set course and within a specified time.
The ultimate goal for each combination is a clear round. Faults or penalties are collected:

if the horse refuses to jump an obstacle
when it brings down the highest element of an obstacle
when the combination exceeds the time allowed.
HISTORY OF SHOW JUMPING
Show jumping is a relatively new equestrian discipline. In the late 18th century jumping obstacles or fences became a feature of the sport of fox hunting.
An act of parliament in the UK stated that those whishing to pursue the sport of fox hunting needed horses which were capable of jumping fences. Others suggest that show jumping started off in Paris in 1866. In the early shows held in France there was a parade of competitors who then took off across country for the jumping. This sport was, however, not popular with spectators as they could not watch the jumping. Soon after the introduction of these parades fences began to appear in the arena.

This was originally called ‘lepping’. Later on this was also brought to Britain and by 1900 most horse shows had ‘lepping’ classes. At this time most riders used a backward seat during show jumping competitions. It was the Italian instructor Captain Fiederico Caprilli who introduced the forward position as we know it today in show jumping. The main advantage of this forward position was and is that it does not impede the balance of the horse when jumping fences.

In the early 1900′s there was no uniformity of rules for show jumping and courses were built with little imagination. This was changed in 1925 with the formation of the BSJA (British Show Jumping Association). A similar evolution occured in the USA leading to the American Horse Shows Association today know as the USEF (United States Equestrian Federation).

This article is kindly provided by the Jumping.EU