Jumping Horse: Fascinating Show Jumping Facts We Bet You didn't Know

Show jumping is a great spectator equine event that requires excellent precision and hand-eye coordination.

In this sport, the horse jumps over several obstacles along with the rider. Viewers enjoy watching the minute-to-minute excitement of show jumping, which can be entertainment at a different level!

The highly skilled equestrian competition sport, horse jumping, requires the rider and the horse to have unique physical and mental skills to master. It is not an easy sport suited for every rider or all horse breeds.

It is only for those who enjoy an element of risk and can put in long hours of effort with or without much rewards. Hence, only people who are passionate about this sport and have a natural affinity towards horses, racing, and a competitive spirit can be part of this successfully.

Indeed, this requires an element of craziness and an unconventional mindset.

This sport is so much about conquering fear and keeping calm with exceptional focus and cooperation within the team, the jumping pair. Often, it also requires nerves of steel for those on the ground and those watching the sport from the pavilion.

Horses are very genuine and bond very specially with their breeders or riders. They do not have a hidden agenda and can cheer people with their capabilities and warm nature.

Horses can be unpredictable, leaving you to wonder at their intentions, but you can develop a close bond of trust with each other over time. For the riders, this sport involves long hours of hard work in training and, fatigue should be a friend.

Lack of leisure time is very common as this sport demands dedication equal to any other professional sport.

Adding to this, utmost care to the animals becomes a prerogative, without saying, to get the finesses and precision required for winning. Thoroughbred, Oldenburg, Arabian, Hanoverian, and Dutch Warmblood are well-known horse breeds that stand the test of such sports.

So, love for the horses and the unique ability to understand and bond with them becomes paramount for the rider and trainer. The rider and horse build a special rapport which contributes to their winning as a team.

The viewer gets to see the final result of all the hard work and effort just sitting in the pavilion and enjoying the show thoroughly.

If you found this read exciting, you can explore more of our articles on the fastest horse breed and how tall is a horse on our Kidadl website.

Jumping Horse Breeds

Horse jumping is an equestrian sport that involves different types of jumps, with multiple levels of complexities and different goals for each kind of jump. Some involve timing goals, whereas other jump types require a smooth and organized jump and landing with finesse, accuracy, and elegance.

There are several types of horse jumps like hunter jumping, cross-country jumping, show jumping.

Hunter jumping focuses on the horse's ability to move steadily and smoothly rather than quickness or time limits. How elegantly the horse jumps with accuracy and finesses is more crucial than how fast he does it, and it is essential that the rider also maintains their focus and finesse.

The combination of jumper and hunter is well-coordinated, holding themselves well. Cross-country jumping is designed towards powerful jumps, gallops, and skill in a field, forest setting, or countryside. Show jumping focuses on accuracy, agility, and speed with timing.

Not all horse breeds can be jumping breeds. Based on different needs, different horse breeds are suitable and trained differently. The different strengths of horse breeds have a variety of strengths that can be leveraged as per requirements. The natural quality of the breed and efficient breeding practices play a significant role in winning, more so, at international levels!

The quarter horse is one of the most popular entry-level western horse breeds, brought by the English to the USA in the 17th century. Being small and compact, Quarter horse is an excellent jumper.

The quarter horse is a very intelligent horse that is always ready to give, being very happy to please. Being more of a western horse and less of jumping, a Quarter horse has the quality of being a muscular horse, which gives it the impetus to jump powerfully.

From where it got its name, the Quarter horse can be extremely fast over a short quarter-mile. It can run and attain speeds up to 55 mph (88.5 kph), as it was initially bred for racing.

The quarter horse is the most popular breed in the United States of America. Some of the other entry-level breeds popular are Welsh cob and Grade horse.

Irish draught, Trakehner, and Thoroughbred are intermediate-level horse breeds popular for competitions. Thoroughbred is one of the well-known breeds with characteristics like speed and intelligence.

Being hot-blooded, Thoroughbred is a spirited horse, making people think it is perfect for racing. Yes, that is true, but the power and speed of Thoroughbred make it very good for jumping too. An excellent choice for racing and jumping equestrian events, Thoroughbred is especially preferred for Show-jumping and Cross-country.

Thoroughbred has exceptional stamina and legs that keep it going long distances, even after many other breed horses give up. They are well known for their long legs and light bones, which give them the edge on fences.

Dutch Warmblood, Westphalian, Belgian Warmblood, Selle Francais, Oldenburg, and Holsteiner are commonly known top-level horse breeds. Being new breeds, the Warmblood horses often reach top ranks in International competitions.

Like most warmbloods, the Dutch Warmblood is popular among horse breeds for its friendly nature combined with intelligence and athleticism. They started to feature regularly in several equestrian competitions, not only in the jumping world but also in racing.

The World Breeding Federation of Sports Horses has rated the Dutch Warmblood as the number one breed for jumping. Their excellence in jumping has attached a hefty price tag to buy the Dutch Warmblood.

The Belgian Warmblood is well known for characteristics like athleticism and strength. Though it is one of the breeds in warmbloods, it is genuinely underrated for its versatile qualities like loyalty, kindness, athleticism, and strength.

These warmblood breeds were crossed with local horse breeds to create powerful, light horses for competitions. Oldenburg is the other warmblood horse breed that was initially respected for being a workhorse.

With the invention of motorized vehicles, Oldenburg eventually transformed into a string sports horse and a world-class competitor. The Oldenburg is bestowed with characteristics like strength, stamina, along with being kind and highly intelligent.

It is one of the oldest horse breeds, unlike the warmblood breeds. It is one of the remarkably agile breeds on the fences and athletic, with strong legs to make it an obvious choice for jumping events.

Arabian is another iconic jumping breed with its concave face and delicate features. Being one of the oldest breeds, more than 4500 years old, Arabian can jump anything beautifully with lean muscles and long legs. It's a pleasure to watch Arabian jumping.

Not just a great jumper, Arabian is used in many disciplines. Hanoverian is another top-class jumper in the world.

With an elegant height, Hanoverian is a powerful and willing jumper. Both show and hunter jumping use the Hanoverian breed as frequent jumpers. Hanoverian also comes with a heavy price tag, being one of the top-class jumping horse breeds.

All the above breeds have the common traits of power and passion and are willing to jump repeatedly until they master it. They also have an insatiable penchant for pleasing their riders, making them eager to learn and attain perfection for the flawless display of their skills in several competitions.

All this does not come easy, and it truly takes a considerable effort to become the best in class.

What is show jumping?

Hunter jumper, also called working hunter, tests the horse's ability to move smoothly and steadily. It is derived from the old English fox hunting hobby. Different horses can participate in Hunter Jumping, including ponies, and the judges evaluate the riders on position and control of the horse.

Dressage is another type of event, where the horse's obedience to the rider is judged more than the racing or jumping skills. Warmbloods are popular in these events, along with Morgans, American Paint horses.

Dressage needs the horses to complete a specific sequence of moves to complete the courses, marked with a series of letters for the audience. Horses for Dressage undergo rigorous training for almost six months.

'Dancing on Horseback' is a type of Dressage event where the rider dresses up attractively and portrays the graceful movements of the horse. In Cross-country, the test takes place in natural fields or forests, with the horse jumping over logs, streams, fences, and terrains.

Eventing is a complex competition that combines Dressage, Cross country, and Show-jumping in a single event. This event could last up to three days and is considered an ultimate test for the horse's strength and trust in the rider.

Based on the old military tests of cavalry, Eventing involves the horse canter at high speed to jump over objects like walls, logs, ditches, or water. Stockwork is a type of competition that judges the rider and horse in their ability to complete specific tasks like calf roping, barrel racing, and calf penning.

Driving competition tests the horse's ability to carry weights and how far by pulling a wagon or cart.

Racing is among the most popular competitions, where the horse's speed is the primary test parameter. Thoroughbred horses are most suitable for this with their speed and athleticism.

Show jumping is also called stadium jumping. Horses navigate a course of jumps over obstacles explicitly designed to test the horse's speed, flexibility, and ability to maneuver over obstacles.

This requires excellent coordination between the horse and riders and familiarity with the layout. Showjumping has the rider riding the horse over the obstacles with time measurement.

The most popular jumping sport started in the early 1900s, which is equally fun for riders and horses. The best jumping is done by Thoroughbred and warmblood horses, and not all horses can jump.

These jumping horses can be tested across several jumps like Liverpool jump, Cross-rail jump, Triple bar jump, Oxer jump, and Hogsback jump. Showjumping is very exciting as the horses are tested for speed, agility, accuracy, and the horse's relationship with the rider.

This typically involves a 10-12 jump course over obstacles like rails, fences, and gates.

A fault is a point that is counted against the horse and rider team. Each time a horse knocks down a jump, it is counted as a fault or a point.

A point is given even if the horse walks away from jumping or destroys a jump, halting the timer and resetting the jump. The team can be disqualified if the horse refuses too many jumps in a course.

The horse which completes the course in the shortest time and least faults is the winner of the class. The number of faults awards competition rankings and the overall speed with which each team completes the course.

What is the highest jumping horse?

Showjumping is one of the most engaging and dynamic events of jumping horses because of its spectacular strength and athleticism. Even people with no handle on horses look forward to watching this event to enjoy and have fun.

All the training given to superior breeds of horses shows up in their natural and developed talent with qualities like agility and power.

Gelding is sometimes used as a means to increase the speed of the horse to reach its maximum potential. Gelding is castrating a male horse, which controls the horse's temperament, making it calmer and easier to handle.

Best jumping can be seen in one of the highest levels of events in this sport, the Grand Prix. Here, most complex jumps are designed where the horse has to jump high and long at strange angles and awkward distances. This requires special skills to be quick on legs, agility, endurance, power, and competitive spirit.

The highest jumping horse record stands at 8 ft 1 in ( 2.47 m), achieved in Chile in 1949, by Captain Alberto Larraguibel Morales riding Huaso ex-Faithful. This was a tough challenge not earned easily.

It took three attempts on the day, and more significant is the two full years of relentless training for endurance combined with the agility to culminate in the best form of athleticism finally.

Another world record stands at 7 ft 10.5 in ( 2.4 m) in Belgium in June 1991 at Chaudfontaine, by Franke Sloothaak. Another record is the bareback (or saddle-less) puissance record by Robert Whitaker of Great Britain.

He jumped with a Water stone, 6.96 ft (2.12 m) height without a saddle, in the Stockholm International Horse Show in November 2011.

All these records require nerves of steel for the rider and flying wings for the horse coupled with natural characteristics along with a penchant to learn newer skills. It is the united effort of riders, horses, and breeding folks.

Horse Jumping In Olympics

Though horse riding seems like an excellent hobby, it is one of the most expensive sports on a serious note. Along with the breeding and training cost for the horse and rider on endurance, athleticism, and related requirements, the travel cost for international competitions can be astronomical.

On a lighter note, it is said that you can buy an island for the cost of participating in an international circuit.

This sport is only for the privileged few who have deep pockets. FEI is an organization that supports good horsemanship and best practices in this field.

Long ago, the horse's first appearance in ancient Olympics was in 680 BC, with the introduction of Chariot racing. It became the most exciting and spectacular part of the entire program.

Initially, only men participated in jumping and other horse events, but after 1952, women also started to represent their country. More so, after the dominance of military teams began to decline, women's entries became more predominant.

In the modern Olympics, equestrian events included Jumping events in 1900 in Paris. Though with a small break initially, from 1912, these events have been regularly part of the Olympics since then.

Similar to Hunter Jumping, fences were put up in the English countryside, encouraging the fox hunters to find horses that could jump in the Jumping events.

Eventing is the most in-demand sport in this category. Being one of the complete forms of competition, Eventing covers complete horsemanship by testing the harmony between rider and horse, their contact with nature, along with other characteristics like agility, precision, and stamina over extended distances.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for jumping horses, then why not take a look at How much weight can a horse carry? or Race Horse Facts.