Horseback Riding A Sport?: Is Horseback Riding A Sport?

Horseback Riding a Sport?
Is horseback riding a sport? Some people do not think horseback riding is a sport, but it really is in more ways than one. Horse and Rider need to be physically fit to be in the show arena or even just on a trail ride. Riders have to communicate with their horses just like the horse has to communicate with the rider. Being safe while riding is also very important. There are so many reasons why riders need to have a relationship with their horses. Some people think horses do all the work while the rider just sits there. Although not viewed by many people as one, horseback riding is a sport due to challenges and labor put forth by the athletes who participate in the activity. Horseback riders and horses

The horses need to be in shape for whatever the rider ask him/her to do. Horses need to have muscle strength to keep them balanced. It is known that if the horse drops his inside shoulder the rider will feel like the horse is going to fall over. The horse needs to build up his muscle in his whole body so that he can carry himself the way he should. Once the horse has begun to build up some muscle in his body it should feel less like the horse will fall over. Also when the horse muscles get stronger the rider should also be building more muscle from the aids used while helping the horse build up his strength in his body (Meredith, Faith). The horse is not the only one that needs to be physically fit; the rider does too. Riders need to have upper body strength to keep them in the correct position while riding a horse. To be in that position, one should have an invisible line from his/her ears to his/her heels. Riders need to build up

The rider has to give the horse little aids that no one else is supposed to see. A horse needs their rider to help direct them to go where they are supposed to. The rider should know the pattern for the course they are going to do. The horse has no clue what they are doing unless the rider tells him what to do (Hicks). Riders use their body to give the aids to the horse. There are sometimes when the rider uses the reins to steer the horse (2014 Kissock 5). The riders have to make sure the horse stays calm and relaxed while in the arena. If the rider just sat there the horse would not know what to do and someone could get hurt (Calder 30). Horse and rider work hard to get to the shows they go to. The rider needs to work on staying balanced over a horse while they are moving without using the reins to hold on to (Calder 18). Riders have to practice for long hours in and out of the saddle. The horse has to respond to the lightest touches from the rider. The only way a horse will be like that is practice (MaMahan). The rider needs to stay quiet in the saddle and not move around like a chicken with its head cut off. They need to be centered and stay out of the way of the horse (Hicks). When people are watching equestrians at a professional level they think the equestrian is just sitting there while the horse does everything (MaMahan). They are wrong the horse and rider are a team that