subject: Show Jumps Are Included In Grand Prix Competition [print this page] Show Jumps Are Included In Grand Prix Competition
Show jumps are usually found in English style horse competitions. It is not to say they only happen in England, that is not the case at all, it is just the name of the most common style of horse competitions. Known as show jumping or stadium jumping, it can either be an event of its own or can be included with dressing, hunters and other special equestrian events.There are a couple of classes of horses in these shows, one is the hunter class the other is the jumping class. The hunter class is judged by appearance, manners and style, whereas the jumper class is based on a number scale on the ability to follow routines, which jumping over show jumps is part of the routine. Hunter class require calmness and style while the jumper class requires the horse to be bold, fast, accurate, power and control.There are a variety of different things that will create faults that will be given to the horse which will lower its score. Those would be knockdown or refusals as well as time violations. Note that there is no fault given to the horse if the knockdown did not result in making the jump shorter. That means it is alright for the horse to knock down a bar that is in the middle or the bottom.If a horse refuses to do a jump he can receive four faults for that jump. If the refusal by the horse happens to actually interfere with the event itself, is when they will receive a penalty for the refusal.The horse can receive faults dealing with time. For ever second the horse goes over the average time allowed to complete the course, the horse will receive one fault per second the horse is over in time.Another fault is called the combination fault. This is when the course happens to have repeat areas during the course and the horse has to go through a particular area more than once. Should this area be an area that the horse refuses to do each time they get to that point, they will be given four faults for each refusal. So if the horse decides to refuse that area two times in a row, he would receive 8 faults.The type of tack or saddle and accessories that a horse wears is important to the horse and rider. The saddle is an English saddle that allows the rider to have close contact with the horse. This kind of saddle gives both the horse and rider a lot more freedom when it comes to their show jumps. The saddle pads are generally white, they can attach the bridle to any kind of noseband and can be equipped with a bit or not. A lot do not use bits. If used, they must get approval of the official vet before they can use the bit on the horse.There are several different types of events that show jumps can be found in. One would be the Grand Prix. Here the horses are expected to complete ten to sixteen obstacles with the heights going as high as six and a half feet. This particular event is included in the Olympics.Others you might find would be the Speed Derby, Puissance a course where horses must clear seven foot jumps, the Six Bar which is six different jumps going from shortest to highest, Gamblers Choice would be one that the rider picks out and not the judges, Maiden or Novice for inexperienced horses and many more.There are different styles of show jumps that the horse may have to jump over. The first would be the Vertical which is several poles that are placed one on top of another and no width for the horse to jump. There is the Oxer and that is when they take two of the verticals, put them together so that there is more width for the horse to jump over. The Triple Bar is a fence like structure that uses three different bars that are set at three different heights. The Wall is a jump made to look like a brick wall. A combination is where the horse does the same jump two or three times during the course. Plus many more different types of jumps.The two main breeds that frequent these types of competitions are the Warmbloods and of course the Thoroughbred. The competitions however; are not limited to just those two breeds, many horses that have not come from this stock have competed successfully.
