Jumping

JUMPING

SHOW JUMPING

A horse's ability to jump has been highly prized for more than 200 years. In the nineteenth century in particular, when hunting was the only equestrian sport of any note, a horse that could not, or would not jump — and jump big, courageously and safely — was employed only as a light hack or a carriage horse. Hunting across patchwork of fields meant meeting obstacles of all kinds, and if one had the misfortune to be mounted on a non-jumper, however sound he was in wind and limb, one had little option but to resign oneself to the misfortune, and go home.

Inevitably, to settle an argument or a bet, horses came to be matched against each other and high-jump contests were arranged. Usually the fences were fixed and solid, of the kind most likely to be met with the hunting field or in the cross-country events of today. Gradually, the more enterprising organiser of these contests found that they were easier to stage if the jumps were portable, so that competitions could be held in different parts of the country, using a large field for the purpose. The organisers also discovered that the matches attracted spectators and making an admission charge the object of the contest was to see which of the competing horses could jump the highest, it had to be possible to raise the jump in the event of a tie. Removable poles could also be knocked off, and therefore penalty points for careless jumpers were introduced. Show jumping had arrived.

At about this time — in the first decade of the twentieth century — most jumping competitions were largely the prerogative of the cavalry (indeed, the forerunner of the present three-day event was known as ‘The Military’ when it was first staged in the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm). But a growing number of civilian riders also throughly enjoyed show jumping.

Show Jumping events are open to horses of any breed, size, or gender. The height and spread of fences are smaller for horses just starting out in Show jumping events. Courses are also accordingly less demanding. The object of jumping is to clear obstacles cleanly; style and grace over fences are irrelevant. Scoring is done in terms of penalty points called faults. In classes where touches (coming into contact with the obstacle without dislodging it) are penalized, one-half fault is incurred when the horse's body behind the stifle touches a fence, and one fault if in front of the stifle.

Touches don't count under FEI rules (the Federation Equestre Internationale is the worldwide ruling body of equestrian sports). Knockdowns (dislodging any element of an obstacle) and refusals do. Each knockdown counts as four faults. A refusal, stopping in front of a fence, is three faults. Three cumulative refusals requires elimination, as do starting a course before the judge's signal, failing to begin within one minute after a warning signal, and jumping obstacles in the wrong order. Some events include liability for time penalties. One-quarter fault is assessed for each second or portion thereof in excess of the stated time limit. A round is concluded after all entrants have performed. In the event of an equality of faults by two or more entrants, another round called a "jump-off" may be called for. One that results in yet another equality of faults may require a second jump-off. In that case, if two or more entrants are still tied in jumping faults, the fastest time around the course will determine the winner. Fences are raised and widened and the course shortened for each jump-off to make the round more demanding.