Show jumping demands holistic conditioning to prevent injuries, and clinicians must provide effective rehabilitation for injured riders, given the sport’s high injury risk. Christie Wolhuter discusses the demands of show jumping to improve injury prevention and management.
Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands, on his horse Beauville Z, demonstrates the physical demands on the rider when show jumping. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
Horses do all the work, right? This question has irked riders for centuries. The research reveals exciting theories on how higher-level riders can make it look effortless. Put a novice rider on an inexperienced horse over a few large fences, and the differences become apparent. Show jumping is one of three Olympic equestrian sports. It is the most popular equestrian discipline in terms of the highest number of equine and human athletes and competitions registered with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI)(1).
Show jumping places great physical demand on the equine athlete, and at an elite level, horses jump 10–14 obstacles at a canter, which can reach 1.7m high and 2m wide. Penalties accumulate for knocking down a fence, refusing to jump a fence, or exceeding the time allowed for that round. The average speed of a round is 24 kmh−1, but this varies(2). If more than one rider finishes their rounds without penalties, the remaining combinations compete against the clock to determine the winners in what is known as a ‘jump-off’(3).
As jump materials become lighter, the cups in which the poles lay become shallower, and the time allowed to complete the rounds becomes shorter; a rider’s ability to assess fence dimensions during the approach is essential for developing the appropriate linear and angular momentum at take-off so the combination can clear the fence without penalties(2).
The study of rider biomechanics is vital for improving the performance of the horse and rider combination. Understanding how to correctly influence a rider’s physical fitness may reduce the risk of injury to both humans and equine. Horse riding is dangerous, and show jumping is the most dangerous activity. Seven of nine major pelvic injuries caused while riding occurs during show jumping(4). Riders competing at a higher level also show higher injury rates than novice riders(5). Furthermore, professionals are more likely to sustain severe injuries than amateurs(6). This may also be due, in part, to the number of hours spent in the saddle compared to a novice and the difficulty of navigating the sheer height of the fences at an international level.
In a review of the U.S. National Trauma Data Bank, 45.2% of sports-related traumatic brain injuries from 2003 to 2012 in adults were sustained while participating in equestrian sports(7).
The phases of a jump are known as approach, take-off, flight, and landing (see figure 1). The horse approaches the fence as a canter, with the rider either sitting in the saddle or in what is known as a light-seat. Light-seat is where the rider is out of the saddle, balancing their weight on their lower leg through the stirrups. This requires a higher isometric demand from the muscles of the quadriceps and back extensors(8).
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