Do you think horse riding is a sport?

[Emmafitz7]

I am a equestrian and I jump and do flat work, here is a couple of pictures of me with Clancy! Also if you don’t think it is a sport or at least challenging at all please tell me why you think that 🐴

[CuriousJC]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/i9bYnBb42oY

To be honest horseback riding as a sport is going to be a BIG NO for me. I feel like people riding horses is kind of cruelty to animals. Especially those competing horses when they can compete and they eventually got to put them down because they're wasting money on a horse that can race entirely. Don't believe me then watch the video and then you'll see what I mean. You'll see what happens when a horse reacts when somebody try to shoot it down because there is no condition for them.

[Emmafitz7]

I don’t support horse racing , I find rodeo and horse racing cruel but how is everything else cruel

[CuriousJC]

Okay let's say someone in your family trains you to become one of them and help them finish the Legacy that they want you to continue while they are gone. If you somehow messed up the hardship and work that someone did while its pass it on to you and you fail it causing everything that person in your family work so hard to get or achieve. Then that ultimatum Falls Onto You causing you to be vanish entirely. In other words, someone in your family won't even acknowledge you as part of the family since you were born. Let's say you messed up something that your mother helped you trained to do and you failed then your mother will not acknowledge you as her daughter and the same goes for your father and it goes the same way with your brother or sister or uncle or grandmother or grandfather and the list goes on and on. That's how everything else is cruel. It goes the same way with horseback riding, someone trained you to know how to horseback ride but you feel it in your gut that you don't want to ride the horse because you feel like it's cruelty to animals but the person who trained he doesn't care and just wants to achieve his or her goal against your will causing you to just disband it entirely also causing the horse to get put down. I don't know if I'm making sense here but you get what I mean.

[ohshee]

I love horses I love anything that horses and I can do together horses are badass they are peaceful they are relaxing they are fun and they will do whatever you want to do if they like you. Horses are badass I used to race dirt bikes my ex-wife was a rodeo girl she had a horse that I had to have a horse and I absolutely loved it but I didn't like his when I walked away I left the horse with her but I also left the house with her with the property it was everything else she ended up selling the house and she ended up selling the horses I wanted to buy the house and the horse but that wasn't going to happen again

[Apulu_3]

It is sport because yes you need to be fit and sporty to control a horse. I have tried it once at my school but I ended up falling 5 times from the horse in the time period of 30 mins lol. Horse is really a powerful animal and controlling it is no joke. You gotta have respect for them.

[CasstheLass]

I think it’s a sport for sure! It takes a lot of skill and practice to be good at and it can be a lot of work too. I remember horseback riding when I was younger with a horse named Angel which was a lot of fun but really tiring too haha. I think Clancy looks really pretty too ☺️❤️

[BCA6010]

I wouldn't consider it a sport on its own, although competitive events performed on horseback would be.

It has its own challenges, of course. Some random person off the street isn't going to just hop in the saddle and be a master in minutes. Taking care of horses isn't the easiest thing in the world either, and definitely requires people to enjoy it.

Speaking from my very limited experience.

[Fireguy17]

yes, it is.
It isn't all that easy to do, it takes lots of time energy and practice.
In the spring summer & fall I work as an EMT at a local horse park, the do dressage.
Not as exciting as barrel racing, and i am not rally into horses, but I can appreciate what they are doing.
So it isn't a game played with a ball, it still requires a lot of time to get good at it.

[dustybiker]

I grew up riding hunter/jumper/dressage and endurance races. Yes, definitely sporty.
Clancy is a beauty!

[Emmafitz7]

He really is and he is such a great horse

[horsegirl111]

Oh my god yes ofc it is! I'm a serious show jumper (competed all this summer and ended up first!) and people often don't understand the sheer amount of work, strength, endurance, and just plain fitness that goes into it. I'm training in the gym or running almost any day to stay strong to be able to do it. It is 100% a sport and the best sport in fact haha

[SloppyBrown]

Yes because it takes a lot of training and skill to be good at it. Not only that but your body KILLS after a long day of riding

[Emmafitz7]

Very very true , my body is never not sore because of it

[Beautyforeverybody]

for the horse, it sure is. Lol all jokes aside, yes it is. I was an equestrian too and people don’t seem to notice the calories you burn while riding a horse. You don’t just sit on it. You have to bounce up and down. I remember sweating in winter only 15 mins after I started riding a horse.

[Alexandrubaschet08]

I agree is a sport because it respect the 3 basic conditions to be one:
1. Need motricity - the rider and the horse put efort in riding, human to hold the equilibre and force theyr legs to sty stong on the horse and olso to control it
2. Need to have competitions - ther are riding horse competitions
3. Have federations - ther are horse riding federations, even in mi country whitch i never know by the age of 20.

[Alexandrubaschet08]

Thous are in my opinion the moust chalaging horse riding competitions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt7Gs2EIR-E&t=45s

[Emmafitz7]

I agree with everything apart from the need for competitions

[Alexandrubaschet08]

is a international rule for any activity to be accepted as sport, if ther is no competition and a way to paint and decid who is bether then that activity will be by some people denied as sport.
Same as chess >1 competition, 2 federations but not 3 motricity

[Emmafitz7]

It doesn’t have to be in a competition to be a sport, yeah a lot of sports are competitive but some aren't and can still be considered as a sport

[Alexandrubaschet08]

if they don't respect thous 3 laws they can't.
I finish a sport university and we all had agree on this one because first of all you/we/they need to understand and know what is "sport" in the first time.

[Anonymous]

I think yes and no... If you are doing something that is competing, like racing or jumping, or trying to stay on for 8 seconds, yes, that would be a sport. If there is no competitive element that is physically taxing, like a nice long leisurely ride through the country side, then no, it's just a really nice day. Nothing wrong with a nice day either.

[LOSTCROW]

Yes, totally yes. I'm also an Equestrian and I know how tough it is. I've fallen twice and almost fell many times. We work hard and keep persevering even if we fall. Honestly, if you did nothing, the horse most likely would just stand there. I had to push the horse I was riding earlier to canter since he wouldn't do it. Actually, earlier today, someone was riding the new Welsh Pony, who tried bucking and rearing her off. Plus, it's in the Olympics!

[Aerissa_Jade]

Yes it is a sport and it is not fun to fall off and land on a sprinkler in a field either.

It also takes incredible talent to maintain control, now try to rope something while riding.

[katiesmuff]

Those that ride a horse just to ride is not a sport, but more like a hobby. Those like you who compete in equestrianism events it is truly a real sport and a very difficult one at that.

[TheBMG]

Absolutely it’s a sport. Granted I see how people can look at the fact that the horse is doing most of the work, but I don’t think people realize how hard it is to hold yourself up in basically a semi squatted position in the saddle. All the while trying to make it look effortless. Plus I think the rider’s ability to read and train their horses is amazing. It’s a sport in my book.

[ChrisMaster69]

Well it’s in the olympics and there is horse racing, point to point, etc etc.

Look at dressage, show jumping

[exitseven]

It is a sport. The horse does most of the work but it takes physical strength to ride a horse and it takes a lot of practice to learn to jump and control the horse.

[unusuak]

It absolutely is... Your not hitting a ball, shooting a goal, or need over priced shoes to win the game. You only have to control the most equally majestiic & beautiful but dumb fuckin animals in all the kingdom.

[NYCQuestions1976]

Yes, because it takes many years of practice and training to compete professionally. Although I usually hear equestrian events referred to as "meets" or "competitions".

[Prettygurl12]

Yes, it is. I used to barrel race back in the day. Never could get into the English discipline though. I'd like to learn to jump one day, but that requires me to a) go English and b) learn something new when I'm almost 30 😂😂😂

[SnakeBoop]

Fuck yes. More skill than kicking a ball around, thats for sure! XD
Like honey, my "equipment" and sport can fuck off in any direction if it felt so inclined. Ultimate teamwork between myself and an animal.

[chriscdi]

I think so, it's not easy I assume, having the chances of getting tossed on your face or kicked in the kidney by a horse... it should be considered a sport

[DaveJord]

Yes, you have to have skill, talent and some level of fitness to be good and completive at it.