Choosing a Riding Style or Equestrian Discipline - Pt 1

There are many riding disciplines to choose from, including the well known arts of Dressage, Show Jumping, Cross-Country, Eventing, Rodeo and Barrel Racing to the less well known Hacking, Trail Riding, Hunter and Western Riding. Many riders often try a variety of them, others excel at one or two. It also comes down to availability of teaching and training facilities level or capability of both you and your horse. Read on to learn about the different styles and disciplines and how to choose the best one for you.

Make sure you have access to a horse, pony, or mule. This way you can decide what your horses attributes are and what it's downfalls are. If you ride school horses or loan a horse, it is probably already trained for a particular style or discipline, and many riding schools only teach certain disciplines such as Dressage, Show Jumping and Western. In other cases riding schools have many horses that can be ridden in different styles, such as Show Jumping and Western etc.

Select an event or style of riding that you like, or you think you might like. It doesn't hurt to experiment with a discipline. This is what helps you decide if you're going to be the next Olympic Show Jumper or you simply prefer a laid back Trail Ride. There are a lot of styles and below are the general disciplines and styles with brief explanations about each. For information about any of the following or other disciplines or events, you should seek advice from a local riding school in your area as riding disciplines vary from area to area.

Dressage is a French term meaning Training, this discipline is the basis for many if not all of the other styles and disciplines. Simply doing a 20 meter (65.6 ft) circle in your back yard is dressage, you are performing a set task within the 20 meters (65.6 ft). Dressage can be done for fun at many riding schools, and as you improve the tests increase in difficulty as do the required moves. Dressage starts at Introductory then moves to Training Level, First Level, Second Level, Third Level, Fourth Level and then on to FEI. The tests begin with walk, trot, halt and simple shapes (like 20m circles), and on the 1st-4th levels you will add in extensions, medium gates, flying changes, lateral work, and the beginning of pirouettes. All horses are capable of the lower levels, as they just require basic walk, trot, canter and larger circles.

This discipline is exactly what is says, you ride a set course of show jumps at a particular height, gradually progressing higher as you get better and more advanced. The course usually consists of changes of direction, and can have as many or as few jumps as can fit in the space available. The rounds are timed, with the best time winning. You get time faults for rails knocked down. The jumps vary in difficulty, from small cross poles to oxars and spreads through to Jokers and Parallel Fences. Different countries call the jumps different names but all the fences are the same. This discipline is not for the faint hearted and is a lot of fun.

Cross-Country riding

Have you ever dreamed of galloping over a huge field jumping effortlessly over logs and cantering though streams and down ditches. Well, don't dream anymore! This event is very similar to Show jumping, though it is a little less restricted to a small area. The jumps are wider spaced and made to not fall down. Cross-Country jumps are set further apart and this means a better memory of the order. The jumps are numbered and as the course progresses the fences change from easier logs to water jumps, and ditches. Many times you can finish a course and want to do it all over again, though while riding your heart is in your throat and many times you don't realize that you're not breathing. This is an exhilarating discipline and your horse must be very fit.