The horseback riding has always been a sport of kings for the incredible relation that prompts between a living being of the animal kingdom and the human being. For those who have the luck to be able to ride in any discipline and to feel the direct contact with a horse will agree that the equestrian sport definitively cooks apart.
¿Is it art? Many horse lovers name it when for example we can see what Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza does on a horse before a brave bull, or a training stage of Berna Pujols (our maximum exponent worldwide level of Training), then we could say that riding a horse is an art. On the other hand we have the cross country rides the complete proof or a Jump track with obstacles at 1.60 meters of height, then it turns into pure adrenalin, physical wear out, power, very strong adjectives and even more when it’s about the combination of the binomial human being and horse.
The jump with obstacles discipline, sport which have given us great satisfactions at an Olympic level, Pan-American, Center American and World championship, since the General Humberto Mariles, golden medalist in London 1948, Mexico have had an old tradition in this sport, although lately because of the great peak and economic development in Europe, we have lingered behind a little, but with the youngsters that are coming strong I think that in a short term we may recover our place worldwide.
The horseback riding, mistakenly cataloged as elitist, is a sport that when you practice it as a hobby or in the week-ends is accessible in many riding clubs within the city, nevertheless, when it turns into a competition sport the requirements increase, where the first and most difficult is the discipline that it requires, unlike other sports or hobbies, this one is practiced with a living being (horse), which needs daily exercise, athlete’s diet and princess cares.
That is there is no need to use a racquet or a bicycle that after using them you put them away and you take them out the next time you play, here you have to have special attention in each detail on what’s happening to the horse, they have to work-out daily, if we just imagine what would be like to be inside a stable of (3x3 m) 24 hours we would understand what they feel. There is also the talent part which it is born with but you have to work on it, because if you don’t it runs out or it get lost and the only way to improve, learn and get to know better the horse is to train every day, which makes that this sport requires a lot of sacrifice.
But also the rewards are huge, for example the satisfaction of jumping a tour with no faults in a competition, it does not matter the height, is something indescribable, like reaching a goal, and this is a feeling aroused for the fact that you control a 500 kg animal. Which is noble but at the same time it has it character, docile but with a strength that if they wished to, would be untamable, all of this makes that the horseback riding sport be a passion.
The training hours that you need to have and the time sacrifices, when you are in a contest that resumes to 2 minutes that a route of 13 obstacles takes approximately.
The faults are committed knocking down the bars, refusing the obstacles or for time and when you fall in some there may be frustration, but the horseback riding teaches you that after you fall, you must stand up and start again, it is a sport that for its characteristics, has revenge, with yourself but revenge, we never know how the horse mood is today, its health, etcetera, but the better you get to know it the more you understand it and you may get to know what is going on in the horse’s head.
Well, what it is about is that you get motivated to try this beautiful sport, to feel that relationship that is created with the horse, I can assure you that once you experience it, you’ll never forget it and you get used to it, when you have an opportunity to ride, in any of its disciplines, do it, better if its jump, I recommend and assure you that it will be a unique experience.
Text: Enrique Gonzáles (la pájara) ± Photo: Flickr.com