Types of English Horseback Riding

English riding is one of the most commonly used horseback riding techniques in the world. The commonality of English riding is partly due to Great Britain's worldwide influence throughout much of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. All English-style horseback riders use a flat English saddle, which gives horses more maneuverability. Also, English riding requires riders to have both hands on the horse's reins and wear standard equestrian helmets.

  1. Team Sports

    • Polo is one of the most widely recognized team sports using English riding saddles. This game involves teams of four horseback riders attempting to hit a wooden ball into the other team's goal using a mallet. A traditional polo field is 300 yards long. Polo originated in China and Persia nearly 2,000 years ago. The British adopted the sport in the 19th century when they colonized India; the world's oldest operating polo club, the Calcutta Club, has been in operation since 1862. Another team sport employing English riding saddles is horseball, which is recognized by the International Equestrian Federation. Horseball features two teams of four trying to throw a ball into the opposing team's net; this sport is also called "rugby on horseback."

    Olympics

    • Three styles of English horseback riding are sporting events in the Summer Olympics competition: show jumping, dressage and eventing. Show jumping is a horseback riding competition where horses must jump over obstacles without knocking them over. Horses and their riders must complete the obstacle course within an allotted time period. Penalty points, or "faults," are given to horses who knock over obstacles or exceed the time limit. Dressage is the horseback riding equivalent to a dog show, where horses must display the willingness to obey their rider's commands. Eventing is a horseback riding "triathlon" that occurs over a three-day period. The three eventing activities include dressage, show jumping and cross-country jumping.

    Horse Racing

    • In Great Britain, two types of professional horse racing employ English-style horseback riding: flat racing and National Hunt racing. Flat racing is where horses and their riders, known as "jockeys," race each other without any obstacles to jump over. These races typically use longer racetracks than National Hunt racing, which requires horses to jump over obstacles. One of Great Britain's largest horse racing events, the Aintree Grand National (aintree.co.uk), is a National Hunt race. Amateur jockeys participate in point-to-point races, a preliminary stage for young jockeys pursuing a career in National Hunt racing. However, horses in point-to-point races are usually older than National Hunt race horses and approaching the end of their racing career.

    Tent Pegging

    • Tent pegging is one of the oldest known forms of horseback riding sports recognized by the International Equestrian Federation. This sport originated from India approximately 2,500 years ago, according to the International Equestrian Federation. Great Britain learned tent pegging in the 19th century during their occupation of India. Since that time, Great Britain incorporated English-style riding to tent pegging. The objective of this game is for horseback riders to use a lance to pick up one or multiple small ground targets.