Show Jumping Discipline

The eventing discipline of Equestrian sports, is a very vigorous and a complex, step by step process. The very best trainers understand there are many different ways to buy, train, and care for the event horse. Eventing is the biggest and most common discipline in Australia. Many of the Thoroughbreds that do not make it to the track are flipped and trained into eager event horses. Eventing includes three phases; dressage, cross-country and show jumping. Horse and rider need to be proficient in all three disciplines.

Dressage represents the understanding between horse and rider, the aim of the dressage test is to execute a series of movements, perfectly. Show jumping tests horses and riders with up-right spreads in combinations of fences,
The most common horse breed in this discipline is a 16.1 to 17 hh bay Thoroughbred in all levels. However, increasingly over the years the Irish Sport horse is overtaking the Thoroughbred representation of events. Horses proven to to excel and be competing at the levels one star or higher, are primarily Thoroughbreds, Irish Sport Horses and warmbloods with enough of the hot-blooded Thoroughbred mixed in. “The Thoroughbred is ideal for eventing as they are tough, naturally fit and gallop easily, but they can also tend to be hot at the upper levels once super fit so the dressage is harder. Not impossible, just tricky. The Thoroughbred cross also work well, but there needs to be enough thoroughbred in there.” Megan Jones 2014 interview on the best suited horses in person. A personal experiment was conducted on a horse to assess the conformation for eventing. The horse had been successfully competing in intermediate VAAT classes for the first 6 months of 2017, winning 3 trials and placing 1st and 2nd, respectively, in his division. Armani’s Fortune, or Armani as known in the stable, is a 2011 17.2hh Irish Sport Horse cross Oldenburg. A modern eventer should have long sloping shoulders, straight legs, pasterns that are not too upright, a relative size neck, not too long or too short, and a shorter back. The perfect hind end of a sport horse will form an equilateral triangle. In an ideal sport horse, the poll between the horses ears, to the nose is the same length as many other features of the horse. Armani has a great shoulder that is almost exactly the ideal 45°. His body splits into three perfect boxes, indicating it is ideally proportional. When first bought, Armani’s loin was weak but was easily built up with continuous work. Armani fits almost exactly into the ideal eventing sport horse conformation. Armani being an Irish Sport Horse, Oldenburg cross, many have said he is the ultimate eventing horse and jumping