Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I believe I can fly? I believe you can't equitate...

I'm told this video has been "done to death" on the bulletin boards, but I'd not seen it till a few days ago. This Youtube video has THOUSANDS of comments (maybe I just never paid attention).




I remember getting a show jumping book from the library as a teen -- the plates from the book are actually posted online -- and you'll find a discussion of a style of riding similar to this at plate 31. The theory was that by floating above your horse you didn't interfere with the jumping effort. The author of the book regarding this style with ill-concealed contempt.

Could this gentleman actually be trying to emulate this old style?


10 comments:

  1. Did you read the commentary on plate 31 on that site?

    "In fact, the greater portion of the rider's weight is being taken up by his forearms and hands on the horse's neck. He has abandoned contact with the mouth, his outlook does not allow for consideration of future developments, and he will not regain a position in the saddle from which control can be exercised until well after the landing phase."

    No way would anyone really old school think this guy was doing anything remotely understandable as an equestrian!

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  2. I hope he was drunk that day and otherwise is a competent rider because otherwise... I'm speechless. The Ball Busting /Break Your Pony's Back Jumping style.

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  3. I'm thinking this has to be a joke. The rider is too balanced when not going over jumps (heck, even when he is) and does not grab his horses mouth. Regardless, that is a saint of a horse!

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  4. On the original post I saw this on a week or so ago, it said he is a polo rider and the contest is for a polo rider and a jumper to trade horses and try each other's sport. I don't think he won! Poor horse.

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  5. I saw this on the UDBB. As to floating over the horse's back, what goes up, must come down.

    Apparently, the horse was sold.

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  6. Tammy's comment about him being a polo rider makes a lot of sense. It would explain his horribly unstable lower leg, and the fact that on the flat he looks like he actually does know how to ride a bit.

    Still...the explanation doesn't make this kind of jumping acceptable. It's just not very fair to that horse. What a saint.

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  7. Ah! That makes sense. Thanks for the extra information - I didn't want to sift through all comments on the web trying to find an explanation. Now I'd like to see the jumper on the polo pony!

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  8. I once watched live streaming during the 2008 Olympics for the Pentathalon when I was trying to find something else.

    Showjumping, for whatever reason, is a part of the modern pentathalon. Competitors are introduced to their horses a half-hour before their round; they then go and ride a rather large-sized course.

    All of them looked atrocious, and some were doing the whole "flying" thing too. I watched maybe 8 or 10 riders go, and they were all absolutely frightening to see. This guy has that look exactly. I think the reason he survives is because he is fit enough to be able to "stick" to the horse with knees and athletic enough to vaguely go with the horse, even if he is doing it all wrong. It seems like someone gave him this advice: "When you're going towards the fence, keep your legs forward; and try not to hit the horse in the mouth."

    Just my two cents.

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