It's a bunch of different things

When non-equestrians think of horseback riding, they tend to jump to horse racing which is the most familiar thing to them. They think of the Kentucky Derby, with little jockeys clinging to the backs of galloping horses. WHile racing is a big deal in the equestrian world, it's only a small category that makes up the bigger generalization. Horseback riding is a ton of different sports within a sport. Here's a few examples of the different types of riding:




The top is Racing, the middle is Show Jumping, which is what I personally participate in, and the bottom is Polo. Though these are just a few examples,and the list goes on and on. Theres: Equitation, Western, Cross Country, Fox Hunting, Hunters, Gymnastics, and many many more. Every single type of riding requires it's own need for athleticism and skill.

Olympic Riders

I found an e-book on the Berry Library site called "A Who's Who of Sports Champions: Their Stories and Records". It has the short biography of different sports champions including a couple riders that participated in the Equestrian part of the Olympics. One of the riders is Bill Steinkraus who rode for six U.S. Olympic Teams and was the captain of 5 of them. He also was the first American to win the gold in indicidual jumping. I find it a great success that Steinkraus is mentioned in this book and that Equestrian Athletes are starting to be recognized as some of the champions of our time.

It's All About Communication or "Plays"

During sports, the teammates have to communicate back and forth to make sure everything runs smoothly. This is done through yelling to each other or relaying plays from the coach. During horseback riding we have our own "plays" or ways of communication with our teammate. A slight complication would be if the team spoke different languages. Or if the team couldn't speak at all. This is how it works in horseback riding. We have different ways to communicate with each teammate.

With horses, every single one has a different way of communication from the rider. Whether it's preference or simply the way they were trained. For example I use the differences between my two horses. With my horse John John, to ask him to move forward you squeeze with your calves, sit back, and pull slightly back on the reins. With my other horse Sassie, you squeeze with your calves, lean forward, and loosen the reins. So every time you get a new teammate, your "plays" or forms of communication will change.

This typically doesn't happen with other sports. Every team will come up with it's own set of plays but they don't normally change with every practice or game. That's why horseback riding is a little different.