I have to write an essay on horse riding and how it is a sport?

1) It takes skill. Most Olympic riders are in their late 30s at least and have been riding/training at least 5 days a week for 20 years.

2) It takes fitness. After my first hour lesson i was sweating and exhausted. It takes energy to move your seat with the horse, control an animal that weighs 10x more than you, and just keep yourself balanced in the saddle.

3) It IS dangerous. On Thursday i was thrown THROUGH a wooden fence (well not quite through but i did break it) and i have deep cuts/abrasions to prove it. Horses are unpredictable animals which could kill us at any given moment but we still love train and take care of them.

4) It takes dedication. You cant just say oh hey i wanna be an equestrian and suddenly you are. It takes year, you fall you get hurt you get scared and you get back on and do it again. the best riders are those who take whats given to them and work until they and their horses are a perfect team no matter what.

5) It takes blood sweat and tears. Blood: you fall and get hurt. your horse steps on you. you get bit or kicked. Sweat: you work hard you go to the barn and work everyday regardless of if its a blizzard and 10 below or 98 degrees with 90% humidity. You go when your sick, when your injured. You ride everyday, you train, you condition you WORK. Tears: your horse gets injured you lose a major show you have to give up a horse you love you fall and get scared you hurt when you fall someone is in a riding accident.

6) You compete. there is nothing better than flying around the course and claiming the ribbon proving to all what you and your horse can do. You train, you practice, you work, you win. just like any other sport.

Horseback riding is a sport! And anyone who says otherwise is not a rider and doesn't know what they're talking about! Good Luck on your paper post it!

I had to do a similar project but we made videos instead. Working with a 1200lb animal is by no means easy, seriously some people have a hard time taking their dog out for a walk. >.<

There is a huge difference between being a passenger and a rider. A rider is part of a 2 man team that communicates through movement not words. It takes years of hard work and dedication to learn to listen to what your horse is saying and to be a competent rider.

Does taking a 1200lb horse over a 5-ft fence seem easy? Can anybody just hop on and get their horse to move as gracefully as dressage riders do? What about galloping your horse through a round of barrels? Most people that don't consider horseback riding a sport are too terrified to even get on a horse, let alone achieve anything I just mentioned.

Point out that riders DO fall, sometimes we can jump back up and dust off our butts but sometimes the injury is more serious, and riders do die, look up some stats.

And to those who still think the Olympics are mistaken and that horseback riding isn't one of the oldest sports, ask them if they want to go for a trail ride, see how sore they are the next day.

OK so I know this isn't really all that useful but seriously at the end,

'PS: If anyone would like to argue this, please contact amz m on Y!A and she'll give you her horse for a week, free of charge, with free private lessons, and then come let me know what you think afterwards :)'

Or what about a hands on essay and take them all horse riding :) (it's always fun to see how many of them can't sit right for a week afterwards)

Everyone just thinks horses are all automatic, when my horse started mucking up, my mum and alot of my friend's parents were like 'oh I didn't know horses could be naughty, I just thought they just did everything and exactly what they were told, I didn't know that they were all so different and can be naughty in different ways' (I have a 17hh TB that stops and rears and rears and rears... and a 14.2hh welsh that rodeos (not me though), and a 14.3hh arab that bucks and bolts (just hang on for the ride, it's fun), I have a habit for falling for problem horses, mum didn't realise they could all be so different and difficult)

Is it just an eassy? If it was a presentation I could offer some pics and vids and I guarentee you the things my horse is doing I'm not asking him to do :)

It's not a sport. Unless it's equipment, the individual has to be the one training and risking it... In horse riding/racing it's the animal that is. In fact, I don't consider it a sport if there are no ways you can "last ditch" or "take one for the team".... Golf isn't a sport, there's no risk. You can't get injured in golf, there's no running, no dive or commit. Horse riding/racing and golf are activities, not sports.

To compare it, a horse is not like a ball in some other sports. Yes, it takes skill to learn how to throw/kick/handle a ball. And communicate effectively with your teammates. But with horses your "ball" has it's own mind (and horses are extremely smart) and you need to communicate to your "teamate" without words. Not to mention the risk we're taking everytime we ride.

You said you also need a reason why you like/take part in the sport. One thing you can like is how the silent communincation lets you form a strong bond with your horse.

Just some ideas :)

In a sport you compete. In riding we compete too in speed, pleasure, jumping, so on. There is always a winner. We work really hard not just riding but taking care of ourselves and our horse too.

Grr! I know how you feel! my friend said you just sit there and let the horse do all the work. so i told her to get on my horse and she was scared, haha!

Write about famous horse events, the thrills, the spills, & your riding ups & downs! :) x

some people think golf is a sport. and all they do is hit a ball into a hole, pluck it from the hole, hit it again into another hole. pluck it from the hole. hit it again....

Sport:

something that takes practice and skill to get it right

google horse sports and you should get a lot of good info for your paper.

as for people who don't think riding is a sport, well, that's because they simply don't know.

haha i would like to see your class mates stay on a horse when jumping over one of those huge jumps!!!

there are horse raceing and showmanship and english and jumping thoes are alot of sports to do with horse ridding