Photo Credit: elPadawan
With Ascot 2016 well underway, the sport of horse racing is flung into the limelight once more. Royal Ascot gives the general public a glimpse into the seemingly glamorous side of the equestrian world.
Although I am a keen horsewoman, flat racing is practically the only style of riding I haven’t tried my hand at.
To me it’s not just a game; it’s a way of life. Putting your life in the hands of an animal with its own mind requires a level of trust you may not find in other sports. This trust leads you to respect your horse as well as trust and respect for your peers, instructors, friends and your competitors.
The general equestrian community is incredibly tight knit, there are hundreds of riding clubs across Britain and the Pony Club is the largest youth organisation in the country that aims at teaching riding skills of all disciplines, horse care, and the highest ideals of sportsmanship.
Every rider, whatever discipline they decide to take on, racing, show jumping, eventing, dressage or polo, all share the same respect for their horse and one another. This respect is ingrained from a young age. If you want to put it simply, you’re dealing with a potentially dangerous animal so you need to respect others as to avoid putting yourself or them in danger.
It seems that for football, this respect is lacking sometimes and the consequences of one's actions may not be thought through before these actions are taken. Spectators at the polo or races may well be guilty of having one too many glasses of bubbly, but there is very rarely any confrontation. And for those true equestrians who pop to country shows on a Sunday and watch the show jumping competitions, we’re a very amiable bunch.
This isn’t to say that riding lacks competition. Every aspect of riding has a competitive level. I’ve been riding since I was 5 and competing for as long as I can remember. Many of the disciplines require you to compete individually, but there are also team sports such as polo, mounted games, PonyClub and RidingClub team competitions.
When competing on your own, the majority of people have a team of individuals behind them, on lower levels it's your mum or dad sat at the ringside with a tea and bacon butty in one hand and a camera in the other. There is the obvious guilty smile when the competition you see every week gets a pole down in the show jumping ring, but rivalry rarely goes further than this. The spirit at events is, if someone needs help, you help them! I can’t count the number of times I have left a vital bit of kit at home, the lorry next to me has happily lent me their spare, and I would be in the jump off against them later in the day– everyone is equal.
Sports such as polo require a high level of teamwork, players have to define their roles, admit their strengths and weaknesses and predict their opponent's every move. This requires a level of leadership, and reiterates the importance of teamwork and cooperation.
The average attendee to Royal Ascot may not truly understand what it means to be an equestrian. To have the love for the sport, the animal, the need to go faster, jump higher, the intrinsic respect you have for your fellow rider and the animal you give all your trust.
It really is a community, and once you’re in it, it’s bloody hard to let go of the reins!
It is an honest game.
By Honest Game Contributor
Charlotte Spratt