Harriet
Alright, so I had some guy friends over to chill and stuff & I asked them if they'd like to watch me work on breaking my horse. They're like, you mean ride it? Jeez, I can't believe you think that's a sport! I got pretty pissed, because they have no clue what they were talking about. So I went up to the guy who said that (who was a wrestler) and this is how it went, lol:
Me: "Right, so you're a wrestler, right? You control and make 100something pound people do what you want to win right?"
Him: "Yeah man, brute stength."
Me: "Multiply that weight by 10 and you've got a horse, who we control with just our ARMS and LEGS!"
Haha, yeah, I blew up a little. But honestly, I don't see where people can find a fault in riding as a sport. Dictionary.com describes is as a skill based on strength - riding definitely is a skill, and it absolutely takes strength. In most sports, if you lose, you lose. But in horseback riding, if you lose (to your horse) you could be seriously injured by being trampled, bucked, kicked, or rolled ontop of. Seriously! All these football players and wrestlers and "contact" sports players have no clue what it's like to be a horseback rider.
Sorry. Just needed to vent.
Legit: Who thinks horseback riding IS a sport?
Haley T - I agree. Boys will be boys, I guess. :\
Answer
Yes, riding is a sport- in fact ALL the horse sports are sports, and in the case of those in the Olympics, they were ALL INVENTED BY MEN. Without exception, ALL of the Olympic horse sports came from the MILITARY- they are descended from activities which were used to train horses and riders for COMBAT, and since men were the only ones who could fight wars for centuries, it stands to reason that these sports were INVENTED BY THEM. The oldest of the three sports, dressage, also carries the distinction of being one of the oldest horse sports of ANY kind in existence- and there is a considerable amount of debate among historians and scholars as to whether dressage or polo has the honor of being considered to be THE WORLD'S OLDEST horse sport. I think the answer depends to a large extent on who you talk to. Polo people like my sister claim that theirs is the oldest horse sport, and people who do dressage consider that sport to be the oldest. Dressage was originally invented by the great armies of Europe and Asia, not so much as a sport, but rather as a system of training horses and riders for mounted warfare. Although the armies themselves have become mechanized and horses are no longer used, the great schools of classical riding which they helped start still exist today. These include the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, the Cadre Noir ( also called the French Cavalry School) in France, the ReitInstitut von Neindorff in Germany, and several other facilities throughout the rest of Europe, Asia, and in South America. Eventing, the second Olympic horse sport, is also of military origin- in fact, it was orignally called the Militare in honor of its roots. Today's modern 3 day events are the direct descendent of the tests which were given to calvary officers and their mounts, at or near the end of said officers' and mounts' training for war. They were a final exam of sorts, one which was meant to determine once and for all just WHO WAS FIT to lead troops on the battlefield- and those who couldn't or didn't pass the test ( no matter the reason why) DIDN'T go on to do this. This is the reason why today's events are still considered by many to be the ULTIMATE test of a rider's and horse's abilities and courage. Eventing requires horses and riders to be extremely tough, both mentally and physically. The horses have to be good runners and good jumpers, and bold enough to jump any kind of obstacle or fence, even if it looks dangerous. At the same time, they have to be obedient enough to be easy to control and to ride. Riders who event have to know their horses thoroughly, and be able to communicate with their horses to solve problems and answer techinical questions. Riders also have to have courage, strength, and a desire to win- and they ALSO need to be unafraid to stare DEATH right in the face and overcome it- eventing is one of the few sports in the Olympics in which the possibility of a FATAL accident involving horse, rider, or both is EVER PRESENT. It's NOT for the weak stomached or the faint of heart. I don't know many wrestlers who have that kind of courage, no matter how macho some of them think they are. Show jumping, the third sport, is a direct descendent of the jumping contests which the officers and men of various army regiments would get into when they weren't fighting. EVERY regiment or division had its own champions, and there were fierce, hotly contested rivalries among them. Tournaments were held fairly frequently, and these became the forerunners of today's modern show jumping classes and competitions. Show jumping is all about speed, style, and precision. It's also about having a horse which is bold enough and brave enough to jump heights of five feet or better, and still come back for more. Riders need strength, balance, coordination, and courage to be able to do this well.
I don't know many football, basketball, or baseball players who can ride- most of them are too scared of getting hurt. There's also the perception that horse sports are "gay" sports, something which has REALLY, REALLY HURT the equestrian world as a whole, and has thrown the gender balance in all of the Olympic horse sports way off. Today, women out number men almost 10 to 1 in most of the Olympic horse sports- and women have only been competing in the horse sports since the 1950's. The few men who do compete in such sports have to put up with a LOT of undeserved criticism about their masculinity and sexual orientation- and this is even true of the men who are MARRIED and have families !!! It's sad, it really is.
Yes, riding is a sport- in fact ALL the horse sports are sports, and in the case of those in the Olympics, they were ALL INVENTED BY MEN. Without exception, ALL of the Olympic horse sports came from the MILITARY- they are descended from activities which were used to train horses and riders for COMBAT, and since men were the only ones who could fight wars for centuries, it stands to reason that these sports were INVENTED BY THEM. The oldest of the three sports, dressage, also carries the distinction of being one of the oldest horse sports of ANY kind in existence- and there is a considerable amount of debate among historians and scholars as to whether dressage or polo has the honor of being considered to be THE WORLD'S OLDEST horse sport. I think the answer depends to a large extent on who you talk to. Polo people like my sister claim that theirs is the oldest horse sport, and people who do dressage consider that sport to be the oldest. Dressage was originally invented by the great armies of Europe and Asia, not so much as a sport, but rather as a system of training horses and riders for mounted warfare. Although the armies themselves have become mechanized and horses are no longer used, the great schools of classical riding which they helped start still exist today. These include the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, the Cadre Noir ( also called the French Cavalry School) in France, the ReitInstitut von Neindorff in Germany, and several other facilities throughout the rest of Europe, Asia, and in South America. Eventing, the second Olympic horse sport, is also of military origin- in fact, it was orignally called the Militare in honor of its roots. Today's modern 3 day events are the direct descendent of the tests which were given to calvary officers and their mounts, at or near the end of said officers' and mounts' training for war. They were a final exam of sorts, one which was meant to determine once and for all just WHO WAS FIT to lead troops on the battlefield- and those who couldn't or didn't pass the test ( no matter the reason why) DIDN'T go on to do this. This is the reason why today's events are still considered by many to be the ULTIMATE test of a rider's and horse's abilities and courage. Eventing requires horses and riders to be extremely tough, both mentally and physically. The horses have to be good runners and good jumpers, and bold enough to jump any kind of obstacle or fence, even if it looks dangerous. At the same time, they have to be obedient enough to be easy to control and to ride. Riders who event have to know their horses thoroughly, and be able to communicate with their horses to solve problems and answer techinical questions. Riders also have to have courage, strength, and a desire to win- and they ALSO need to be unafraid to stare DEATH right in the face and overcome it- eventing is one of the few sports in the Olympics in which the possibility of a FATAL accident involving horse, rider, or both is EVER PRESENT. It's NOT for the weak stomached or the faint of heart. I don't know many wrestlers who have that kind of courage, no matter how macho some of them think they are. Show jumping, the third sport, is a direct descendent of the jumping contests which the officers and men of various army regiments would get into when they weren't fighting. EVERY regiment or division had its own champions, and there were fierce, hotly contested rivalries among them. Tournaments were held fairly frequently, and these became the forerunners of today's modern show jumping classes and competitions. Show jumping is all about speed, style, and precision. It's also about having a horse which is bold enough and brave enough to jump heights of five feet or better, and still come back for more. Riders need strength, balance, coordination, and courage to be able to do this well.
I don't know many football, basketball, or baseball players who can ride- most of them are too scared of getting hurt. There's also the perception that horse sports are "gay" sports, something which has REALLY, REALLY HURT the equestrian world as a whole, and has thrown the gender balance in all of the Olympic horse sports way off. Today, women out number men almost 10 to 1 in most of the Olympic horse sports- and women have only been competing in the horse sports since the 1950's. The few men who do compete in such sports have to put up with a LOT of undeserved criticism about their masculinity and sexual orientation- and this is even true of the men who are MARRIED and have families !!! It's sad, it really is.
Why do women get head starts in athletics and sports?
Roger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMRVg_I7YCk
I know men are stronger but it not realistic to include men and women in sports then we should be segregated.
No Tracey it does say it if you go in a few minutes it talks about women getting the head start in the new york marathon race. A 30 minute head start.
And in the PGA head starts too. You are using a selective attention span. This is not a girls are icky rant, this is a wtf are feminists such incessant hypocrites for rant.
Answer
Women get heads starts so that the overall event doesn't take up more time than necessary.
And in those examples (marathons and golf), men and women aren't competing against one another. Men are competing against men, and women are competing against women.
Marathons are scheduled so that the slowest competitors will start first. They do this with different age groups as well, so that the roads will be closed for the least amount of time during the day. They are clocked the same start-to-finish, so it's not like women (or older runners) have 30 minutes subtracted from their total time.
And likewise in golf, I would imagine (since women can't hit the ball as far as men) it would take more strokes for a female golfer to get from the tee to the pin. So the tournament would take longer if both genders had to hit the same distance.
Women get heads starts so that the overall event doesn't take up more time than necessary.
And in those examples (marathons and golf), men and women aren't competing against one another. Men are competing against men, and women are competing against women.
Marathons are scheduled so that the slowest competitors will start first. They do this with different age groups as well, so that the roads will be closed for the least amount of time during the day. They are clocked the same start-to-finish, so it's not like women (or older runners) have 30 minutes subtracted from their total time.
And likewise in golf, I would imagine (since women can't hit the ball as far as men) it would take more strokes for a female golfer to get from the tee to the pin. So the tournament would take longer if both genders had to hit the same distance.
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