I was inspired to write this article as a response to an article on deadspin.com, a sports blog website that seems to report not only on sports related news, but rumors and personal opinions. The article that I am speaking of greatly questioned and insulted the integrity of the sport that has not only been my passion, but my life. I put so much time and effort into strengthening my skills in the equestrian field that when I read articles such as this one, I cannot help but feel saddened and insulted as well. The article I am responding to can be found at http://deadspin.com/the-olympics-are-for-humans-no... for you to better understand what I am referring to in my article.

Being an equestrian living in the United States, I realized long ago that it is not a popular nor a very respected sport in this country. If it were more popular, than people would be more educated on all of the details and skills of the sport. The key word of that last sentence there is “sport.” Whether some people would like to accept it or not, horseback riding is indeed a sport, and horse and rider are both athletes, making them a team. If people choose to think otherwise, that is acceptable since everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Yet, it is simply an opinion since the solid fact is that riding is a sport, or else it probably would not be in the olympics.

In the article mentioned above written by a Mr. Patrick Redford, he uses crude language and makes uneducated comments about the sport of riding. Had he simply taken the time to learn more about the sport by doing research or asking an equestrian, he may have had a different opinion when he began to write that article. This applies to anyone that doubts the sport. However, I, unlike Mr. Redford, understand that when writing a piece on a controversial subject, both sides or opinions of the matter should be touched on. That is why I can understand why some people believe that the horse’s do all the work and the riders just sit there.

Due to the fact that many people I know do not ride horses, I have gotten used to the remarks that people will make. But, that has also made me competent in trying to explain to non-riders all the skill that goes into riding. Yes the horse works as well and it also depends on their talent and athletic abilities to be successful in competition. But let me pose this question, in what other sport does your equipment have a mind of it’s own? Or, in what other sport can you not physically communicate with your teammate? Not to say that a horse is a piece of equipment but unfortunately that is what some people see them as. Simply put, a rider has to learn how to control a horse, give cues correctly so that the horse will understand what is being asked of him/her, guide the horse every stride to a jump, build the muscles necessary for controlling the horse, and communicate with a teammate solely through body language. So if you watch a rider and it looks as if they are doing nothing, well then the rider is doing their job. The goal of riding is to be able to master all of the skills of riding while making it appear effortless. That way, the horse and rider appear as a true team.

While this article probably will not change the minds of many, I hope it could at least educate and enlighten some on the sport. Equestrian events have been apart of the olympic games for a long time now and I do not believe they are going anywhere. Saying that the little amount of air time that riding receives is an “interruption” would be similar to me saying that football interrupts my Sundays for no reason other than the fact that I, personally, do not enjoy watching the sport. Therefore, I believe that each sport should be respected for being what it is and not judged until fully educated.