The Difference Between Hunters & Jumpers

Hunters and jumpers are obviously judged differently, but what is the judge actually looking for?  In a Hunter class, the judge looks for a certain conformation and efficient elegance in movement that creates an overall picture.  A hunter rider must be concerned with every detail, taking an artistic approach to jumping.  Hunter classes were originally created to analyze the qualities needed in a field hunter.  A well mannered, or good minded horse is a must.  A ground covering yet easy to ride gait, and a safe jumping style are important attributes that the judge looks for.

Jumpers on the other hand, are the Porches of the horse world.  The horses must have the same traits as the hunter, but must also be extremely bold and courageous!  In the jumper classes, the fastest cleanest round wins.  Faults such as refusals, runouts, rails down, and going over the optimal time may keep the horse and rider team from winning.  Big purses and the thrills and spills of this sport attract top horses and riders as well as big crowds.   Show Jumping became an Olympic sport in the 1900 Paris Games.  

Equitation classes are judged subjectively.  However, in this class the rider is judged more than the performance of the horse.  This event was invented to create a solid riding foundation, which would allow a rider to move into hunter and then jumper classes. 

Many beginning riders have the misconception that jumper classes do not require as much skill as hunter classes.  However, the opposite is true.  It is important that a rider hone their skills going at a slower pace with great precision before attempting to take large jumps at high speeds.

No matter which class a rider should choose to show in, Hunter Jumper Shows are extremely popular amongst riders from all over the world.  Big shows are held each year in many different parts of the world that attract thousands of riders as well as spectators.  They create an avenue where horses and riders can show off their hard work and the beauty and unity of their riding skills.

The Origins of Jumping

As the horse bunches its muscles and flies over a jump and covers a course with courage and grace, one often wonders where this sport began.  Here is a brief history of the origins of the sport of jumping. 

In many areas of medieval Europe, the upper class citizens could obtain permission to hunt and fish on feudal land.  Not only did the game provide recreation, but also food and furs.  Riders rode briskly across the countryside in pursuit of their quarry, jumping obstacles along the way. 

Ireland was the home of the first steeplechase.  In the 18^th century people made a sport of riding and jumping obstacles across the country from the steeple of one church to the steeple of another.  The first steeplechase is said to have been the result of a wager in 1752 between Mr. Cornelius O'Callaghan and Mr. Edmund Blake.  The course was from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church, a four mile long course in Cork, Ireland. The early steeple chase competitions were most similar to a European cross country course.  The first steeplechase to be run on a track with jumps was celebrated in 1810 in Bedlam, North Yorkshire.  

How did hunting and jumping come to America?  Hunting was part of the culture in the South.  The elite members of southern society attempted to impose rules and create reserves, much like those in Europe, but the slaves and the poorer hunters would not comply.  The hunt then became a “sport” to the wealthy southerners, who loved the thrill of the chase.  This differentiated their focus from the hunting methods of those people who were focused on hunting for the sake of gathering food and pelts.   This is how the sport of competing in hunter and jumper classes established itself in America. 

The History of the Crabbet Arabians

Crabbet Park Stud was first established in 1878 after Lord and Lady Anne Blunt returned to England from the Middle East with some fine Arabian horses with which to start a breeding program.  Lady Anne, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron, was a highly respected horsewoman and had a deep love of horses since early childhood.  Her husband, Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was well versed in Middle Eastern politics.  While on one of their trips to the Middle East, Lady Anne fell in love with the beautiful majestic Arabian horses.  She began a crusade to save the dwindling population of magnificent equines, and her passion fueled her to import and preserve the purest bloodlines as the Bedouins had done for hundreds of years. Traveling far into the Nejd desert, they sought the most prized horses of the Bedouin tribes.  For 93 years, Crabbet Park Stud produced what became the foundation of other great breeding programs throughout the world.  The last of the horses were sold in 1972 when the building of a road that would split the park was planned.  

The Bedouins practiced and were obsessed with tracking the ancestry of their horses to ensure that the horses were of “asil” (pure) blood.  Lady Blunt embraced their philosophies and was obsessed with creating animals whose ancestry was unquestionably pure.

The Blunts purchased a 37 acre park near Cairo Egypt in 1890.  There they founded the SheykhObeyd stud.  The breeding program contained the last remnants of the famous Egyptian breeding program of Ali Pasha Sherif.  Lady Blunt took up permanent residence there in 1906, and lived there until she passed in 1917.

Messaoud, an Ali Pasha Sherif stallion was first imported to England in 1891.  He was the perfect example of an Arabian horse, with outstanding conformation, good bone, a bright red chestnut color and four white stockings.  He was highly influential throughout the world as a breeding stallion.  His name can be found on thousands of pedigrees.  He was later sold to the Russians in 1903, and he passed away during the Russian Revolution.

Lady Anne Blunt mentions in one of her diaries that her daughter’s first riding horse was a mare named Basilisk.  Although the Blunts did not prefer grey horses because the military often purchased them as remounts, and grey horses were considered easy targets, their daughter was fond of them.  Lady Wentworth took over Crabbet Park Stud and bought back many of the horses that her father had sold.  Her desire was to revive some of the bloodlines that had died out.  She had a keen eye and could recognize the potential of young foals from her experience of watching them grow up through the years.

In 1909 a grey Arabian stallion from the Antoniny Stud in Poland caught Lady Wentworth’s fancy.  She quickly assessed his true potential and purchased him for her breeding program quietly and quickly.  His name was Skowronek, and he became one of the most important and influential stallions at Crabbet Park Stud.  He died at the ripe old age of 22.

After Lady Wentworth passed, she left the Crabbet Stud to the son of her stallion manager, Cecil Covey.  He allowed the stallions to stand to the public, which imprinted the Arabian horse as a breed even more.

Crabbet bloodlines are predominant especially in the performance arenas.  They excel at, and dominate the Tevis Cup, and the Quilty Hundred Mile Endurance Ride in Australia as well as many other types of performance classes.  They are known for being conformationally correct, elegant, with strong bone, willing temperaments, and exceedingly athletic.

In technical terms, a Crabbet Arabian is a horse that traces in all lines of its pedigree to Arabians owned or bred by the Crabbet Park Stud, whether under the management of Lady and Lord Blunt, Lady Wentworth, or Cecil Covey.

Crabbet Arabian bloodlines show off their virtues especially well in saddle competition and in endurance riding. The Tevis Cup in the United States and the Quilty Hundred Mile Endurance Ride in Australia are dominated by Crabbet Arabians. They excel at the highest levels of performance competition due to their strong bones, excellent conformation, graceful movement, good temperament and outstanding performance ability, which are the recognized virtues of Crabbet Arabian horses.

How Infrared Light Helps to Heal Your Horse Quickly

Each type of tissue and cell structure in the body has a different ability to absorb wavelengths of light.  Skin, because it is filled with fluids like water and blood, absorbs light very readily, while the dense areas of the body, such as bone, need a different wavelength of light.  Health function is magnified when specific pulsing wavelengths of light are introduced to an area that has undergone an injury.  Even the formation of new capillaries to speed oxygen and nutrients to the damaged site. 

Because metabolism is increased and waste from damaged cells is removed quickly, the light source does not have to be applied for a great length of time.  Oxygen and nutrients are rushed to the site of the damaged tissue and a torrent of biochemical responses occur.  Fibroblastic activity is activated to promote the healing of connective tissue and thus collagen fibers are created.

So if your busy schedule makes taking care of an injury on your equine friend an after hours chore, try Infrared Light Therapy and get the results you need lightning fast.