Some of the hurdles in show jumping - By Anastasia, Russia
September 19, 2007

One of the benefits of teaching is that you get to meet many interesting people, and that is true of Anastasia. I have to admit that I knew very little about show jumping and was surprised to hear that Anastasia was involved in this sport.

Anastasia already has a very good understanding of the English language, but her determination to excel in everything she does brought us into contact. As one of her "assignments" I asked her to write an article on the sport and promised to publish this for her if she completed the task satisfactorily.

The article below is the result of her efforts and I hope you don't mind me sharing this with you:

How to be successful in Show Jumping
By Anastasia

My name is Anastasia and I've been riding horses for 7 years. It's not such a long time for this sport and needs lots of time to be in agreement with the horse you ride. Of course, every sport needs many years of hard training, it takes power and huge amounts of energy. But if you are involved with animals, it will be twice as difficult. You never know what your horse is thinking (it can't tell you if something is wrong).

You may only consider yourself a "professional" when you ride a horse and know exactly what it is going to do next. When that happens, and you both feel as one, it's like a science (in my opinion).

Show jumping is a very interesting and breathtaking form of horse riding. You should overcome at least 10-15 obstacles without any penalties. You can receive a penalty if your horse refuses (stops near the barrier), or knocks it down. In addition to these, every competition has a time limit which you must keep within.

Some people, who have no idea about horse riding, sometimes say that there is nothing special in it, you just sit on your horse and it does everything for you. You just sit there and try not to fall off. If you think this too, you would be very mistaken.

If you see riders that appear to be doing nothing, it means that they are professional. Actually, they do so many actions you can't imagine. Every part of your body is giving instructions to the horse.

It needs a lot of time just to understand a little about this sport. Try it once and you'll be addicted forever, I guarantee it!

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My thanks to Anastasia for the article, I hope she continues to enjoy many more show jumping victories. Unfortunately, like most people involved in sport, it is difficult to obtain the very highest level of achievement without dedicating yourself to it full time, but this of course usually requires some form of sponsorship.

Anyway, whether she chooses to become more involved in her sport, or follows a business management career, I'm sure she will be very successful.