The Sports of the World Equestrian Games Represent the History of Civilization by John Royce.

Last week, the president of the title sponsor of the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG) uttered these words: “We need help and people to step up and tell the story.” Being someone enamored of equestrian sports, I’d like to oblige with a few posts to the reason for all the commotion: the all-important spectator.

Of course there are plenty of media in attendance to ‘tell the story’ of the Games, but what can be missed is a focus on those not fully intimate with the goings-on of horse sports. Context is needed! There is a great gulf in equestrian sport between the experienced campaigner and layman recruit, and misunderstandings abound, so maybe some ‘color’ commentary would be in line.

First: To Be Fair

There are complaints about the runup to the WEG: ticket prices are too high, there’s too much focus on the organizing and not the sports, the horses seem to have been lost in the scramble … so maybe there’s a better light to put on proceedings.

The WEG is a new, world-encompassing, first-time event for the USA. Right now the organizers are busier than the proverbial ‘long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs’ dealing with the organizational chaos a major horse event presents. It is a real feat to pull off a big equestrian competition; there are many moving parts including not just the horses and their needs (trailer access, stalls, shavings, feed, equipment storage, manure disposal, turnout, grooming and wash areas, schooling rings, competition fields and arenas) but also those of the equine “staff” including riders, grooms, trainers, grounds crew, veterinarians, farriers … not forgetting the facility maintenance (and personnel) and of course sponsors, volunteers, announcers, owners and media. It boggles.

Multiply these logistics times eight separate sports, and the uncomplaining spectator can easily be pushed to the back of the line. Yet the WEG is meant as a spectator event, and if we mere onlookers seem to be crowded in back, let’s be patient and find some fun in the circus. It is there!

The WEG is Something Old, Something New

Horses have been with mankind since before we began the journey of civilization, and watching horses is one of mankind’s most ancient pastimes … yet modern equestrian sports are surprisingly young. In fact, most of the sports seen at the WEG only appeared on the scene with the rise of a broad middle-class in the present era.

Jumping in particular is very new — younger than any of America’s major spectator sports — both Show Jumping and Eventing are still evolving and learning to serve an audience. Dressage is indeed very old, but its expansion into musical Freestyle has caught the imagination of a new generation. The baby of the group, Reining, was first included in the 2002 Games in Spain.

The Importance of Spectators and the WEG

One difficulty with attracting the public is that horse sports have an image of seeming elitist, having been the exclusive domain of aristocracy for thousands of years. Today this is not a true image — horse riding is accessible to the wider public, and the horse itself is without pretension — but it is a remnant of the past even new equestrian sports must face.

Something also quite new in equestrian sports is the unfamiliarity of the general public with horses. People simply don’t know horses like they used to, and have to be introduced to the challenges and excitement of horse sports. In fact, educating the public about horses is a supreme opportunity for the WEG, and makes its success even more important. Equestrian sports have the potential to keep the horse with us into the future, and deserve public support.

Next up: The Sports of the WEG

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy (second volume to be published in the summer of 2010) incorporates the idea of such “great” horses in history, for the horse is an athlete and–like human athletes–special equine champions actually exist.

One such horse is Snowman, a horse that was saved from slaughter by beloved horseman Harry de Leyer–and went on to become one of America’s top international jumpers. The horse’s story reads like a fairy tale, so it is welcome news that a new book is coming out about Snowman appropriately titled, “The Cinderella Horse.”

The World Cup is an extensive series of indoor qualifiers across the globe, leading to the Finals in April.

It is an interesting odd fact that horse jumping is a  young sport: the ability of horses to jump with a rider was not discovered until the 1700’s. This intriguing competition continues to grow in popularity worldwide. The Show Jumping World Cup series was only begun in 1978, and today the series is contested in 14 leagues on every continent.

In essence, Show Jumping’s World Cup is the sport’s annual international indoor championship. Since the 1950’s, Show Jumping has evolved into a year-round sport, and the tight, colorful, electric atmosphere of indoor jumping is very different than the galloping expanses of outdoor courses. Some horses go better indoors, some prefer outside–this difference in challenge makes for interesting jumping competition year-round.

Festivals and horses are an ancient tradition. Milling crowds, vendor booths and concessions, programs and barkers–the moving color and pageantry of our favorite public events trace a lineage through mounted cavalry exhibitions and roaring chariot racing “circuses” of antiquity.

Not so much has changed: clay tablets were once sold to eager audiences by shouting ushers of Roman times. Triumphal “parades” of horses drawing chariots marked victory in ancient ceremonies, and horseback entourages of through Medieval towns were an occasion of spectator celebration that continues in the parades of today.

Equestrian exhibitions of dressage in Renaissance Europe were the predecessors of the three-ringed Circuses of Barnum & Bailey and others:

Since its foundation more than two hundred years ago it has remained in the hands of one and the same family – the Knies – whose youngest and oldest members alike take an active part in circus life … The show remains focused, however, on the two fundamental elements in western circus tradition:  the dressage [of the horse] and the clown.

Even the modern Fair owes its beginning to harvest festivities with horse-racing and other competitive spectacles orbited by farmers’ stands and open-air markets.

Today equestrian sport has reinvented itself to keep pace with the modern world, and the ancients would have been amazed at the level of partnership seen in our modern horses and riders.  Today’s international equestrian sports place the welfare of the horse at the core, and the “thrill” of older sports like chariot racing and jousting have been replaced by new thrills in highly competitive, colorful and technical sports that demand the utmost partnership with the animal.

It is amazing–and heartening–to see the reinvention of horsemanship in our modern age. The crowds have changed, the sports have changed, but the atmosphere and tradition of the festival continues in echoes of what has gone before.

A century ago we seemed to be at the end of our ancient partnership with the horse, since the animal’s use in transportation was made obsolete by the invention of the internal combustion engine. Today there are more horses than ever, largely due to equestrian sport and recreation … and one of the big drivers of that growth is the international sport of Show Jumping.

So it is great news to hear of the sport’s continuing success as a spectator attraction, as was seen last week at the Canadian jumping hot-spot of Spruce Meadows in Calgary. A record crowd of over 70,000 spectators attended the closing Masters competition, sitting in lawnchairs at 6:00am to secure the best seats. Congrats to Spruce Meadows for showing again that well-presented and promoted Show Jumping is a sport for the future.

Additional links:

Chronicle of the Horse (by Tricia Booker)

Ward & Sapphire win $1,000,000 CN International Grand Prix (Meghan Chevrette-McIvor via Hunter Jumper News)