what is hunter/jumper, eventing, and what is countercanter and flying leand changes?

Question

I want to start riding, but need to know what these terms and events are first! :) If anyone could help me, then that would be great!

Answer 1

hunter - this type of showing is when the horse is mainly judged, not the rider (although the rider makes a big difference). The judges look for the horse's form over the fence, obediance, an more...

jumper - this is more about speed and power than about form. there is a "time allowed" and the score is measured in faults (you can get these by knocking down a rail, going over the time allowed, etc.)

eventing - usually made up of 3 different things: cross country, dressage, and show jumping.

counter canter - when a horse canters, it puts either it's left legs in front, or it's right, and those are called leads. a horse is supposed to use the lead that is on the inside (for example, if you are going to the left, use the left lead). a counter canter is when a horse purposefully does the opppsite lead.

flying lead change - when a horse switches leads at the canter without going to a different gait.

PS you really don't need to know these when you're starting out. you'll learn them along the way.

Answer 2

a hunter/jumper is a horse + rider that compete in either hunter classes (the horse is judged while jumping and walk/trot/cantering) or jumper classes where the horse jumps a course of jumps and is timed.

Eventing is over 3 days, it includes Dressage which is a test of flat work (no jumps). The second day is cross country which is jumping over natural obsticals in a natural enviorment (field, forest ect). The last day is Stadium Jumping which is the same as jumper classes explained above.

Counter canter is when the horse is on the wrong lead going around the arena. and a flying change is a change of lead without coming down to the trot or walk.

Answer 3

Donna just about said it all
Flying lead changes is when the horse changes the leading leg on a canter without breaking the canter - for example if you ride a figure 8 you lead with one leg on one side of the 8 and change in the middle because you're then going in the opposite direction. It's all about balance. A lot of the time people trot in the middle and then go back into canter on the other leg - a flying change is when you just keep cantering and the horse does a sort of skip stride and changes the lead.
Lousy explanation really, sorry about that but I'm not an instructor.
If you're just about to start lessons it's not something you'll need to worry about for a while yet anyway.
Hope you have fun.

Answer 4

Some I can answer, so I can't.

When a horse canters, he either leads with his left or right front leg. A flying change is when he changes which leg leads in mid canter.

Eventing is a competition made up of several different events. There is normally cross country, maybe a road race, dressage and finally a show jumping round.

A Hunter is a horse who is able to go fox hunting (banned in the UK). They must be able to go whereever the fox takes them and be able to get over many different types of obsticle.

A jumper is a horse who can show jump.

A counter canter I think, is where a horse is cantering in a circle and leading with the wrong leg. Hopefully somone else will be able to explain that better than I can!

Answer 5

Hunter: jumps for the looks {pretty style of jumping and is judged on the looks only}

Jumper: jumps to jump the jumps. Looks does not matter as long as the jumps are still up and within time allowed.

Eventing: Dressage, Cross Country and Show Jumping
Counter Canter: cantering on the wrong lead
Flying Lead Change: changing leads within the canter. Many beginners will do a couple of trot strides to change the lead; more experienced riders and horses do it with out trotting.

Answer 6

Hunter-Jumper is a specific equestrian discipline, or style of riding where horses are ridden english style and jump over a series of obstacles, also called fences, or jumps. ( a series of jumps is also called a "course".)

Eventing is a three-part competition consisting of dressage ; stadium-jumping ; & cross-country.

CounterCanter means a horse turns a bend on the incorrect lead. On the correct lead the inside foreleg would be reaching further forward than the outside leg. When counter cantering the outside foreleg is the leading leg. If a horse counter canter's on it's own accord, ignoring the rider's aids it is said to be on the incorrect or wrong lead. But if the rider asks for the "incorrect" lead it is a counter canter.

Flying Lead Changes means that while cantering they switch leads.

Hope I helped :D, any other questions you can e-mail me!

Answer 7

*Show Hunter: The show hunter is a type of show horse that is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going. The horses are shown in hunt seat riding, and are often of Warmblood or Thoroughbred type.

The show hunter has long and low movement, meaning its strides are long and ground covering, and there is not much flexion of the horse's joints as it moves. The action of the field hunter is efficient: the horse does not waste energy bending its legs any more than it has to. This relates back to the hunt field, where the horse had to work for several hours on end, often galloping, and inefficient movement would tire the horse more quickly.

The show hunter moves smoothly and freely, pointing its toes as it floats over the ground. It should not have excessive knee action, nor should its strides be short and choppy, both of which would make its movement less efficient. The horse should be forward, so it could jump if needed, but no faster than necessary.

A good show hunter must possess an excellent jumping form. The forearm should be parallel or higher with the ground, and the knees and lower legs should be even. The horse should not be lazy with its lower legs, but should tuck them under its forearm as it clears the fence, clearly bending its fetlocks and knees. The horse should not throw its body or legs to one side, but should stay perfectly straight over the fence. A good show hunter should show a great bascule, or roundness over a jump. This is often described as the horse taking the shape of a dolphin jumping out of the water, with the horse's back up, and its head reaching forward and down over the fence.

A show hunter often has better jumping form than many eventers and show jumpers, as the latter two disciplines do not judge on the jumping form of the horse, but only whether the horse can get over the obstacle.

A show hunter is not only judged on movement, but also on temperament and manners. Thus, the show hunter should always be relaxed and calm, yet attentive to its rider. It should be responsive to invisible signals and look relatively easy to ride.

* Eventing: Eventing is an equestrian event which comprises dressage, cross-country and show-jumping. This event has its roots as a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding. It has two main formats, the one day event (ODE) and the three day event (3DE). It has previously been known as Militaire, Horse Trials, and Combined Training.

*Flying Change: The flying change is a movement performed by a horse in which he changes leads at the canter. It is often seen in dressage, where the horse may do several changes in sequence (tempi changes), in reining as part of the pattern, or in jumping events, where a horse will change lead as it changes direction on the course.

*Tempi Change: While a single change is often performed to change direction, tempi changes are seen in dressage at the upper levels. In a test, tempi changes may be a change every stride (one-tempis), every two strides (two tempis), three strides (threes), or four strides (fours). The number of strides per change begins at four, which gives the horse and rider lots of time to prepare, and as the horse and rider become more proficient the number decreases to one-tempis. When a horse performs one-tempi changes, it often looks like it is skipping.

Tempi changes are very difficult movements and are not asked for until the advanced tests of dressage. The may be performed across the diagonal or on a circle.

*Counter-canter: The counter-canter is a riding movement performed, as its name suggests, at the canter, which asks the horse to move on the outside lead. For example, while on a circle to the left, the horse is on the right lead. The horse should be very slightly bent in the direction of the leading leg.

The counter-canter is primarily used as a training movement, improving balance, straightness, and attention to the aids. It is used as a stepping-stone to the flying change. It is also a movement asked for in dressage tests.

Answer 8

Lol believe me as a beginner you don't need to worry about these, but definatly ask a coach if you are interested in a specific type of riding to target it! There are some great books about horses and the different types of sports. lol Sorry about the dumb answer. May I suggest you start off with Dressage? It will give you the best foundation for jumping you can get.

Answer 9

Everything has already been explained quite well. I will just attempt to clarify counter canter and flying lead changes for a beginner.

A canter is a 3 beat gait. First, one hind foot hits the ground. Then the other hind foot and it's diagonal front foot hit the ground together. Last, the other front foot.

When you are travelling in a circle to the right you want to be on the right lead (left hind - right hind/left front - right front) .When you are travelling in a circle to the left you want to be on the left lead (right hind - left hind/right front - left front).

A counter canter is when you are using the wrong lead, e.g., on the left lead when travelling in a circle to the right. It can happen by mistake or on purpose for training reasons.

A flying lead change is when the horse switches from either left to right lead or right to left lead without slowing to a trot or walk in between. Using the right lead as an example, it switches leads right after the 3rd beat when the right front foot hits the ground. The horse has to 'think fast' and switch from letting the left hind foot hit the ground first to making the right hind leg hit first. Then it continues with the legs hitting in the left lead sequence.

I hope this helps.

Answer 10

Hunter - predominantly thoroughbred.
Jumper - again generally thoroughbred with an apptitude for jumping (obviously) and good at speed, and carefulness.

Eventing - dressage, cross country and showumping - need a good allrounder for this sort of work (but its geat fun)
Countercanter - outside foreleg is leading leg, instead of inside. Demonstrates excellent control.


Flying lead changes - outside leg of rider tells horse to change to inside leg - difficult to explain!