|
|
|
For none of these activities was he required to jump, other than a ditch or a small bank, until the passing of the Enclosure Act in the eighteenth century when the face of the English landscape was altered dramatically. Now the horseman needed to jump fences and hedges to cross country whether he was a villain escaping capture or simply out enjoying a hunt - a new sport was born. The early shows in France consisted of a parade of competitors who then took off across country for the jumping. As this was not very interesting for the spectators, a few jumps were soon introduced in the arena. This became known as ‘Lepping’. Fifteen years later, ‘Lepping’ competitions were introduced to Britain and by 1900 most of the more important shows had ‘Lepping’ classes although they rarely attracted more than 20 competitors. The ladies, riding side-saddle, had their own classes. A jumping competition was included in the Olympic Games 1912 but each country had its own rules which was an impossible situation and so the ‘Federation Equestre International’ was created which recommended an international standard of rules. In Britain the 'British Show Jumping Association' was formed to standardize the scoring of jumping in this country. In 1907, the first International Horse Show was held at Olympia which his since become the venue of some of the greatest jumping events, rivaled only by Wembley, Hickstead and now Birmingham. At that first show, the most important competition was for teams of officers representing their country, who competed for the King Edward VII Challenge Cup which was won outright by the Russian team in 1914. When the show restarted after the 1914-918 war, a new perpetual Challenge Cup was presented by Edward, Prince of Wales, and this today is the major team competition at the show. In 1910, King George V presented a Challenge Cup for individual competitions which was won outright by Captain J A Talbot-Ponsonby in 1934. The trophy was represented and today remains the most coveted individual prize in show jumping. Since World War 2, and particularly with the advent of television coverage, show jumping has blossomed into a popular sport for competitors and spectators alike. By 1980, the Royal International attracted an amazing 66,000 spectators. The B.S.J.A. had approximately 1200 shows under their guidance and 14,000 horses and ponies were competing in shows around the country. Taken from:
|
|
This site is provided by PottsNet I.T.
Solutions
|
Show
jumping is a relatively new sport. The first show with a class for jumpers was
at a Harness Show in Paris in 1866.
