But Horseback Riding Is So Easy.

I was sitting outside with my sister and her friends and we started talking about things we like to do, sports in particular. Although I do play a lot of sports, my favorite one is horseback riding. One of my sister's friends was like 'Really, Sam? But it doesn't look hard at all. Is it even a sport?'

I was like '...What...?' I couldn't understand how she could think that. But then another friend agreed with her, and this make me wonder if everyone who has never ridden thinks this. To me, it's incredibly difficult. It takes a bunch of practice. I've been riding for years, yet I'm still learning. I sweat after every single lesson and my muscles still sometimes ache after unusually intense lessons.

So, my question is, to those who don't ride: Does it really seem like an easy sport? Or do you even consider it a sport? What's your view on horseback riding?

Or, to anyone who does ride: Has anyone ever said something similar to you? How do you respond?

Thanks guys.

the only horseback riding i've done were a few guided trail rides, and i found THAT hard! i think it is absolutely a sport. you need to know what you are doing and be strong and fit to control and guide a big powerful animal like that. it's not like you can just plop up there and tug the reins! 

I've been riding for years, and had on one occasion someone suggest it was easy, so i invited them to come and have a shot on my then horse....they never did get on his back...nuff said 

it's not easy if you do it right, but a lot of people do "just plop up there and tug the reins."

i've guided rides; believe me, 95% of customers are strictly passengers. 

Original Post by domingobby:

To me, it's incredibly difficult. It takes a bunch of practice. I've been riding for years, yet I'm still learning.

Darts is incredibly difficult and takes a bunch of practice too, but that doesn't make it a sport.

 And if a 67 year old can compete at a 'sports' highest level, it's not a sport.

hmmmm ^ if they aren't sports then what are they?

'sully, spoken like someone who knows nothing about equestrian sports.

a 67-year-old can make an olympic team because it takes years (even decades) of training for a rider to reach their competitive peak, and because the sport is so expensive, virtually no one can afford to compete. 

Well, darts are a game, not a sport, in my opinion.

But horseback riding is tiring - I'm going with sport, or at least exercise/activity in which calories are burned and physical skill and strength is required.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

a 67-year-old can make an olympic team because it takes years (even decades) of training for a rider to reach their competitive peak,

 That same guy made made an olympic team when he was 22.

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by pgeorgian:

a 67-year-old can make an olympic team because it takes years (even decades) of training for a rider to reach their competitive peak,

 That same guy made made an olympic team when he was 22.

so?  he was one of then 10 or 12 best in the country, out of maybe a few hundred competing at that level. 

it may seem shocking to you, but there are realms of performance in which people don't peak at 22. 

in terms of pure physicality, equestrian sports aren't as demanding as--say--decathlon.  it takes a balance of physical and mental, plus the right partnership between rider and horse (which can also take years to develop, and which can change from day to day like any relationship).

Original Post by amethystgirl:

Well, darts are a game, not a sport, in my opinion.

But horseback riding is tiring - I'm going with sport, or at least exercise/activity in which calories are burned and physical skill and strength is required.

you don't ride? trust me you do burn energy and need strength....

who else thinks we should put 'sully on a grand prix jumper and let 'em loose in a crowded arena?

edit: better yet, a three-day eventer on a cross-country course.

That's what I'm saying, andie - riding might not be a "sport" per se, but it does require energy, strength, and skill.

I don't ride, but I used to go to a friend's horse shows - the competition element never really made sense to me, although I guess I can see it on the same order as diving - someone grades your form, etc, as opposed to most sports, in which you are competing for fastest time or most points. But I wouldn't describe riding as a "sport" as I think of that word.

Regardless, it's certainly a way to be active and get a workout.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

who else thinks we should put 'sully on a grand prix jumper and let 'em loose in a crowded arena?

edit: better yet, a three-day eventer on a cross-country course.

Oh yes :) 3 day eventing

edit: @ amethystgirl.

okay, i don't understand that.  it's not a sport because there's no ball?  because there aren't twelve players on the field at once?

is polo a sport, then?

what kind of showing did your friend do, amethyst?  sounds like dressage.  that's definitely more individual/less head-to-head competition. 

in lots of equestrian sports, time is an element and there is no subjective judging.

Of course hourseback riding is a sport.  And someone who would say,"Really, Sam? But it doesn't look hard at all. Is it even a sport?" sounds pretty damn stupid to me.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

is polo a sport, then?

 Hehe. Good point.  of course polo is a sport.  So is competitive riding/jumping, etc.  As far as I know, it has always been a sport.  I can't figure out why people would think it wasn't.  Just because it doesn't involve a bunch of people ramming into each other or knocking each other down in the quest for a ball, puck or whatnot, does not mean that it doesn't take a great amount of skill.  Especially at the professional level.

Never seen polo... does water polo count? I picture it as a mix of field hockey and croquet on horses, so yeah, I think that's a sport.

Maybe what I was seeing was "dressage" - no clue what that means. I remember that they'd have a course and would have to trot or canter through the course. My impression (could be wrong - I was 12) was that there was a time element, but also an element of how well the rider posted, or if the horse didn't perfectly clear a jump, but I never understood the scoring. Like I said, in my head I equate it with diving.

I don't have a clear definition of sport. Some things are games, some are sports, some are competitions, and some are exercise or activity. Poker isn't a sport, it's a game and competition. Football is a sport and a game and a competition. Wrestling is a sport and competition (real wrestling, not professional). Biking could be a sport, but could also just be an activity or exercise, or a mode of transportation. Growing the biggest pumpkin is a competition, but none of the other categories.

To me (again, based on what I saw when I was 12) riding (not racing) could be considered a competition, activity, or exercise. But I wouldn't call it a sport.

Does it matter? I think the original poster was talking about the perception of riding being easy. I certainly don't think it's easy, but that's not how I measure what a sport is.

Haha!  I rode for 8 years- it's a sport.  :D

Never got told that it looked easy- but we had issues when the Little Britches Rodeo would come to town and use our stables (we're English hunter/jumpers).  Let me tell you- they're all a bunch of little brats.  We were constantly put down because we wore helmets, and they just wouldn't shut up.  They'd keep yelling insults after you while you were walking away.  Drove me nuts.

The easy thing is probably from trail rides if they don't have a spirited horse.  Trust me, I know to ask for the rowdy ones from now on. ;)

Original Post by amethystgirl:

Maybe what I was seeing was "dressage" - no clue what that means. I remember that they'd have a course and would have to trot or canter through the course. My impression (could be wrong - I was 12) was that there was a time element, but also an element of how well the rider posted, or if the horse didn't perfectly clear a jump, but I never understood the scoring. Like I said, in my head I equate it with diving.

sounds like low-level arena jumping or gymkhana.  think of that as pre-kindergarten.  probably not very competitive, no, because you were watching children on ponies.

ever watch four-year-olds play hockey?  what you were watching was the equivalent of that, compared to the NHL.

Original Post by andie-joe:

Original Post by pgeorgian:

who else thinks we should put 'sully on a grand prix jumper and let 'em loose in a crowded arena?

edit: better yet, a three-day eventer on a cross-country course.

Oh yes :) 3 day eventing

I'm not sure what the point in that would be, to prove I can't ride a horse? I already know I can't ride a horse.

I didn't realize that 'Sully not being able to do something' makes it a sport.  If that's the case then I guess tapdancing, playing the trumpet and licking you elbow are all sports now...