15/07/2019

The so-called Equestrian Disciplines, in particular Show Jumping and Dressage, have always vaunted a more elegant image than other equestrian events and sports such as racing or palios which somehow fall outside their magic sphere.
On 25 May this year the Piazza di Siena competitions were held in Rome, one of the most prestigious Show Jumping events of the year. One of the prime elements in this event is the “Six Bar Competition”, the competition replacing the Puissance Wall event at Piazza di Siena. Puissance requires the horse to jump a solid-looking ‘brick wall’, which is raised each jump-off round, sometimes ending up over two metres in height – a crazy competition frequently criticised by many different factions as being far too challenging, and dangerous, for the horses.

To get round these criticisms, in 2015 FISE substituted the Puissance with the 6 Bar Jumping Competition , which was intended to signal a positive move towards less of a major challenge, and so less effort, on the part of the horse.
But has anything really changed? Or is this yet another misleading showcase?

In this 6 Bar Competition, the horses have to go over six obstacles placed in one straight line. The height of the final four is progressively raised as each participant scores a clear round; this year, for example, in the first round the 3rd jump was 1.35m, the 4th was 1.45m, the 5th was 1.55m and the 6th and final jump was 1.75m.
In the second jump off, the final obstacle was at 1.85m, then 1.95, and by the end it stood fully at 2m.
The competition ended there, as only one participant managed to clear these jumps, but had there been another competitor still qualifying the jumps would have been raised even higher – in the past three years the final height was 2017:1.85m, 2018:1.95m, and 2019 2m.
What is the difference here? Nothing except the fact that the horse jumps a post and rail jump and not a wall!

Extreme competitions of this sort have one sole objective: spectacle, enough to excite the public and draw ever more people into the sport, with the visual impact, the atmosphere, the presentation of the horse and rider and the whole scenography, which must convey a picture of mastery and elegance, luring the attention away from the reality – basically that of forcing horses to become principal protagonists against their will, involuntary athletes.

Let us be clear, getting a horse to jump 2 metres is not necessarily more detrimental than riding it over a full course of jumps of 1.50 or 1.60m. In all things there is a kind of symbolism behind the choices available, and the Six Bar Competition is designed to show off the power and capacity of the horse over high jumps. What we wish to point out here is rather the behaviour and reactions of the horse in response to the jabs in the mouth, the stumbles, the head movements clearly indicating unwillingness, and the mechanical stresses placed on the legs. In this photo, for example, we see the landing after a two metre high jump. The rest is clearly shown in the video of the competition, still available on the web. The still photo shown is taken from You Tube Piazza di Siena.
Bear in mind that the Piazza di Siena meeting is considered to be an élilte occasion, presented with great pomp by the president of CONI and the Mayor of Rome, and backed by wealthy sponsors.

For the last decade IHP has been dedicated to the welfare of all equids, recognising that by their very nature they are not sports animals as some would anthropomorphogically depict them as being. IHP therefore does not approve of horse racing, other equestrian sporting events or any other commercial or competitive use of them.