Barrel v. Jumping: The Different Styles of Riding.

Riding horses will always be part of history. It has been around, in a way, since medieval times. It has evolved into a refined sporting activity. Riding horses will give you a few different paths. There is Rodeo style riding, that calls for barrel racing saddles. There is also jumping and horse shows, for which you would need show saddles. Different saddles are needed because of the different types of movements required for each style riding.

Rodeo riding is much more high impact than show. This generally includes barrel races. In barrel races, the rider and horse have to maneuver through a slalomed course of barrels. This takes place inside a Rodeo pen. Also, there are competitions for bull and cattle herding. This is not as popular as barrel races and is much more dangerous. The rider has to control the bull or herd of cattle and either rope them in, or steer them into a pen. If rodeo riding doesn’t seem like your style but you love riding, I would suggest show riding.
Show riding is lower impact and much more refined than barrel racing. It is a genre that can include very high class individuals and everyone else. The types of shows include courses of jumps and obstacles. The biggest difference between this and barrel racing is the arena. They usually are held in nice, green, show arenas. It is a big difference to the dirty, rustic rodeo pens. Also, the horse’s appearance is usually a big part of the competition. The riders have to make sure their horse is well groomed and trained before hand. The horse gets scored separately for its stance, appearance, and obedience. If the horse gets very low marks here, it often cannot be made up for even with a perfect ride.

There are multiple reasons that different saddles are used for the two types of riding. First of all, they are very different environments. Rodeo is rough, and dirty while show arenas are clean and well-kept. The materials durability differs because of this. This is also because of the abuse that rodeo saddles get in comparison to show saddles. Rodeo saddles get ridden harder and need to be stronger than saddles for shows. In barrel racing, the rider uses the stirrups a lot for the turns so the stirrups on these saddles are also different. Therefore, before purchasing a saddle,make sure to know the difference between rodeo and show.

From fighting in battles to the pony express to pulling carts across the country, people have been using horses for years. In the past hundred years, riding horses has turned into a competitive sport. There are lots of different stages for jumping, racing and managing horses. The most well known types of riding are Rodeo and general Show riding. Rodeo often included barrel slaloms and herding where as is show riding, there are jumps, obstacles and presentation scores. Each style of riding calls for different equipment, especially saddles, because of the change in terrains and activity level. Equestrian is a fine art, which will continue to grow in the future.

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