Whip Use in Elite, Non-Elite Show Jumpers

Researchers take a look at whip use by jumper riders and how it relates to performance outcomes.
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In recent years, whip use in horses has stirred up great debate. When it comes to forehand vs. backhand whip strikes or whip use’s impact on a race’s outcome, researchers are starting to put science behind the arguments.

Scientists had not, however, investigated whip use in show jumping. So Catherine Watkins, from Hartpury College in Gloucester, UK, aimed to determine whether a correlation exists between whip use and a jumper’s performance and whether this differs among competition levels. She presented her findings at the 9th Annual International Society for Equitation Science Conference, held July 18-20 at the University of Delaware, in Newark.

In Watkins’ study, she and a colleague observed whip carriage and use among 229 non-elite (jumping .9-1.15 meter fences) and 229 elite (jumping 1.2 meters and higher) British show jumpers during 458 rounds of competition. The team specifically evaluated whip use in the few strides immediately before and after each fence and found that:

  • 65.5% of all riders carried a whip;
  • More non-elite riders than elite riders carried a whip;
  • 20.7% of all riders used their whip in competition;
  • Non-elite riders were more likely to use the whip and also more likely to remove their hand from the rein to do so than elite riders;
  • Riders from both levels were more likely to jump clear if they did not use the whip;
  • Elite riders were less likely to use the whip, but when they did they incurred more faults than those who did not use the whip; and
  • Carrying a whip but not using it resulted in the most clear rounds among all riders.

So while non-elite riders practiced more whip use, elite riders logged more faults with whip use. Watkins theorized that this might be because elite riders are more likely to use the whip only when they want to correct a horse’s abnormal behavior, whereas non-elite riders likely use the whip due to lack of confidence

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Alexandra Beckstett, a native of Houston, Texas, is a lifelong horse owner who has shown successfully on the national hunter/jumper circuit and dabbled in hunter breeding. After graduating from Duke University, she joined Blood-Horse Publications as assistant editor of its book division, Eclipse Press, before joining The Horse. She was the managing editor of The Horse for nearly 14 years and is now editorial director of EquiManagement and My New Horse, sister publications of The Horse.

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