Weighing It Out—Why The Equestrian Discipline of Jumping Is Behind Its Time

The equestrian sport sector, and particularly the discipline of s how jumping, has not progressed in a scientific, quantitative manner as needed by this point of its history, especially in comparison to other sports, considering modern advances that have been available for years. Show jumping, a discipline represented at the Olympic level and solidified in its own international championship opportunities, should be far more mastered— and significantly less injurious or fatal—than it has been in recent seasons. Organizations and associations responsible for guiding, shaping, and influencing the sport have not focused on key, basic, and necessary improvements both inside and outside of the competitive domain. Reform is needed in the show jumping arena, along with an aggressive pursuit of the benefits of technology in terms of precision, safety, and technique refinement. By 2027, a significant shift can and should begin to occur within the Issue 4 equestrian sport realm and especially within this discipline. One of the most catalytic steps possible to take at this time would be the development and subsequent availability of standardized athlete biometric data—to include basic data such as height and weight, which are currently unavailable to the public; in some cases, the data may be nonexistent.