Umping obstacles: The link between the gender of the rider and faults committed at beginner or intermidate events

Abstract

Equestrian sport is the only Olympic sport in which male and female competitors participate next to one another. The aim of this study was to analyze whether there is a link between the gender of the rider and performance, as well as whether there is a statistically significant difference between male and female riders at the beginner and intermediate level of competition in terms of jumping obstacles. The variables selected for analysis were the knock down, refusal, a fall in the parkour, faults committed during an approach on a straight line and an approach on a curve, faults committed in relation to the color of the obstacle, faults committed at single and combination obstacles, faults committed at the staccionata, oxer, and Liverpool, and faults committed during the double and triple jump. The performance indicator was defined as an outcome with no faults or an outcome with a fault committed during the jump. The analysis included 256 take-offs, from 12 jumping events at open regional club competitions of the CSN - A* category in 2022, held in Zagreb, and the CSN - A** category in 2023, held in Osijek. In total, 3065 jumps over 2683 obstacles were analyzed, 2345 of which were single and 329 combination. The results indicated a weak correlation between the gender of the rider and the performance indicators, whereby the Mann-Whitney U test did not determine a statistically significant difference between the gender of the riders when it came to the faults committed in relation to the studied variables. The number of female competitors is greater at the beginner and intermediate level at jumping events. A weak correlation was identified between the gender of the rider and the faults committed, whereby gender does not impact the performance. The analysis of the performance indicators for jumping obstacles can provide guidelines for coaches and riders alike in their future work with the aim of achieving a more successful sports performance. The analysis could also help the course designers to create a parkour with various levels of nuanced difficulty.