Equestrian coach and judge perceptions of the ideal body shape of female horse riders.

  • S. Forino (Speaker)
  • Cameron, L. (Speaker)
  • N. Stones (Speaker)
  • M Freeman (Speaker)

Activity: Talk or presentation typesOral presentation at Conference

Description

Body image (BI) in females has been found to differ amongst sport types, the ideal equestrian BI has recently been identified as a smaller physique and riders feel BI ideals influence judges scoring within dressage competitions. Previous research has also indicated that certain anthropometric values of female riders will influence rider ability. This research aimed to identify perceptions of equestrian coaches and dressage judges on rider body shape (BS) and detect if a bias is present; identify perceptions of appropriate horse rider matching and identify the perceived impact of BS on rider ability. An online survey presented on ‘GoogleFormsTM’ was posted on specific coaching, dressage and judging Facebook groups and distributed for a four-week period (n=265, coaches=174 judges=91), images for the survey were taken of twelve riders of different body shapes (Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph) riding three horses of different breeds and similar sizes. Pearson’s Chi-squared (χ2) Test of Association was utilised for data analysis. The results found that Ectomorph was significantly the most popular choice for the ideal somatotype on all three horses (χ2=44.084, DF=4, P
PeriodAug 2022
Event title18th International Society for Equitation Science Conference
Event typeConference
LocationGloucester, United KingdomShow on map