1. Identifying Interactive Components of the Horse-Rider
Partnership During Competition Dressage
Bridgeman, D. J., Pretty, G. M., and Terry, P. C.
Faculty of Sciences ● University of Southern Queensland ● Australia
RESULTS
INTRODUCTION
Table 1. Heart Rate Correlations for Each Horse-Rider Team During Competition
Note. n = number of data points in each analysis. ** p ≤ .01
Table 2. Discriminant Analysis to Classify Rider Somatic Anxiety from Horse Temperament
Correctly classified = 70%
Reaching the highest level of dressage competition requires exceptional athletic ability of the horse and superior educating skills of the rider. Knowledge of the interactive components of the horse-rider partnership is valuable in developing and sustaining superior performance. Research that informs such understanding is limited because it has tended to rely on data from either horse or rider, but not from both simultaneously . The present study investigated the equestrian partnership by assessing physiological, psychological and behavioural factors of horse and rider pairs as they co-occurred.
METHOD
Participants
Data were collected from 30 horse-rider teams (male = 1, female = 29), of which 17 produced complete heart rate data sets
Measures and procedures
Rider anxiety: Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 completed prior to warm-up
Rider heart rate: Polar S610 receiver with T61 transmitter captured at .05-second intervals across the competition
Horse temperament: Horse Temperament Inventory–Rider completed after warm-up but pre-competition
Horse heart rate - Polar S610 receiver with T52H transmitter captured at .05 sec intervals across the competition
Horse misbehaviour: Observer ratings of head tossing, bucking, rearing, baulking, bolting, kicking or shying, coded every 2 secs post-event from competition video
Horse-Rider Team n r 1 60
.54** 2 59
.70** 3 66
.45** 4 52
.14 5 77
.72** 6 67
.61** 7 61
.18 8
.88** 9 53
.97** 10 82
.81** 11 86
.44** 12
-.20 13 62
.68** 14 69
.11 15 88
.33** 16
.86** 17 48
CONCLUSIONS
Actual Group
Cases
Predicted High Anxiety
n %
Predicted Low Anxiety
n %
High Anxiety 15 9 60 6 40
Low Anxiety 3 20 12 80
Overall, 13 of 17 (76%) horse-rider teams showed significant heart rate synchronisation in competition
Horse misbehaviour was correlated significantly with rider somatic anxiety (r = .50)
Riders with high and low somatic anxiety could be correctly classified from horse temperament with 70% accuracy
Riders with high and low cognitive anxiety could be correctly classified from horse heart rate with 77.8% accuracy
None of the measured variables predicted performance
Results highlight the complexities of the horse-rider relationship during dressage
Future research should further investigate the impact of horse on rider and their interactive relationship, rather than focusing solely on the rider
Table 3. Discriminant Analysis to Classify Rider Cognitive Anxiety from Horse Heart Rate
Correctly classified = 77.8%
Actual Group
Cases
Predicted High Anxiety
n %
Predicted Low Anxiety
High Anxiety 8 5
62.5 3
37.5
Low Anxiety 10 1 9 90