Help needed!! Show Jumping/ X-Country

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hannah_43

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I'm currently undertaking an a-level, which involves me writing a 5000 word essay. I am currently studying the differences between show jumps and cross country jumps and it would help me massivley if anyone could give me any information, may it be examples of different jumps with/without descriptions, pictures or similarities and differences:-)
Thanks!!
 
hannah_43, I'm really struggling to tell if your post is a wind-up. You want information about show-jumps and cross-country fences, information, pictures, and descriptions? Similarities and differences between them?
You are on the internet because you posted here. Therefore the world is at your fingertips. All the big competitions have websites with photos. Jump manufacturers have websites and photos. Riders, ditto. Look up Badminton, Burghley. Look on youtube, just for starters.
If you truly need one of us to tell you that show-jumps always fall down, and are built to test scope and carefulness in the horse, and the rider's accuracy, while cross-country jumps don't fall down, and are to test courage, accuracy, cleverness, honestly etc, then I really do wonder why you are doing an A level... ;) ;) ;)
As above... research research research. I'm sure some of us will answer if you come back with complicated interesting questions, but at the moment it's as if you're asking us the most basic question of all!
 
Research it. Also, what a level?? The biggest I ever has to write at a level was 1500, haven't even done 5000 in first two years of uni!! Don't be so lazy.
 
I can't work out what A level this would be for?!?! Never had to do 5,000 words for A level, I agree.
But if it is for "Stating The Flipping Obvious", then here you go:
Show-Jumps fall down, while Cross-Country fences are solid.

That's a start... ;) ;)
 
Extended Project Qualification, maybe? Worth half an A-level, very good and interesting. This doesn't exactly seem a solid topic though?
 
Yes, I'm doing the Extended Project, my supervisor has advised me to post messages such as this one, as it's a good source of primary research- if i don't have primary research i can't get a good mark!
Thanks for all your messages, they will be really useful!
 
I'm not sure why you need total strangers to give you 'primary research' material, but i'm in a good mood, so i'll try to help a bit more:
Differences:
skinnies xc, you never get these SJ. (serious honesty/accuracy questions). bounces xc, ditto, you never see a bounce made of showjumps in a course (at home when schooling you do though).
serious undulations in ground which affect the way the fences ride... the only exceptions SJ would be at big jumping Derby courses, a fence such as the Devil's Dyke at Hickstead is more like a xc 'coffin' than a SJ treble. Also big banks with steep ascents and very steep descents, only at jumping Derbies. Regular SJ is usually on either flat terrain or a gentle slope. XC can include very steep hills, quarries etc.
Water on xc courses for horse to jump into or go through, on sj courses water trays and open water are always to be cleared.
Many other factors on xc courses affect the fences - e.g. if the fence is positioned going into a wood, or in shade under a tree, then the horse will take longer to refocus - not a problem in a SJ arena.

Similarities: apart from the obvious fact that SJs fall down and XC fences don't... many fences are pretty similar. Parallels. Uprights. Walls.
A far greater variety of fences xc - and the addition of ditches on their own (e.g. as part of a coffin) or in front of, under, behind fences.
The use of additional hazards xc, e.g. careful positioning of christmas trees etc to influence the line a rider has to take.
Turning questions xc - e.g. arena fence at Greenwich, you only get questions like that in a SJ jump-off maybe! (A xc turning question might only have a couple of strides between fences, or might be S shaped, C shaped, etc with 3 fences incorporated, you wouldn't see this on a SJ course.)

hope that helps a bit more.
 
Could maybe also go into the different ways that showjumps and XC jumps are produced and built to maintain optimum safety standards. Could look into what falls / accident have happened over eachtype of fences over the years and look at the ways they have been improved to minimise risks.

Actually sounds like a paper I'd really like to write tbh. Very interesting and lots of material available.

There will be lots on here especially about the 'fixed portables in XC' issue.
 
^^^ those are good ideas. e.g. SJ cups have gotten shallower, poles much lighter, and in some cases thinner too, 'safety cups' which drop downwards if horse hits them, emphasis on horse being very careful, not breathing on a pole kind of thing.
xc fences - deformable fences (polystyrene 'logs' etc), the MEM system (collapsible tables), frangible pins, portables, spirafix anchors. dimension of timbers for xc has actually gotten bigger and bigger and is now shrinking again in some cases, a conscious decision to hand the responsibility for setting the horse up back to the rider, not rely on big timber to back the horse off.
I could do 5,000 words just on those! ;) ;)
 
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