MY name is Isabelle McCarthy and I am a Transition Year student at Coláiste/Gaelcholáiste Choilm in Co Cork, with a strong passion for show jumping and competing as a rider. As part of my school’s TY programme, I had the opportunity to develop a science project with the support of my teachers. And so, “Beyond the jump: Horse and rider stress dynamics in show jumping” was born.

The idea came to me after thinking about challenges that I faced while riding, and one that stuck out was stress: the anxious and tense feeling between my horse and me. This is something that many riders can relate to, regardless of level.

I researched and found that this phenomenon is known as emotional contagion. This is the spontaneous spread of emotions and related behaviours between individuals, enabling us to communicate the sensation of stress to one another without initially noticing. So my question is: Is the rider the leading cause of this stress?

Through research and discussions with specialists, I determined how I would investigate and decided to use surveys and heart-monitored training sessions.

First, I created a survey to see how riders perceive the stress relationship between them and their horses. It’s a brief questionnaire and has been gathering fascinating information. To obtain an accurate representation of all show jumpers in Ireland, I need more than 200 responses. If you are happy to, please scan the QR code to access the riders’ survey.

Heart rate variability

For the monitored training sessions, I will use a heart monitor that connects to the girth while a horse is ridden, plus a chest-strap monitor for the rider. When both horses and humans experience stress, heart rate variability decreases, indicating a shift toward ‘fight or flight’. This affects performance by making us easily exhausted and less adaptable. By monitoring both heart rates simultaneously, we will be able to determine whether the rider’s stress affects their own heart, which in turn affects their horses, and vice versa.

I aim to improve combinations’ competitiveness and connectivity by understanding how stress affects their performance. The better we can manage stress in everyday life with our horses, the easier it will be to deal with high-pressure environments, such as large competitions. By undertaking this project, I am learning much more about show jumping. I am inspired by the sport and by what we can learn from the phenomenal calmness of top-level athletes that I have observed.

An essential aspect of this project is my connection with people in the equestrian community, from riders and yards across the country, through the survey, to specialists in horse stress, analytics, and heart monitoring.

The project is still in progress, and I will need continued communication, participation, and support to complete it. I hope this article has been of interest and, if you would like to be involved in any way, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at isabelle.mccarthy22@colaistechoilm.ie. or via Instagram and Facebook at isabelle.mccarthy.showjumping.