SPORT
Speed and Grace
Elizaveta Chernysheva
Lyceum BSPU,
Blagoveshchensk (Russia)
Horses have always been near the
human beings and horse racing is undoubtedly
the most exciting activity of all that were
mentioned above. It has existed since ancient
times but there is no much in common with
what we have today. The origins of modern
racing date back to the 12th century, when the
English knights returned from the Crusades
with swift Arab horses that had both speed
and endurance. They had been bred with
special care and attention for more than 4
centuries and the nobility started to privately
wager on match races between the fastest of
them.
I think many of us have been dreaming
of a pony since the early childhood. Well, for
someone it remained just a dream but some
have found themselves in equestrian sport
and have been striving for achievements for
many years.
In fact, horse riding dates back to 1600
BC but the exact date horses were
domesticated and when they were first ridden
remains still uncertain. It is only known that
these strong and graceful animals were
trained for hunting and farming purposes as
well as for pulling the chariots, supplies
carriage and going into the countless battles.
Later with the improvements being made to
the training of horses and the usage of tack
for riding, horse riding became a safer and a
more comfortable activity, allowing to use the
horse for a number of purposes such as
scouting and postal delivery.
Nowadays the horse riding technique
learnt over the years is practiced, developed
and taught all over the world. The horses are
bred and trained not only for competitions
now, but also for the work and leisure walks in
the forest.
70
SUNRISE
During the reign of Queen Anne horse
racing became a professional sport and its
rapid expansion created the need for a
central governing authority. In 1750 horse
racing elite met at Newmarket to form the
Jockey Club, the organization that continues
to regulate English horse racing to this day.
The initiator of the event was James I who
spent so much time racing horses that the
House of Commons petitioned him to
concentrate more of his time on running the
country.
British horse racing is served by a daily,
national newspaper, the Racing Post, carrying
industry news, race cards for all British and
Irish race meetings, tipping columns and
betting information. Nowadays horse racing
keeps attracting a lot of people risking money
on the horse they think is likely to win. No
doubt, there is a great number of horses in
training and some of them cost millions.
Entering for big races they give their owners a
chance to win very expensive prizes but those
ones who have bet on them to try their luck
and get a big sum of money. It`s worth
mentioning that all horse races make a striking
picture that's why it`s always exciting to
attend them. Nowadays there are a few race
February 2019 №2