Ing. Agr. Mg. María Alejandra Blanco 
Technical Director and Founder of Grass & Horses. 
Consulting Partner at the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory (RSTL) 

A Bit of Basic Biomechanics in Equestrian Sports 
Equestrian sports are practiced on sand, turf, or synthetic surfaces. In all cases, various authors have demonstrated that the surfaces on which equestrian sports are practiced affect both the incidence of injuries (Hernlund, 2016; Egenvall et al., 2013; Murray et al., 2010a; Parkin et al., 2004a; Hernandez et al., 2001) and the performance of equine athletes (Peterson et al., 2010).

The turf surfaces used for equestrian sports follow the general principles of all sports fields. The choice of species, establishment, and maintenance practices are similar to those used on any other sports field and are subject to the environmental conditions of the specific geographic location. 

The difference lies in the fact that the “players” are pairs composed of horse and rider, and therefore, the load generated during movement is several magnitudes greater.