This book provides an in-depth understanding of human-horse relationships, interactions and the embodied nature of equestrian sport and leisure practices. Encounters between humans and horses are revealing about the ways that human society is structured through intersection with nonhuman others. Caring for, being around and riding horses are visceral, sensual experiences that require immersion of body and mind. This results in the formation of a unique embodied way of knowing and being in the world that characterizes equestrian sport and leisure. This book explores the individual and collective identities that are performed through involvement in the horse world.

Preface

1. Introduction: Welcome to the Horse World

2. Human and Animal: Co-being and Co-becoming

3. The Yard

4. Training

5. The Hack

6. Competition

7. The Horse World Online

8. Conclusions: Human-Animal Relationships in Equestrian Sport and Leisure

Glossary

Bibliography

Katherine Dashper is a Senior Lecturer in Events Management at Leeds Beckett University, UK. She specializes in the social and cultural aspects of sport, leisure and events. She has expertise in relation to gender and equality, and in researching encounters between human and nonhuman animals in a variety of sport, leisure and event spaces. Much of her research has focused on equestrian sport and leisure. Drawing on theoretical insights from human-animal studies, she is interested in exploring the role of nonhuman animals within human leisure and the interspecies relationships that can develop through joint action and interaction