FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Int J Environ Res Public Health / Horse-Riding Competitions Pre and Post COVID-19: Effect of A...
International journal of environmental research and public health2020; 17(22); doi: 10.3390/ijerph17228648

Horse-Riding Competitions Pre and Post COVID-19: Effect of Anxiety, sRPE and HR on Performance in Eventing.

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to quantify the impact of training restrictions, due to COVID-19 sanitary emergency, on physical and emotional strain of horse-riding Eventing competitions before and after eight weeks of lockdown. Performance was assessed by the penalty points attained, anxiety by the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2, strain by the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) method. Moreover, Heart Rate was continuously monitored for fifty-four female national level Eventing horse-riders. Lockdown decreased performance outcome of horse-riders in Eventing competitions up to six weeks, with the Dressage test being the most affected discipline. Performance in Dressage was strongly related to both anxiety and session-RPE. After lockdown, Show-Jumping and Cross-Country courses were shorter allowing RPE to remain stable, session-RPE to significantly decline and cardiovascular strain not to exceed pre-lockdown values. In conclusion, emotional stress in Dressage and workload in Cross-Country should be carefully managed by equestrian Eventing stakeholders when planning training and competitions after a period of lockdown. Moreover, sRPE appears to offer a practical method of monitoring riders load during training and competition and could also be of use for home-based training during any future sport activities restrictions.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2020-11-21 PubMed ID: 33233325PubMed Central: PMC7700127DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17228648Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The study investigated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the performance of horse-riders in Eventing competitions, finding noteworthy influences on both emotional and physical strain that can inform future training and competition strategies.

Research Overview

The researchers aimed to explore the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the physical and emotional strain in Eventing horse-riding competitions. They evaluated the competitors’ performance, emotional strain (anxiety), and exertion levels before and after a period of lockdown to draw conclusions on how these factors were influenced.

Methodology

  • The performance was gauged based on the penalty points the participants accrued during the competition.
  • The researchers assessed anxiety levels using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2.
  • The physical strain was evaluated using the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) method. Session-RPE was also considered for in-depth analysis.
  • Lastly, the heart rate of the participants was continuously monitored, serving as an indicator of their cardiovascular strain.

Participants

The study included 54 female horse-riders competing at a national level in Eventing competitions.

Findings

After eight weeks of lockdown, the researchers observed a decrease in the performance of the horse-riders up to a period of six weeks – the Dressage test was particularly influenced.

  • The Dressage test performance was directly linked to anxiety levels and the session-RPE. There was a significant decline in these factors post-lockdown.
  • Likewise, for Show-Jumping and Cross-Country following the lockdown, the courses were shortened, which helped keep the RPE stable.
  • The cardiovascular strain did not surpass the pre-lockdown stages in both Show-Jumping and Cross-Country disciplines.

Conclusion and Implications

The researchers concluded that managing emotional stress in Dressage and workload in Cross-Country events is crucial when planning training and competitions after a period of lockdown. They suggested that the sRPE can be a practical method for monitoring riders’ training and competition load, and can also be effective for home-based training in case of future sport activities restrictions. The findings of this research can be beneficial for Eventing stakeholders in making informed decisions about training and competition structuring during or post-lockdown periods.

Cite This Article

APA
Demarie S, Galvani C, Billat VL. (2020). Horse-Riding Competitions Pre and Post COVID-19: Effect of Anxiety, sRPE and HR on Performance in Eventing. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228648

Publication

International journal of environmental research and public health
ISSN: 1660-4601
NlmUniqueID: 101238455
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 17
Issue: 22

Researcher Affiliations

Demarie, Sabrina
  • Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Piazza de Bosis 6, 00135 Roma, Italy.
Galvani, Christel
  • Applied Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 1, 20123 Milano, Italy.
Billat, Veronique Louise
  • Unit of Integrative Biology of Adaptations to Exercise, EA 7362, Université d'Evry-Val d'Essonne, Genopole, 91037 Evry, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Anxiety / epidemiology
  • Athletes / psychology
  • Athletic Performance / psychology
  • COVID-19
  • Female
  • Heart Rate
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Sports / psychology

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 28 references
  1. Sarto F, Impellizzeri FM, Spörri J, Porcelli S, Olmo J, Requena B, Suarez-Arrones L, Arundale A, Bilsborough J, Buchheit M. Impact of potential physiological changes due to COVID-19 home confinement on athlete health protection in elite sports: A call for awareness in sports programming.. Sports Med 2020;50:1417–1419.
    doi: 10.1007/s40279-020-01297-6pmc: PMC7254973pubmed: 32468329google scholar: lookup
  2. Stokes KA, Jones B, Bennett M, Close GL, Gill N, Hull JH, Kasper AM, Kemp SP, Mellalieu SD, Peirce N. Returning to play after prolonged training restrictions in professional collision sports.. Int J Sports Med 2020.
    doi: 10.1055/a-1180-3692pmc: PMC7799169pubmed: 32483768google scholar: lookup
  3. Trotter MA, Endler NS. An empirical test of the interaction model of anxiety in a competitive equestrian setting.. Pers Individ Differ 1999;27:861–875.
    doi: 10.1016/S0191-8869(99)00035-5google scholar: lookup
  4. Wolframm IA, Micklewright D. Effects of trait anxiety and direction of pre-competitive arousal on performance in the equestrian disciplines of dressage, showjumping and eventing.. Comp Exerc Physiol 2010;7:185–191.
    doi: 10.1017/S1755254011000080google scholar: lookup
  5. Wolframm IA, Micklewright D. Pre-competitive arousal, perception of equine temperament and riding performance: Do they interact?. Comp Exerc Physiol 2010;7:27.
    doi: 10.1017/S1755254010000152google scholar: lookup
  6. Fédération Equestre Internationale. Eventing Rules.. 25th ed. Fédération Equestre Internationale; Lausanne, Switzerland: 2019.
  7. Gualano MR, Lo Moro G, Voglino G, Bert F, Siliquini R. Effects of Covid-19 Lockdown on Mental Health and Sleep Disturbances in Italy.. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:4779.
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134779pmc: PMC7369943pubmed: 32630821google scholar: lookup
  8. Brooks SK, Webster RK, E Smith L, Woodland L, Wessely S, Greenberg N, Rubin GJ. The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence.. Lancet 2020;395:912–920.
    doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8pmc: PMC7158942pubmed: 32112714google scholar: lookup
  9. Bompa TO, Buzzichelli C. Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training.. Human Kinetics; Champaign, IL, USA: 2018.
  10. Brownsberger J, Edwards A, Crowther R, Cottrell D. Impact of mental fatigue on self-paced exercise.. Int J Sports Med 2013;34:1029–1036.
    doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1343402pubmed: 23771830google scholar: lookup
  11. Marcora SM, Staiano W, Manning V. Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans.. J Appl Physiol 2009;106:857–864.
    doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.91324.2008pubmed: 19131473google scholar: lookup
  12. Borg GA. Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion.. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1982;14:377–381.
    doi: 10.1249/00005768-198205000-00012pubmed: 7154893google scholar: lookup
  13. Kilpatrick M, Kraemer R, Bartholomew JB, Acevedo E, Jarreau D. Affective Responses to Exercise are Dependent on Intensity rather than Total Work.. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39:1417–1422.
    doi: 10.1249/mss.0b013e31806ad73cpubmed: 17762376google scholar: lookup
  14. Haddad M, Stylianides G, Djaoui L, Dellal A, Chamari K. Session-RPE method for training load monitoring: Validity, ecological usefulness, and influencing factors.. Front Neurosci 2017;11:612.
    doi: 10.3389/fnins.2017.00612pmc: PMC5673663pubmed: 29163016google scholar: lookup
  15. Martens R, Vealey RS, Burton D. Competitive Anxiety in Sport.. Human Kinetics; Champaign, IL, USA: 1990.
  16. Minganti C, Ferragina A, Demarie S, Verticchio N, Meeusen R, Piacentini MF. The use of session RPE for interval training in master endurance athletes: Should rest be included?. J Sports Med Phys Fit 2011;51:547–554.
    pubmed: 22212255
  17. Foster C, Florhaug JA, Franklin J, Gottschall L, Hrovatin LA, Parker S, Doleshal P, Dodge C. A New approach to monitoring exercise training.. J Strength Cond Res 2001;15:109–115.
    doi: 10.1519/00124278-200102000-00019pubmed: 11708692google scholar: lookup
  18. Tanaka H, Monahan KD, Seals DR. Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited.. J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;37:153–156.
    doi: 10.1016/S0735-1097(00)01054-8pubmed: 11153730google scholar: lookup
  19. Garber CE, Blissmer B, Deschenes MR, Franklin BA, Lamonte MJ, Lee IM, Nieman DC, Swain DP. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise.. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2011;43:1334–1359.
    doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318213fefbpubmed: 21694556google scholar: lookup
  20. Hyttinen AM, Ahtiainen JP, Häkkinen K. Oxygen uptake, heart rate and blood lactate levels in female horseback riders during the obstacle test track.. Int J Perform Anal Sport 2020;20:584–595.
    doi: 10.1080/24748668.2020.1764747google scholar: lookup
  21. Italian Federation of Sport Medicine. Raccomandazioni FMSI Alla Ripresa Degli Allenamenti.. Federazione Medico Sportiva Italiana; Rome, Italy: 2020.
  22. Lodi E, Scavone A, Carollo A, Guicciardi C, Reggianini L, Savino G, Modena MG. Ripresa dell’attività sportiva in seguito a pandemia COVID-19. Come comportarsi? (Return to sport after the COVID-19 pandemic. How to behave?). G Ital Cardiol 2020;21:514–522.
    doi: 10.1714/3386.33637pubmed: 32555567google scholar: lookup
  23. Pelliccia A. Return to play after the COVID-19 pandemic: A commentary by the editor in chief.. J Sports Med Phys Fit 2020;60:675–676.
    doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.20.11137-Xpubmed: 32438782google scholar: lookup
  24. Jerome GJ, Williams JM. Intensity and interpretation of competitive state anxiety: Relationship to performance and repressive coping.. J Appl Sport Psychol 2000;12:236–250.
    doi: 10.1080/10413200008404225google scholar: lookup
  25. McGreevy PD. The advent of equitation science.. Vet J 2007;174:492–500.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2006.09.008pubmed: 17157542google scholar: lookup
  26. Von Borstel UU, Duncan IJ, Lundin MC, Keeling LJ. Fear reactions in trained and untrained horses from dressage and show-jumping breeding lines.. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2010;125:124–131.
    doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2010.04.015google scholar: lookup
  27. Górecka-Bruzda A, Kosińska I, Jaworski Z, Jezierski T, Murphy J. Conflict behavior in elite show jumping and dressage horses.. J Vet Behav 2015;10:137–146.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2014.10.004google scholar: lookup
  28. Pillay L, Van Rensburg DJ, Van Rensburg AJ, Ramagole DA, Holtzhausen L, Dijkstra HP, Cronje T. Nowhere to hide: The significant impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) measures on elite and semi-elite South African athletes.. J Sci Med Sport 2020;23:670–679.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.05.016pmc: PMC7235602pubmed: 32448749google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 10 times.
  1. AlSamhori JF, Alshrouf MA, AlSamhori ARF, Alshadeedi FM, Madi AS, Alzoubi O. Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on athletes, sports events, and mass gathering events: Review and recommendations. Sports Med Health Sci 2023 Sep;5(3):165-173.
    doi: 10.1016/j.smhs.2023.07.006pubmed: 37753427google scholar: lookup
  2. Martín-Moya R, Tejada-Medina V. Considerations after lockdown and overcoming Covid-19: A systematic review for returning to safe physical exercise practice. Sci Sports 2023 May 12;.
    doi: 10.1016/j.scispo.2022.10.003pubmed: 37362085google scholar: lookup
  3. Domino M, Borowska M, Zdrojkowski Ł, Jasiński T, Sikorska U, Skibniewski M, Maśko M. Application of the Two-Dimensional Entropy Measures in the Infrared Thermography-Based Detection of Rider: Horse Bodyweight Ratio in Horseback Riding. Sensors (Basel) 2022 Aug 13;22(16).
    doi: 10.3390/s22166052pubmed: 36015813google scholar: lookup
  4. Demarie S, Chirico E, Bratta C, Cortis C. Puberal and Adolescent Horse Riders' Fitness during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effects of Training Restrictions on Health-Related and Functional Motor Abilities. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 May 24;19(11).
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116394pubmed: 35681978google scholar: lookup
  5. Córdova-Martínez A, Caballero-García A, Roche E, Pérez-Valdecantos D, Noriega DC. Effects and Causes of Detraining in Athletes Due to COVID-19: A Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Apr 28;19(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095400pubmed: 35564795google scholar: lookup
  6. Migliorini F, Weber CD, Pappalardo G, Schenker H, Hofmann UK, Eschweiler J, Hildebrand F. Orthopaedic, trauma surgery, and Covid-2019 pandemic: clinical panorama and future prospective in Europe. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2022 Dec;48(6):4385-4402.
    doi: 10.1007/s00068-022-01978-zpubmed: 35523966google scholar: lookup
  7. My G, Marsigliante S, Bianco A, Zangla D, Silva CMD, Muscella A. Biological, Psychological, and Physical Performance Variations in Football Players during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Prospective Cohort Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Feb 26;19(5).
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph19052739pubmed: 35270434google scholar: lookup
  8. Demarie S, Chirico E, Galvani C. Prediction and Analysis of Tokyo Olympic Games Swimming Results: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Swimmers' Performance. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 Feb 13;19(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042110pubmed: 35206298google scholar: lookup
  9. Ogasawara I, Hamaguchi S, Hasegawa R, Akeda Y, Ota N, Revankar GS, Konda S, Taguchi T, Takanouchi T, Imoto K, Okimoto N, Sakuma K, Uchiyama A, Yamasaki K, Higashino T, Tomono K, Nakata K. Successful Reboot of High-Performance Sporting Activities by Japanese National Women's Handball Team in Tokyo, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Initiative Using the Japan Sports-Cyber Physical System (JS-CPS) of the Sports Research Innovation Project (SRIP). Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Sep 18;18(18).
    doi: 10.3390/ijerph18189865pubmed: 34574789google scholar: lookup
  10. García Pinillos R. One welfare impacts of COVID-19 - A summary of key highlights within the one welfare framework. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021 Mar;236:105262.
    doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105262pubmed: 33612900google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.