149  An investigation into self-perception of body image in female equestrians in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Body image has become widely considered in modern society and has been found to affect performance, sport participation levels, athlete self-confidence and impact subjective judging. Female body image (BI) has been investigated in a range of sports yet, in the female dominated sport of equestrianism, where several disciplines are subjectively judged, there is a paucity of BI research. This study aimed to identify self-perceptions of BI in female equestrians, identify rider perceptions of judge and coach BI bias, highlight relationships between female equestrian body image and self-consciousness and explore any effect of breast size. A 4-part, 27 question online survey (GoogleForms) was distributed for 2 mo via various equestrian social media platforms and was completed by female equestrians (n = 493), based in the United Kingdom, currently participating in horse riding activities. Participants supplied demographic information, self-perceived BI and ideal female equestrian BI (rated on a validated scale from smallest A to largest J), and self-consciousness details while horse riding. Chi-squared ( X 2 ) and Wilcoxon (W) analyses were utilized to test associations between participant responses. The second smallest body image on the scale (B) was perceived to be ideal for the female equestrian (X 2 = 352.751, P < 0.001). There was no significant effect of rider age, own BI, or level of riding commitment to this perception. There was a significant perception that judges favored riders with a smaller frame (X 2 = 54.2111, P < 0.001); and a significant association was found between riders who perceived their BI to be larger feeling self-conscious when riding (X 2 87.514, P < 0.001). Additionally, significantly more people perceived the ideal BI to be smaller than their own BI (Median = −1.5, W = 7777.00, P < 0.001), there was an association between those categorised as dissatisfied with their BI and feeling self-conscious when riding (X 2 = 83.649, P < 0.001). Consequently, perception of the ideal female equestrian frame is smaller than many riders’ own BI, and a larger BI negatively impacts rider self-confidence, potentially impacting performance, and participation, therefore, warranting further research. Female riders with a larger frame may be perceived negatively by judges, or at least feel they are, and further study is indicated to investigate the extent these influences have on the subjective judging of equestrian sport.