Horse: Ante Before the game, each player including the dealer puts an equal agreed amount into the pool.
Betting Each player decides which horse he will back. A player may bet only on one horse; more than one player may bet on the same horse.
A horse still runs even if no one bets on it.
The long horse, essentially a side horse without pommels, is 53 inches in height. The horse has lines marking zones at each end, the one nearer the performer called the near end and the one farther away, the far end.
In the long horse event, the gymnast vaults from a reuther board (a takeoff board designed to give a small amount of spring) over the length of the horse. After a run of about 60 feet, the gymnast lands on the takeoff board and passes over the horse, with one or both hands touching the horse's body, while executing a vault such as a stoop, straddle, handspring, or cartwheel. Vaults are classified as either near end (croup) or far end (neck) vaults, and for the best performance the hands must touch within one or the other of the two zones. Because a vault is of considerable height and distance, the activity requires leg strength and power. |