| Description: |
Research on flow in elite sport has largely focussed on traditional sports and has yet to consider the possibility of unique performance experiences in the case of horse-rider sports. This study sought to explore; (a) the conditions influencing the occurrence of flow; (b) the characteristics of flow; and (c) the connections between the conditions and characteristics of flow in horse racing jockeys. Ten full-time professional National Hunt (jump) jockeys (Mean age = 28.1; SD = 5.21) participated in semi-structured interviews exploring the flow state in horse racing. Data was analysed through an alternating process between content analysis (Colaizzi, 1978) and connecting analysis (Maxwell, 2012). The content analysis revealed that ten characteristics described the state of flow in jump jockeys, of which the optimal interaction with the horse has not emerged previously. Synchronisation of horse and jockey during flow experiences was characterised by communication, physiological and locomotive features. The optimal horse-jockey partnership involved the fusion of conditions pertaining independently to both the horse and jockey and was subsequently expressed through altered kinaesthetic sensations in the horse-rider relationship. Twelve facilitators, ten inhibitors and seven disruptors were identified as being influential to the state of flow in jockeys, with all three circumstances including a novel theme; the demeanour, performance and characteristics of the horse. The connecting analysis extracted 35 links between the conditions and characteristics of flow, through which confidence, concentration and the optimal interaction with the horse were highly influential. This study made two important contributions by characterising the experience of flow in the interspecies equine sport of horse racing and identifying the manner in which the facilitative factors influenced flow in jump jockeys. Additionally, results also alluded to elements of the autotelic personality in jockeys. Results are discussed in relation to ... |