pommel horse

pommel horse
a padded, somewhat cylindrical floor-supported apparatus, similar to a vaulting horse but having two graspable pommels on top, used by men for hand-supported balancing, rotating, and swinging maneuvers. Also called side horse.
[1905-10]

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Gymnastics event for men.

It uses a padded rectangular apparatus supported by legs and with two pommels (U-shaped handles) on the top. The gymnast performs various swinging and balancing feats, holding himself over the horse by means of the pommels or by grasping the front (neck), centre (saddle), or rear (croup) of the horse. The apparatus stems from a wooden horse used by the Romans to teach mounting and dismounting.

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also called  side horse 
  gymnastics apparatus, a leather-covered form 1.6 metres (63 inches) long, 34 to 36 cm (13.4 to 14.2 inches) wide, and (measured to its top) about 115 cm (45.3 inches) from the floor with a support in its centre. Curved wooden pommels (handholds) 12 cm (4.7 inches) high are inserted 40 to 45 cm (15.75 to 17.72 inches) apart in the top of the horse.

      The pommel horse event is part of the men's competition in the modern Olympic Games. The gymnast supports himself with his hands by holding the pommels over the horse and performs movements with his trunk and legs, such as single or double leg circles and crosses of the legs (scissors), without stops. These are combined with turns and changes of the hands' grasp to the forward part of the horse (neck), the centre (saddle), and the rear (croup). It is necessary to vary the movements and also to perform them both to the left (clockwise) and to the right.

      The apparatus stems from a wooden horse introduced by the Romans and used to teach mounting and dismounting. They added it to the ancient Olympic Games. The basic modern exercises were developed in the early 19th century by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (Jahn, Friedrich Ludwig), founder of the German turnverein.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pommel horse — n. Gym. 1. a piece of equipment consisting of a HORSE (n. 9) with two U shaped or rounded handles on top, used for acrobatic routines 2. an event in which a male gymnast performs a routine on such a horse …   English World dictionary

  • pommel horse — n a piece of equipment used in ↑gymnastics that has two handles on top, which you hold on to when you jump or swing over it …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Pommel horse — The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is traditionally used by male gymnasts, due to intense strength requirements. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, today the frame may contain plastic or …   Wikipedia

  • pommel horse — noun a gymnastic horse with a cylindrical body covered with leather and two upright handles (pommels) near the center; held upright by two steel supports, one at each end • Syn: ↑side horse • Hypernyms: ↑horse, ↑gymnastic horse • Part Meronyms:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pommel horse — noun Date: 1908 1. a gymnastics apparatus for swinging and balancing feats that consists of a padded rectangular or cylindrical form with two pommels on the top and that is supported in a horizontal position above the floor 2. an event in which… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pommel horse — noun a) An apparatus for gymnastic exercises with a cylindrical body covered with leather and two upright pommels, as hand grips, near the centre; held upright with adjustable legs …   Wiktionary

  • pommel horse — n. side horse, leather padded vaulting horse equipped with two curved graspable pommels used in gymnastics by male gymnasts only …   English contemporary dictionary

  • pommel horse — noun a vaulting horse fitted with a pair of curved handgrips …   English new terms dictionary

  • pommel horse — pom′mel horse n. 1) spo a padded, somewhat cylindrical, floor supported gymnastic apparatus with two graspable pommels on top, used by men for hand supported balancing and swinging maneuvers 2) spo the gymnastic competition involving this… …   From formal English to slang

  • pommel horse — noun (C) a piece of equipment used in gymnastics with two handles on top, which you hold onto and jump over …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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