Equestrian sports highlight the strong bond between a rider and their horse covering a range of disciplines involving horse riding. A horse and rider might perform in competitive sports which include an element of vaulting (in events such as showjumping) or stylised riding (in events like dressage). Other disciplines include but are not limited to endurance riding, carriage driving, and reining which are often seen at horse shows such as the iconic Royal Windsor Horse Show. Some popular forms of competition are grouped where horses perform in a wide variety of disciplines such as eventing (also known as horse trials) which combines dressage, cross-country, and showjumping. Polo and rodeo also come under the category of equestrian.
Dressage, eventing, and jumping are very popular forms of the sport and are recognised worldwide. These disciplines are part of the current equestrian events at the Olympics. Equestrian was first included in the 1900 Olympic Games but included different events than we see today such as polo and high jump. By 1912, all 3 Olympic disciplines still seen today were part of the games, though all 3 have developed since their inauguration at the Games.
💯 Equestrian Format & Scoring
There are 10 international disciplines run under rules established by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI):
- Combined driving
- Dressage
- Endurance riding
- Eventing
- Para-equestrianism
- Reining
- Showjumping
- Tent pegging
- Vaulting
- Western Pleasure
- Showmanship
Equestrian extends further into sports such as polo and rodeo. Prize money, trophies, medals, and ribbons are often the prizes up for grabs and each discipline is scored differently - normally in terms of style, but also points are picked up for the time taken to complete a course in some cases, or points are deducted for errors such as knocking down an obstacle - usually by a panel of judges. The sport is unisex so women and men compete together on equal terms.
The rules of the FEI apply to competitions open to riders from across the world, including the Olympic Games and the World Equestrian Games. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are:
- Dressage - a horse and rider perform from memory a series of predetermined movements usually to music
- Eventing - (also known as 3-day eventing or horse trials) a horse and rider compete against other competitors across the 3 disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and showjumping. The competition may be run as a 1-day event (ODE) with all 3 events on one day or a 3-day event (3DE), which is more commonly run over 4 days
- Jumping - (divided into hunter classes, jumper classes, and hunt seat equitation classes) a horse and rider are judged on style in hunter classes, while in jumper classes they are given a numerical score determined by whether the horse attempts an obstacle, clears it, and finishes the course on time. Hunt seat equitation classes give points based on the ability of the rider
