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Equestrian

Equestrian displays and competitions were featured in the early Olympic Games in Greece. Today equestrian events are still popular and have been featured in the modern Olympic Games since 1912.

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The Events
"Show jumping" is the most well-known equestrian event. Each horse and rider jumps two rounds of a series of obstacles. Fault points are assessed if an obstacle is knocked down, if the horse balks at an obstacle, or if the time is exceeded.

The "dressage" competition requires the rider, man or woman, to guide the horse through a series of precise and intricate movements. Some of these movements include a stunning element called "the passage," which calls for a suspension of motion between each step of a trot, and another, "the piaffe," in which the animal trots in place. Points are awarded for the proper execution of each movement.

The three-day event, also called "combined training," is a grueling test of endurance and style consisting of three parts: dressage, endurance, and show jumping. The dressage and jumping sections follow the same basic rules and scoring as do the regular dressage and jumping events. The endurance phase is a long-distance obstacle run broken into four parts: two "roads and tracks," one "steeplechase," and one "cross-country."

News, History, and Fast Facts

More sports


Archery

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Canoeing & Kayaking

Cycling

Diving

Equestrian

Fencing

Field Hockey

Gymnastics

Judo

Paralympics

Pentathlon

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Soccer

Softball

Swimming

Synchronized Swimming

Table Tennis

Taekwondo

Team Handball

Tennis

Track & Field

Triathlon

Volleyball

Water Polo

Weightlifting

Wrestling

General Sports Links
Olympians will compete in dozens of sports this summer. Even though Gateway to the Summer Games can't feature them all, you can learn about each and every one by visiting the sites listed below.


Portions of the above text were excerpted from Share the Olympic Dream--Volume II.
© 2001 by Griffin Publishing Group/United States Olympic Committee.

For information on purchasing Griffin materials, please visit the Griffin Publishing Group Web site at http://www.griffinpublishing.com.

 

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