What is the history of equestrian?
Humans have ridden horseback since pre-historic times, as evidenced by art and literature originating from ancient Greece, China, Egypt, and Persia. Equestrian as a sport developed during the second half of the 19th century. In April 15, 1868, the Royal Dublin Society included two jumping events – the “high leap” and the “wide leap” – on the program of its annual horse show.
Equestrian at the Olympic Games
Equestrian was first included in the Olympics at the 1900 Games in Paris. Three equestrian events – show jumping, the high jump, and the long jump – were contested at those Games. Organizational issues prevented the sport from being contested in 1904 or 1908, but it reappeared at the 1912 Stockholm Games. The program, which had been proposed by a Swedish officer called Count Clarence von Rosen, contained individual and team show jumping and individual and team eventing competition, as well as an individual dressage event. The eventing competition was limited to military officers, but the other events were open to civilians.
In 1921, the international governing body for the sport of equestrian, the Fédération Équestre Internationale, was formed when delegates from 10 countries met in Lausanne, Switzerland to establish some universal rules for the three Olympic equestrian disciplines.
What are the current Olympic equestrian events?
Equestrian includes three distinct events including dressage, eventing, and jumping for individuals and for teams
