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Equestrianism

Equestrianism (from Latin equester, equestr-, equus, 'horseman', 'horse'),[2] commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English),[3] includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.

For other uses, see Equestrian and Horse riding (disambiguation).

is the most popular form worldwide. In the UK, it is known as flat racing and is governed by the Jockey Club in the United Kingdom. In the US, horse racing is governed by the Jockey Club. other light breeds are also raced worldwide.

Thoroughbred horse racing

involves racing on a track where the horses also jump over obstacles. It is most common in the UK, where it is also called National Hunt racing.

Steeplechasing

("training" in French) involves the progressive training of the horse to a high level of impulsion, collection and obedience.[11] Competitive dressage has the goal of showing the horse carrying out, on request, the natural movements that it performs without thinking while running loose.

Dressage

comprises a timed event judged on the ability of the horse and rider to jump over a series of obstacles, in a given order and with the fewest refusals or knockdowns of portions of the obstacles. Show jumping is also one of the five events in the modern pentathlon.

Show jumping

also called combined training, horse trials, the three-day event, the Military or the complete test, puts together the obedience of dressage with the athletic ability of show jumping, the fitness demands the cross-country jumping phase. In the last-named, the horses jump over fixed obstacles, such as logs, stone walls, banks, ditches and water, trying to finish the course under the "optimum time". There was also the 'Steeple Chase' Phase, which is now excluded from most major competitions to bring them in line with the Olympic standard.

Eventing

The in Saumur, France.

Cadre Noir

The in Vienna, Austria.

Spanish Riding School

The at Queluz National Palace, Portugal.

Portuguese School of Equestrian Art

The in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

The haute école (F. "high school"), an advanced component of Classical dressage, is a highly refined set of skills seldom used in competition but often seen in demonstration performances.


The world's leading Classical dressage programs include:


Other major classical teams include the South African Lipizzaners and the Hollandsche Manege of the Netherlands.

sometimes called seat and hands or horsemanship, refers to events where the rider is judged on form, style and ability.

Equitation

Pleasure, flat or under saddle classes feature horses who are ridden on the flat (not jumped) and judged on manners, performance, movement, style and quality.

Halter, in-hand breeding or conformation classes, where the horse is led by a handler on the ground and judged on conformation and suitability as a breeding animal.

Harness classes, where the horse is rather than ridden, but still judged on manners, performance and quality.

driven

Jumping or Over Fences refers broadly to both and show hunter, where horses and riders must jump obstacles.

show jumping

Horse shows are held throughout the world with a tremendous variety of possible events, equipment, attire, and judging standards used. However, most forms of horse show competition can be broken into the following broad categories:

or Hunter classes judge the movement and the form of horses suitable for work over fences. A typical show hunter division would include classes over fences as well as "Hunter under Saddle" or "flat" classes (sometimes called "hack" classes), in which the horse is judged on its performance, manners and movement without having to jump. Hunters have a long, flat-kneed trot, sometimes called "daisy cutter" movement, a phrase suggesting a good hunter could slice daisies in a field when it reaches its stride out. The over fences classes in show hunter competition are judged on the form of the horse, its manners and the smoothness of the course. A horse with good jumping form snaps its knees up and jumps with a good bascule. It should also be able to canter or gallop with control while having a stride long enough to make a proper number of strides over a given distance between fences. Hunter classes differ from jumper classes, in which they are not timed, and equitation classes, in which the rider's performance is the focus. Hunter style is based on fox hunting, so jumps in the hunter division are usually more natural colors than the jumps in a jumper division.

Hunt seat

show jumping and dressage, described under "Olympic disciplines", above are all "English" riding disciplines that in North America sometimes are loosely classified within the "hunt seat" category.

Eventing

is a primarily American discipline, though has recently become somewhat popular in South Africa, was created to show to best advantage the animated movement of high-stepping and gaited breeds such as the American Saddlebred and the Tennessee Walker. Arabians and Morgans may also be shown saddle seat in the United States. There are usually three basic divisions. Park divisions are for the horses with the highest action. Pleasure divisions still emphasis animated action, but to a lesser degree, with manners ranking over animation. Plantation or Country divisions have the least amount of animation (in some breeds, the horses are flat-shod) and the greatest emphasis on manners.

Saddle seat

is a competition seen primarily in the United Kingdom, Australia and other nations influenced by British traditions, featuring horses of elegant appearance, with excellent way of going and self-carriage. A related event is riding horse.

Show hack

In addition to the classical Olympic events, the following forms of competition are seen. In North America they are referred to as "English riding" in contrast with western riding; elsewhere in the world, if a distinction is necessary, they are usually described as "classic riding": There is no horn.

an internationally recognized competition where horses perform an arena-based "dressage" class where precision and control are emphasized, a cross-country "marathon" section that emphasizes fitness and endurance, and a "stadium" or "cones" obstacle course.

Combined driving

: Most draft horse performance competition is done in harness.

Draft horse showing

: Horses and ponies are usually hitched to a light cart shown at a walk and two speeds of trot, with an emphasis on manners.

Pleasure driving

: Also called "Formal driving", Horses are hitched to a light four-wheeled cart and shown in a manner that emphasizes flashy action and dramatic performance.

Fine harness

: A horse show competition where exhibitors wear racing silks and ride in a sulky in a style akin to harness racing, only without actually racing, but rather focusing on manners and performance.

Roadster

driving, using somewhat larger two or four wheeled carriages, often restored antiques, judged on the turnout/neatness or suitability of horse and carriage.

Carriage

Horses, ponies, mules and donkeys are driven in harness in many different ways. For working purposes, they can pull a plow or other farm equipment designed to be pulled by animals. In many parts of the world they still pull wagons for basic hauling and transportation. They may draw carriages at ceremonies, in parades or for tourist rides.


As noted in "horse racing" above, horses can race in harness, pulling a very lightweight cart known as a sulky. At the other end of the spectrum, some draft horses compete in horse pulling competitions, where single or teams of horses and their drivers vie to determine who can pull the most weight for a short distance.


In horse show competition, the following general categories of competition are seen:

and pole bending – the timed speed and agility events seen in rodeo as well as gymkhana or O-Mok-See competition. Both men and women compete in speed events at gymkhanas or O-Mok-Sees; however, at most professional, sanctioned rodeos, barrel racing is an exclusively women's sport. In a barrel race, horse and rider gallop around a cloverleaf pattern of barrels, making agile turns without knocking the barrels over. In pole bending, horse and rider run the length of a line of six upright poles, turn sharply and weave through the poles, turn again and weave back, then return to the start.

Barrel racing

– Also known as "Bulldogging", this is a rodeo event where the rider jumps off his horse onto a steer and 'wrestles' it to the ground by grabbing it by the horns. This is probably the single most physically dangerous event in rodeo for the cowboy, who runs a high risk of jumping off a running horse head first and missing the steer or of having the thrown steer land on top of him, sometimes horns first.

Steer wrestling

– usually an event for women or pre-teen girls and boys, a goat is staked out while a mounted rider runs to the goat, dismounts, grabs the goat, throws it to the ground and ties it in the same manner as a calf. This event was designed to teach smaller or younger riders the basics of calf roping without the more complex need to also lasso the animal.

Goat tying

Arena and Cowboy polo

polo

(Argentina's national sport)

Pato

: In vaulting, a surcingle with two hoops at the top is attached around a horse's barrel. The horse also wears a bridle with side reins. The vaulter is longed on the horse, and performs gymnastic movements while the horse walks, trots, and canters.

Equestrian vaulting

competition of timed pattern games, also known as O-Mok-See in the western United States.

Gymkhana

Arm fracture or dislocation (31%)

Head injury (21%)

Leg fracture or dislocation (15%)

Chest injury (33%)

Horse riding on coinage[edit]

Horse riding events have been selected as a main motif in numerous collectors' coins. One of the recent samples is the €10 Greek Horse Riding commemorative coin, minted in 2003 to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics. On the composition of the obverse of this coin, the modern horseman is pictured as he jumps over an obstacle, while in the background the ancient horseman is inspired by a representation on a black-figure vase of the 5th century BC.


For the 2012 Olympics, the Royal Mint has produced a 50p coin showing a horse jumping a fence.[56]

FEI official homepage

International Federation for Equestrian Sports

USEF Official web site

United States Equestrian Federation

Equestrian Federation of Australia web site

Equestrian Federation of Australia

– EFI web site

Equestrian Federation of Ireland

Russian – Equestrian Federation of Kazakhstan English

Equestrian Federation of Kazakhstan

United States Dressage Federation

American Endurance Ride Conference

– Competitive Trail Riding

The North American Trail Ride Conference

UK Endurance Horse Riding

Ride and Tie Association

– Equestrian Vaulting

The American Vaulting Association

Danish Riding Federation

National Cutting Horse Association