Equestrian:

Equestrian as a competitive sport first began in 1868 at the royal Dublin Horse Show. Enthusiasm for the sport then quickly spread to Europe and North America. By the late 1800s horse shows were regular international events that attracted much notice.Equestrian events have been on the Olympic programme since 1900. There are seven Equestrian disciplines recognized internationally: Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Reining, Vaulting, Endurance, and Driving but olympic includes only Jumping, Dressage, and Three Day Eventing.

Dressage Event:

The term dressage comes from the French word for training, using moves developed for the battlefield and parade ground. The horse performs set movements, or tests, in response to its rider's subtle aids and signals. A rider must execute precise maneuvers with a high degree of accuracy on a very fit horse. The event is conducted over three rounds. In the first two rounds horse and rider perform a set routine of dressage movements, including passages, pirouettes and piaffes in a walk, trot and canter. The third round is freestyle, with routines individually choreographed and performed to music. The judges evaluate not only the horse's performance, but the rider's ability to communicate with his or her mount.

Jumping Event:

Jumping Event, also known as the Prix de Nations, or Prize of the Nations. Jumping requires horse and rider to complete a course of about 15 obstacles which includes triple bars, parallel rails, water jumps and simulated stone walls. Penalties are accounted if jumps are taken in the wrong order, if a horse refuses a jump or knocks down a rail, and if time limits are exceeded.

Three Day Eventing:

The 3-day event tests the all-round ability of horse and rider. As its name indicates, this event consists of three phases, they are Dressage, Cross-country and Obstacle course, and Stadium Jumping.

In 1900, a high jump and a long jump for horses were held for the only time. Prior to 1952, equestrian sports events during the Olympics were contested by men only. In fact, the riders had to be military athletes. In 1952 these restrictions were lifted, and since then men and women have competed against each other in the equestrian events. It is also the only Olympic sport where men and women compete in the same event.