Olympic Equestrian

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Equestrian was first included in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris in the form of polo and long and high jumping. Equestrian didn't reappear until 1912 and it has been included in every Olympics since then. It is the only event where animals participate.

London 2012 equestrian will be held in GreenwichPark which will be capable of holding up to 23,000 spectators. GreenwichPark is London's oldest RoyalPark dating back to 1433. It is a World Heritage Site and home to the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Mean Time at Longitude 0". As such, the equestrian stands are temporary and will be removed after the 2012 Games.

Olympic equestrian has three disciplines: dressage, jumping and eventing. Dressage involves the rider guiding the horse through a series of movements. I called the sport 'horse dancing' because that's essentially what it looks like to the untrained eye. The competition begins with all riders performing in two tests called the 'Grand Prix' and the 'Grand Prix Special'. The top 13 riders continue on to the 'Grand Prix Special' where each rider writes their own performance (according to strict guidelines) set to music. From here the top riders are awarded the medals.

Jumping involves the rider taking guiding their horse through a course lined with fences and water hazards. Fences are set at a maximum height of 1.6 meters (5.3 feet) and water at a maximum of 4.5 meters (14.9 feet) and the length of the course is 500-600 meters. Riders are scored based on 'faults' with a knocked down fence or touch of the water resulting in four faults each. The first time a horse disobeys the rider results in three faults and the second time leads to six faults. If the horse or rider falls, they are eliminated. Men and women compete with each other in this event.

Eventing is a combination of three equestrian disciplines: dressage, jumpng and a cross-country race. The event takes place over four days with the first two days consisting of dressage, the third day is cross country and the final day is jumping. The cross-country portion requires the horse and rider to negotiate a course with low fences, ditches, water hazards, banks and combinations of a distance of between 6270 and 7410 meters.

It is a requirement that horses are the same nationality as their riders and they must be at least seven years old. European countries like Germany, Sweden and France have all done very well in this event over the years. Olympic equestrian is the only sport involving an animal and, as such, is entertaining, especially for horse lovers.