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12:58 on 4th December 2007

The Equestrian disciplines are unique among Olympic sports, in the sense that men and women compete on the same terms and horse and rider are both declared Olympic medal winners.

At Olympic Games, the horses must be the same nationality as the riders and each horse must be at least seven years old and have (as well as the rider) a certificate indicating experience in top international competition.

Rider and horse are considered a team. Years of systematic efforts are required for the team to be able to perform adequately various exercises of skill, speed, endurance, and jumping of obstacles.

In Show Jumping, the rider’s horsemanship and the horse’s freedom, energy, skill and obedience are tested over a series of about 15 obstacles, including parallel rails, triple bars, water jumps and simulated stone walls within a specified time period. Their aim is to perform a ‘clear’ round, avoiding penalty points due to a fence knock-down, a refusal or passing of the designated time to complete the course.

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