Equestrian is the sport of horse riding. It is one of the few Olympic sports in which men and women can compete against each other and is the only Olympic sport that involves animals.
It is a unique sport in that both horse and rider are considered to be a team, and both are declared medal winners. This is to recognise that it takes many years of training by horse and rider to develop the special skills required for these events.
Equestrian has three different disciplines. They are jumping, dressage and eventing. For each of the three disciplines, there is an individual and a team event.
Equestrian events date back to the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. The Greeks would train their horses to be useful during times of war. In 680BC, chariot races and horseraces were both contested at the Greek Games.
Jumping was the first equestrian event to be included in the modern Games. It was introduced in 1900. Dressage and eventing were added in 1912.
New Zealand has 8 member in the 2016 Equestrian team. They include riders such as Sir Mark Todd, Jonathan Paget and Jonelle Price. You can find lots of information about each team member here.
You can also find out lots of information relating to equestrian and other sports here at Rio 2016 Olympics.
Go New Zealand!!!!!!
