There is no event at the Olympics like Equestrian.
The sport and its disciplines offer the chance for men and women to compete on the same terms and, with a unique combination of equine and human athletes, puts a distinct display of trust and harmony on show.
The Paris 2024 events will take place between the 27th of July and the 6th of August at the Palace of Versailles.
In the lead up, here are some frequently asked questions about Equestrian.
What are the Equestrian disciplines?
There are three equestrian disciplines at the Olympics – dressage, jumping and eventing. Dressage consists of multiple Grand Prix tests where pairings are awarded marks for routines in which they perform predetermined paces, transitions, and movements from memory.
Jumping (often known as show jumping) sees horse and rider clear a number of obstacles in a prescribed course. The aim is to clear as many fences without dislodging them and in the quickest time possible.
Eventing is a three-day competition that combines dressage, show jumping and cross-country to create the ultimate test of horse and rider. Often likened to a triathlon, eventing requires trust, bravery and versatility as riders compete on the same horse throughout the phases. The first phase is a dressage test, followed by cross-country – a timed ride in the open over a series of solid obstacles – and then jumping.
How many medal opportunities are there?
Each of the equestrian disciplines feature individual and team medal opportunities.
How do riders get penalties/faults in jumping?
The pairing with the fewest faults in jumping wins. Faults are given for a variety of reasons including each second a rider exceeds the optimum time limit given for the course. Below is the penalty system used in the discipline, ranging from four faults to elimination (Note that disobedience can be characterised by a refusal to jump or a run out):
Four faults: Obstacle knocked down or hoof on white border of water jump.
Four faults: First disobedience of horse.
Four faults: One or more feet in the water jump.
Elimination: Second disobedience of horse
Elimination: Fall of horse
Eight Faults: First fall of the rider
Elimination: Second fall of the rider
Elimination: Fall of the rider and horse as a combination
Elimination: Exceeding the time limit
How is dressage scored?
There are five judges evaluating the movements and transitions of horses and riders on a scale of 0-10. A score of zero signifies the movement was not performed, 5 is “satisfactory” and 10 is “excellent”.
A final four “collective” marks are given for freedom and regularity of the paces, the impulsion of the horse, the submission of the horse, and the position and form of the rider.
Awarded marks are added up, divided by the total number of marks available and multiplied by 100 to give a percentage. The rider with the highest percentage wins.
Hester, Fry, Dujardin and Hughes
— Team GB (@TeamGB) September 7, 2023
The fantastic four of @britishdressage 🎉 pic.twitter.com/hkzyso3q6M
What are the paces and movements in dressage?
Paces: Paces refer to the different gaits of a horse shown during a test – walk, trot and canter. Within these paces are various ‘types’. For example, there are four types of walk: medium walk, collected walk, extended walk and free walk. Each of these types have set characteristics the horse and rider should meet for the highest score possible, assessed through various factors like the cadence, collection, rhythm, and engagement with the motion through the horse’s body.
Movements: Grand Prix tests involve advanced dressage movements such as passage, piaffe, pirouettes in walk and canter, shoulder in, half-pass and flying changes. These are also assessed by judges who will look for key attributes in each movement.
How does the Olympic competition format work?
Dressage
The Grand Prix starts the dressage and is a qualifier for the individual and team competitions. Athletes are drawn into six heats comprising of ten pairings. The Grand Prix results of the team members are added up with the top eight teams qualifying for the team final (Grand Prix Special). The top two pairings from each heat and the next six best ranked qualify for the individual final (Grand Prix Freestyle).
In the Grand Prix Special (team final), the team medals are determined solely on the results achieved in the Special.
In the Grand Prix Freestyle (individual final), the athletes design their own tests incorporating 16 compulsory movements to their choice of music.
Jumping
The individual qualifying competition advances the top 30 combinations to the final based on their accumulated penalties from completing a 12 to 14 obstacle course.
The individual final is a 12 to 15 obstacle course where athletes are ranked on accumulated penalties. In the event of a tie in medal position, there will be a jump-off.
The first day of the team event also involves a qualifier where penalties will be combined from the three team members. The top ten teams advance to the team final.
Eventing
After all three phases, team medals are awarded based on the combined scores of team members with the team with the lowest number of penalties taking gold. For the individual medals, the top 25 athletes complete a second round of jumping to determine their rankings.
How many riders are in a team?
There is a maximum of three riders per NOC (National Olympic Committee) in a team. Team GB has secured the full nine quota spots for Paris 2024, three for each discipline.
Sportsbeat 2024