Different Kinds of Horse Sports

Horse sports break down into three styles, each with its own specialized equipment: English, western and driving. English style, featured in the Olympics, uses a lightweight saddle, and the rider holds the reins in two hands. Polo and most horse racing are also English style. Western saddles are larger than English saddles and have a protruding horn on the front. Riders use one hand to hold both the reins. Driving competitions involve one or more horses in a harness pulling a cart or carriage.

  1. Olympic Equestrian Sports

    • The equestrian competitions in the Olympics include show jumping, dressage and eventing. In show jumping, the rider guides the horse over a series of obstacles. In dressage, the rider memorizes a pattern with specific moves in a level arena. Eventing combines the precision of dressage with two courses over fences, one in an enclosed arena and the other on a cross-country field.

    Horse Racing

    • Horse racing takes place on the flat or may include jumping over obstacles such as in a steeplechase. Thoroughbred racing garners headlines through such celebrated events as the Kentucky Derby. Another breed that has its own races is the quarter horse. The Arabian breed is a popular choice for endurance racing, a long-distance trail competition. Riders may use either a western or English saddle.

    Polo

    • Polo, the oldest known team sport, requires the largest field of any competition. A rider uses a mallet to hit a ball through his team's goalposts. Two teams of four riders play seven-minute periods called chukkers and change horses for each. Ideal polo ponies combine the best traits of several breeds such as the thoroughbred, Arabian and quarter horse.

    Western Riding

    • Western style includes cutting horse competitions and rodeo sports such as team roping and barrel racing. The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) sponsors reining classes such as galloping patterns, spins and sliding stops during the World Equestrian Games, which are competitions at the Olympic level held in a non-Olympics year. Western horse shows feature pleasure riding, trail classes, a versatility class and halter classes, in which judges score riderless horses on their conformation while being led. Gymkhanas are speed games on horseback and are popular with young riders.

    Driving Competitions

    • Combined driving is similar to eventing but with a team consisting of a single harnessed horse, a pair of horses or a four-in-hand. The three phases include dressage, a cross-country marathon of obstacles and a cones class. The dressage test gives a base score, while the marathon determines additional points for errors. In the cones class, the team must ride between narrow cones with balls balanced on top; each ball that falls costs points. Pleasure-driving shows hold classes with singles, pairs, unicorns, tandems or teams. The sport of horse pulling features teams of draft horses pulling weighted loads. Harness racing has standardbred horses pulling a cart at a trot or pace on a track.