Equestrian - Marceli

Olympic sports – Equestrian

The only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other on a level playing field, equestrian has three disciplines: eventing, dressage and jumping, all of them with individual and team competitors.

Equestrian dressage

The goal is that the horse and the athlete

reach perfect harmony while executing

the course alternating free and mandatory

movements, such as walk, trot, gallop

and halt. Free movements present special

choreographies for each horse and are

followed by music. Seven judges assess

each performance, giving points from

1 to 10. After being totaled-up, this score

generates a percentage, and the rider or

team with the highest rate is the winner.

Equestrian Eventing

Eventing, a more complete discipline,

involves all aspects of equestrian.

The competition lasts several days

and is divided into three stages:

dressage, jumping and crosscountry

(a course of 30 to 40

jumps over obstacles of different

types, with small lakes and

stone hurdles and a maximum

limit of time). The winner

is the rider or team that

accumulates fewer faults at

the end of the three parts

of the competition.

Equestrian jumping

A course with 10 to 13 obstacles

challenges the horse to demonstrate

its strength, speed and obedience

when jumping, while the rider must

prove its riding skills. If any part

of the obstacle is knocked down

or if the horse refuses to jump, faults

are computed. The style of the jump

is not assessed. The winner will be

the rider or team with fewer faults

in the shortest time possible.

©       Germany has established a dominant position in Olympic dressage, with 19 gold, 11 silver and 9 bronze medals. Germany has won seven Olympic eventing gold medals and has the current Olympic (Michael Jung) and world (Sandra Auffarth) individual champions.

 

©       Olympic horses work out on treadmills and receive massage, physiotherapy and acupuncture treatments. They fly to events around the world in cargo planes in specifically designed transport units with a vet and grooms onboard. Horses also have passports that include physical descriptions and vaccinations details.

Marceli - 9ano C