Leisure Kicks - The essencial sport and leisure guide

Horse riding dates back centuries, with its first introduction as a sport at the Ancient Olympic Games in 680BC. Today’s dressage competition is originally derived from horse military training in Ancient Greece – as the ability for a horse to burst into speed, change direction swiftly and generally follow the lead of their riders were invaluable skills on the battlefield.

Methods of training horses for war evolved over the centuries and in the Middle Ages more challenges such as show jumping and cross country were introduced to reflect even more of the challenges that horses and their riders may face in battle.  In the 18th century, dressage was perfected by the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna, forming the sport as we know it today – aside from the freestyle form of dressage done to music, which only joined the Olympic programme in 1996. 

Equestrian events in general were included on the 1900 Olympic programme in Paris with a showjumping competition. They were subsequently excluded until 1912, but have since been a regular part of the Games. However, women were not allowed to compete until 1952. Today, men and women compete alongside one another on a level field – something that no other sport in the Olympics can offer. 

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A rider practices in Helsinki at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Wikimedia Commons