Nay Pyi Taw 2013

Dressage tests take place in a 60m x 20m ‘all-weather’ (sand-based) arena. Two competitions run at the same time - the Team medals are decided in one round and the Individual medals over three rounds. In each round the riders have to perform a Dressage Test, made up of a series of movements to be performed by the horse.

The movements are set in a compulsory order for the first two rounds but, for the third and final round, the rider chooses what he or she will show the judges, and the programme is set to music.

Horse and rider are marked by five judges who will be looking for accuracy of movement, calmness, suppleness and flexibility.

The history of Equestrian sport dates back over 2,000 years, to when the Greeks introduced Dressage training to prepare their horses for war. It continued to develop as a military exercise through the Middle Ages, with the Three Day Event - which includes Dressage, Cross Country and Show Jumping tests - designed to reflect the range of challenges horses faced in the army. In its modern form, Equestrian owes much to its inclusion in the Olympic Games, which led to the creation of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in 1921. Through its development of international competitions, the FEI has helped to spread the popularity of horse sport outside its traditional army base. Equestrian was an Asian Games event 1982 in New Delhi, India.

Jumping (known as ‘Show Jumping’ in the United Kingdom) takes place in an arena, around a course of approximately 15 fences. Jumping courses are now highly technical, requiring boldness, scope, power, accuracy and control from both horse and rider.

The fences are designed so that if the horse hits them as they jump them, part or all of the fence will knock down and the rider will be penalised with ‘faults’.

Faults are also awarded if the rider does not complete the course within a set time. The winner is the rider with the fewest faults; if there is a tie, the result is decided by jumping a shortened course as fast as possible without knocking fences down (“against the clock”).

The Team medal is decided over three rounds by four riders and the Individual medals over five rounds.