Equestrian regulations requires a minimum age limit for participants; 18 years for 3 day events and jumping events and 16 for dressage. The horses must be of a certain age also; at least 7 years old. They must have official passports approved by the International Equestrian Federation.

Consists of 3 parts, dressage, endurance and show jumping. The dressage and show jumping portions follow the same basic rules and scoring as regular dressage and show jumping events. The endurance is a long distance obstacle run, broken down into 4 sections. Phase A - is a short road and tracks. It is ridden at about 9 miles per hour and is basically a warm up. Phase B - the steeplechase, which is run on a course between 3,105 and 3,450m long and includes 8 to 10 brush fences. Optimum speed is considered to be about 26 miles per hour. Phase C - a long road and tracks; longer version of Phase A.

Phase D - cross country, it is the most critical test. The course is between 6, 840 and 7, 980m long. This course includes jumping obstacles made of logs, banks, ditches, stone walls and water. The optimum speed is considered to be about 21 miles per hour.

In the steeple chase and cross country phases, the first disobedience at a jump incurs a 20 point penalty; a second disobedience at the same jump incurs a 40 points penalty; a third disobedience at the same jump again results in elimination. A fall is penalised by 60 points, a second fall results in elimination. Penalty point are also assessed for exceeding the optimum time limit. It used to be possible to score bonus points by beating the time, nut this was changed prior to 1976 Olympic Games.

Under current rules each team has 4 members, but the scores of only the top 3 finishers count.

There are 3 qualifying rounds. Those who finish in the top of the qualifying rounds advance to the final course. The top 20 in that round qualify for the final course B. The results are determined by adding the scores from both rounds. Ties for medal places are decided by a jump, off 6 obstacles used in Course B. If a tie still exists the competitor with the fastest time in the jump off is declared the winner.

Course A must be between 600 and 800m long and include 12 to 15 obstacles and a water jump. The obstacles may vary from 1.4m to 1.6m in height. Course B must be between 500 and 600m long. It must be different from course A and must include obstacles varying in height from 1.4m to 1.7m. Course A must include 3 double jumps or one triple; Course B ,must include one double and one triple, with a water jump being optional.

Faults are assessed for disobedience at an obstacle and backtracking. The first disobedience is penalised by 3 faults, 2^nd disobedience incurs 6 faults and a 3^rd results in elimination. If an obstacle is knocked down or the horses hoofs touched the white boarder of the water jump, 4 faults are assessed. A fall by the horse/rider is penalised by 8 faults, the 2^nd fall results in elimination. The riders exceeding the time limit are penalised a quarter of a point per second or part of a second.

Consists of 2 rounds contested on the same course. The course may be between 600 and 800m long and include 12 to 15 obstacles and a water jump. Ties for medal placings are decided by a jump off over a course of 350 to 450m with 6 obstacles. If a tie still exists the faster team wins. Each team has 3 to 4 riders and horses, but only the best three are used when scoring. The riders score may count in one round, but not in another.

The object is to demonstrate the horses responsiveness to the riders commands by taking the horse through a series of pre arranged movements. The five judges grade each movement on a scale of 0 to 10. The horses canter, trot and perform 4 varieties of walking. The judges award 4 collective marks worth up to 20 points each, for freedom, the submission of the horse and the form and position of the rider.

The scores of the five judges are added to determine the final score for each rider. The team event is used as a qualifying competition for individual events. The tops 20in a team event participate in a small final, although 3 riders per nation are allowed to advance. The top 12 in the initial phase of the individual final will then advance to the final of freestyle dressage, performed to music.

Each team may enter 4 riders and horses, but only the score of the top finishers for each team are counted. When there is a tie, the team whose third rider had the highest score is declared the winner.

Equestrian was introduced into the Olympics in 1900. It will be held in the Equestrian Centre, Horsely Park, in Sydney's West.

Equestrian:Top 5 Countries

	G	S	B	Total
Sweden	17	8	14	39
Germany	16	12	11	39
United States	8	15	11	34
France	11	12	9	32
FRG	11	5	9	25