The History
Equestrian's Dressage comes from European Military Cavalry training, as do the other events after it. It was first in the Olympics in 1912 but was only for military riders for the next 40 years. That doesn't matter now though… now everyone can compete in the sport. There is a word that you should know called "Dressage" which is a French word that means training.
The Sport
In
Dressage the rider and the horse are assigned to do some movements.
They also have to do it in order. This is to show how well the horse is
trained and how good the rider is, but the most important thing is to show how
they both work together.
This sport has many challenges. There are hurdles, which are jumps. It also has jumps over the water. This sport also has two kinds of challenges, a straight course and one with jumps. Some courses are more than two miles long!
Riders have to wear stuff too, right? Show jumpers wear a riding jacket, white shirt, hunt cap and women wear a choker while men wear a shirt and a tie. They also wear breeches and black boots. They can wear spurs and use a crop. Dressage riders wear traditional attire. They wear a flat crowned black top hat, a shadbelly or a dark blue or black swallow tail coat, white hunting stock or off-white breeches, light colored gloves, black dress boots and spurs. If the person is in the military they may wear their uniform. They also have an English saddle and a double bridle to guide horses.
After dressage there is another and another competition. These events are much different. They are the Jumping event etc. A competitor can compete in any number of events in any combinations.
In the Olympics
There are only some countries that can compete. The rest have to sit out. Fifteen countries can enter teams and 36 individuals can compete in the individual competition.
For the jumping part there are different spots. There are spots for 16 teams from 16 different countries. There are also be 15 spots for countries sending in individuals.
In the Olympics there is a team event and individual events. A country can send a team of four men with their horses, but if they can't enter a team they can only send in individuals. As you most likely guessed, each person can only have one horse in the competition so they must chose wisely which horse they should chose for the competition. Ten countries can be in the individual event. Ten countries can also compete in the team event. No more than ten may enter in these events. This whole event is a 4 day event.
First there is a little test. The only problem is that the riders can not use their voices or riding whips, but you have to use spurs. The riders and their horse have to do tricks according by lettered boxes around a 20 by 60 meter ring.
The first round is the Grand Prix Test. There is an event for both individual and team competitions. The Grand Prix Test has 38 compulsory moves. The top 25 people will proceed to the next event, even if people are tied for X place. Only three competitors from each country may proceed to the next event. The next event is the Grand Prix Special. This is a shorter but more concentrated version of the Grand Prix Test. The top 15 people in this event will proceed to the next event.
The next event is the Grand Prix Freestyle. In this contestants must perform any trick with their horse while some music is playing. The winner is the one with the most points earned through the three events. If there is a tie and they will have a ride-off. The team rankings are decided by the total number of points of the best three of the team.
You've probably been wondering who does the scoring. The judges do it. Every move they take is judged on a 0-10 scale. They also judge things like the canter, etc.
Errors in these events are very bad for
the rider.
*First Error =-2 points + 2 penalty
points
*Second Error =-4 points + 4 penalty
points
*Third Error =-6 points + 6 penalty points
*Fourth Error = Elimination.
These also give penalty points, which count
when the whole Equestrian event finishes. The good points will help you
win the event though.
Totaling up the points given by the five judges and subtracting any lost points because of faults will decide the final score. There are good and bad points. Good points will help you win while the penalty points are a bad thing and they will count in the final scorings.
After the Dressage there is another part. It is called the endurance test. Before the riders and their horses go through the track the rider will be able to go through it by him/herself to review the track. There are four phases, Phase A, B, C and D. Phase A is a short road/track which is done at the pace of a slow canter or a trot. Phase B is a steeplechase which is a course with obstacles which is done at a fast gallop. Phase C is basically the same thing as phase A but it is longer but is carried out at the same pace. Phase D is a cross-country course that is usually done at a gallop and has obstacles.
These courses are all connected. Phase A is just a warm-up for the next parts. Phase B is basically the more "exciting" part of the day. Phase C is to calm down after Phase B and to prepare for Phase D. Phase A and C are sort of linked together. They are scored together and are alike. In total they are nearly 8 miles or 12,700 meters. In phase A and C are paced at about 220 meters a minute. After phases A, B, and C there will be a 15 minute rest for the horse and its rider. The horse will be checked a veterinarian and the mounts will be cleaned. The tack will also be adjusted.
Scoring is decided by timing. There is no special award for being before time is up but if you're after you get penalty points. If you take 20% more time than the expected time then you will be eliminated.
For
jumping penalties there are:
*First disobedience
= 20 penalty points
*Second disobedience
= 20 penalty points
*Third disobedience
= elimination
*First fall = 60 penalty points
*Second fall = elimination
These penalties are the same for the cross-country part. A zero is a perfect score, which mean that points are bad, the penalty points that is. There are also good points that help the person win.
After that event there is another. It is called the Show Jumping Phase. The course is 750-850 meters long with 10-12 obstacles. In this event every second the competitors use they get ¼ of a point.
There are still penalty points for this
event.
*First disobedience
= 10 penalty points
*Second disobedience
= 20 penalty points
*Third disobedience
= elimination
*First fall = 30 penalty points
*Second fall = elimination
*Hoof in the water or ditch
*Or on the lath of a water jump or
knocking down an obstacle
= 5 penalty points.
There is a special way of telling which obstacles are to be jumped in their order. Numbers will tell which are to be jumped first, second, third etc. A red and white flag will decide which side it is to be jumped by. The red flag indicates that it is to be jumped from the right-hand-side while, you know what side the white flag means it is to be jumped. The letters A, B and C tell a combination of jumps. Jumps are very hard in this jumping event. A normal jump is about 4-5 feet. A water jump is about 14 feet. In the scoring the first place finisher will get the amount of points there were competitors in the first competition. The second would get one less etc. As you probably guessed the one with the best score subtracting the penalty points will proceed. These are the "qualifying rounds" which get you into the finals.
As you guessed again we have penalty points
for the finals.
Foot on white border,
*A water jump fault or an Obstacle
knocked down = 4 fault/penalty points
*Rider or Horse falling = 8 fault/penalty
points
*Second fall of horse or rider
= elimination
*First disobedience
= 3 fault/penalty points
*Second disobedience
= 6 fault/penalty points
*Third disobedience
= elimination
There are still penalty points for this
event.
*First disobedience
= 10 penalty points
*Second disobedience
= 20 penalty points
*Third disobedience
= elimination
*First fall = 30 penalty points
*8 Second fall = elimination
*Hoof in the water or ditch
or on the lath of a water jump or
knocking down an obstacle
= 5 penalty points.
The winner of the whole Equestrian event is won by the person with the least total penalty points from all three events and the one with the most total good points. If there is a tie the person with the best endurance score will even it up. If there is still a tie they will see which one has the better or best standing in the cross-country part. If the tie is still not broken then they will see who has the least and farthest time from the optimum time limit in the cross-country part. Then if the tie is still unbroken they will go to the steeplechase scores and see whose is better. If the tie still hasn't been broken then all the people that were tied will walk away with the place or the metal.
To decide who wins the team event is a lot easier. After adding up the total good points and subtracting the penalty points will decide which team will win. If there is a tie then the team whose third person has the highest score between the other third people on the team will win.
Accomplished Athletes
William C. Steinkraus on Snowbound
1968 show jumping individual
Gold Medal
Dr. Reiner Klimke
Team competition 1964, 1968, 1976,
1984, and 1988
Gold Medals
Dr. Reiner Klimke
1984 individual
Gold Medal
Dr. Reiner Klimke
1968 and 1976 individual
Bronze Medal
Tad Coffin
1976 individual
Gold Medal
Tad Coffin
1984 team competition
Gold Medal
Joe Fargis
1984 individual show jumping
Gold Medal
Joe Fargis
1984 team three-day-event
Gold Medal
Valerie Kanavy
1994 individual endurance test
Gold Medal
