Horse Trials or ‘Eventing’ as it is also known, has its roots in the Military and dates back to the early part of the 20th century, when the competition was developed to reflect the varied roles of the cavalry horse and provide a challenge for the horse and rider during times of peace.
Today, it is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete on equal terms. The sport has evolved into a multi-disciplined competition combining dressage, cross country and show jumping, providing a true all round test for the partnership of horse and rider.
The first element is the Dressage, a test on the foundation of basic training, ridden in a rectangular arena asking for suppleness, obedience and elegance. The second element is the Show Jumping, testing the horse and rider's care and precision over coloured knock down fences. The third element is the Cross Country. This tests the partnership's judgement of speed, boldness, athleticism over a wide variety of fixed cross-country obstacles.
Great Britain is one of the most successful nations in the history of the sport, winning more that 230 medals over the 80 years of Olympics, World and European Championships. Indeed, some of the worlds greatest riders base themselves here in the UK because of the strength of the sport and quality of competition. Currently the senior GBR Team hold the World Equestrian Team Gold, the individual World Equestrian Silver (William Fox-Pitt). GBR have held Team Gold for the last 10 European Games as well as individual Champion (Tina Cook) and Individual Silver Medal (Norfolk's own Piggy French). In 2012 our GBR Team will be contesting their Beijing Olympic Bronze Medal and hoping to Win GOLD on home turf at Greenwich Park in London.
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