Your Ultimate Guide to Watching Televised Horse Sports

Many sports fans shy away from watching horse sports because they don’t understand the rules. Here is your guide to watching the most popular televised horse sports (For the sake of this not being a novel, we’re only going to cover the types of horse sports included in the olympics).

**Fun fact before we start: all horse sports are co-ed, so men and women compete against each other at the professional level!

Showjumping

Fast, fun, and full of adrenaline, showjumping is the ultimate combination of speed and precision. At the Grand Prix level (highest level which includes the Olympics, World Equestrian Games, and other internationally ranked events), riders must race around courses of 10-16 jumps, which have a height of 1.6 meters and a spread of up to 2 meters. In show jumping, the goal is to get through the course with the fastest time and the least number of faults. A fault is measured in seconds and can include going over the time limit (1 second is added for every second over the time limit), knocking a rail off of a jump (4 seconds added to score) or having the horse refuse a jump (4 seconds added to score). If a horse refuses twice, they are eliminated. While showjumping is an individual sport, the Olympics features both individual and team competition. In this format, teams of four compete in three different rounds: 

• The qualifier: each rider collects point for their individual score, and the top three scores from each team are tallied 

• Round 2: Once again, scores in this round count towards both an individual and a team score. The top 8 teams from this round will move onto the final.

• Round 3: Called the Team Medal Final, the top 8 teams from round 2 compete for medals; the team with the least amount of faults (penalties) will win gold. If there is a tie, a “jump off” will take place, in which the teams who are tied will jump a special, shortened course to determine the winner. Additionally, round 3 of individual competition sees the top 50 riders compete

• Round 4: round 4 sees the top 35 riders compete for individual medals. Similarly to team competition, the rider with the least faults wins, and any tie is broken using a jump off

The most successful showjumpers are those who are not only fast, but are also insanely precise. Often, the winners are ahead by just a fraction of a second, and are able to manipulate the track that they ride to shave corners and slice jumps to get ahead. Professional show jumping can be watched on NBC during the Summer Olympics, ESPN, or can be watched online through the United States Equestrian Federation website (sign up for free here), or the International Equestrian Federation website.

Dressage

Often referred to as “horse dancing”, Dressage has been around since early 430 BC, when the Greek military trained their horses to do complex movements in order to evade their enemies during battle. Today, dressage has been refined to “the highest expression of horse training” , in which horse and rider pairs must perform a test containing a predetermined set of movements. At the Grand Prix level ( Olympics, Dressage World Cup, and internationally ranked competitions), each movement in a test is given a score ranging from 0-10, with additional points being awarded for overall style, rider performance, and the expression of the horse. Tests from different riders are not scored against each other, but rather against a standardized rubric. At the Grand Prix level, movements included in a test can include the extension and collection of gaits (gaits include the walk, trot, canter, and gallop), pirouettes, movements in place, flying changes (which look like skips), among others. In the Olympics, dressage is both an individual and  team competition and is completed in 3 rounds:

• Round 1: All riders perform the same Grand Prix test, with the top 25 individuals moving on to round 2; medals are awarded to the top 3 teams in this stage
• Round 2: All riders perform the Grand Prix Special test, which is shortened and more specialized; the top 13 from this round move on to round 3
• Round 3: A freestyle round in which riders are able to create their own tests, which must follow a strict set of guidelines. These tests are set to music (many riders have started setting their tests to pop and rap music - check out this test set to the black eyed peas!), and the top three scores are awarded medals. 

Dressage can be watched on NBC during the Summer Olympics, ESPN, or through the International Equestrian Federation website.

Eventing

The triathlon of horse sports, eventing combines show jumping, dressage, and cross country into one grueling event. Taking place over three days (one phase each day), the goal in eventing is to complete all three phases with the least number of faults. In the Olympics, eventing is both a team and individual competition, and takes place over 3 days:

• Day 1: All riders complete the same dressage test. Scores are converted into penalty points, so unlike in traditional dressage, the goal here is to have the lowest possible score.
• Day 2: The cross country phase is completed. Cross country involves riders competing on an outdoor track that contains natural elements such as logs, water, and ditches which they must navigate. Riders are given an optimum time to complete the course(usually around 10 minutes), and penalty points are given for being outside the optimum time. 
• Day 3: The show jumping phase is completed. Just like traditional show jumping, the goal is to get around the course of jumps with the least faults and the fastest time. In olympic eventing, there are two show jumping rounds; the first determines team placings, and the second individual placings. 

Eventing can be watched on NBC during the Summer Olympics, ESPN, or through the International Equestrian Federation website.

Now that you’ve got a full education in televised horse sports, you’re ready to watch! Click on the videos below to get a taste for each discipline we discussed, and tune in to the Summer Olympics to watch Team Canada win gold!