Tent pegging Tent pegging ( sometimes spelled " tentpegging " or " tent - pegging " ) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin , and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation . Used narrowly , the term refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets . More broadly , it refers to the entire class of mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback , for which the term " equestrian skill - at - arms " is also used . Essential rules . The specific game of tent pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a sword or a lance to pierce , pick up , and carry away a small ground target ( a symbolic tent peg ) or a series of small ground targets . The broader class of tent pegging games also includes ring jousting ( in which a galloping rider tries to pass the point of his weapon through a suspended ring ) ; lemon sticking ( in which the rider tries to stab or slice a lemon suspended from a cord or sitting on a platform ) ; quintain tilting ( in which the rider charges a mannequin mounted on a swivelling or rocking pedestal ) ; and Parthian ( i . e . , mounted ) archery . A given tent pegging competition ' s rules specify the size and composition of the target ; the number of consecutive targets placed on a course ; the dimensions and weight of the sword , lance , or bow ; the minimum time in which a course must be covered ; and the extent to which a target must be struck , cut , or carried . Origins . Cavaliers have practised the specific game of tent pegging since at least the 4th century BC , and Asian and later European empires spread the game around the world . As a result , the game ' s date and location of origin are ambiguous . In all accounts , the competitive sport evolved out of cavalry training exercises designed to develop cavaliers ' prowess with the sword and lance from horseback . However , whether tent pegging developed cavaliers ' generic skills or prepared them for specific combat situations is shrouded in anecdote and national chauvinism . According to the International Equestrian Federation , " most equestrian authorities are of the opinion that tent - pegging originated in India in the middle ages in the battle fields as a tactics used by the horsed cavalry against elephant mounted troops " A cavalier able to precisely stab the highly sensitive flesh behind an elephant ' s toenail would cause the enemy elephant to rear , unseat his mahout , and possibly run amok , breaking ranks and trampling infantry . However , other scholarly sources suggest that the sport originated earlier in Central Asia or the Middle East and was later on popularised in India . The term " tent pegging " is certainly related to the idea that cavaliers mounting a surprise pre - dawn raid on an enemy camp could use the game ' s skills to sever or uproot tent pegs , thus collapsing the tents on their sleeping occupants and sowing havoc and terror in the camp . However , there are few reliable accounts of a cavalry squadron ever employing such tactics . Because the specific game of tent pegging is the most popular equestrian skill - at - arms game , the entire class of sports became known as tent pegging during the twilight of cavalry in the twentieth century . Contemporary sport . Today , tent pegging is practised around the world , but is especially popular in Australia , India , Israel , Oman , Pakistan , South Africa , and the United Kingdom . The Olympic Council of Asia included tent pegging as an official sport in 1982 , and the International Federation for Equestrian Sports recognised it as an official equestrian discipline in 2004 . From the results of the 2008 International Tent Pegging Championships , the world ' s three leading national teams are currently Canada , India , and Oman . While members of cavalry regiments and mounted police forces still dominate world - class tent pegging , the sport is being increasingly embraced by civilian riders . New and emerging national tent pegging associations have helped spread the sport ' s popularity . The Australian Royal Adelaide Show , the British Tent Pegging Association , and the United States Cavalry Association now hold annual national championships and demonstrations in their respective countries . Sussex Peggers Riding Club www . sussexpeggers . com ( a British Horse Society British Riding Club ) also holds - and takes part in - annual competitions and demonstrations in the UK and overseas . The pre - eminent tent pegging games remain centred in Asia and the Middle East , with the International Tent Pegging Championships and the continental Asian Games traditionally enjoying the highest number of competitors and participating states . Popular culture references . In George McDonald Fraser ' s Flashman novels , title character Harry Flashman served in a lancer regiment , and frequently mentions tent pegging and his broader skills with the lance .