Hippika gymnasia The hippika gymnasia ( , " horse exercises " ) were ritual displays or tournaments performed by the cavalry of the Roman Empire to display their skill and expertise . They took place on a parade ground situated outside a fort and involved the cavalry practicing manoeuvring and the handling of weapons such as javelins and spears . The riders and their mounts wore highly elaborate armour and helmets specially made for display purposes , decorated with images from classical mythology . Such tournaments served several purposes , improving the riders ' skills , helping to build unit morale and impressing dignitaries and conquered peoples . The Romans maintained substantial cavalry forces to support their legions . The elite of the cavalry , the " alae " , were expected to perform complex manoeuvres that required extensive training . The role of the cavalry was described in the 2nd century AD by the Roman writer Arrian in his " Ars Tactica " , a ( possibly theoretical ) work in which he described how the legions and auxiliary troops could be organised to defeat an enemy . He recorded the " hippika gymnasia " in considerable detail , though – as he was writing in Greek – we do not know the Latin name of such events . The riders practised complex manoeuvres with dummy weapons , alternately attacking and defending , and displaying their horsemanship and courage to onlookers . Clothing and armour . The participants in the " hippika gymnasia " would have been an impressive sight for those who saw them ; as one writer has put it , " a cavalcade of richly armoured horses and men – who in their masked helmets with silvered faces looked like divine beings . " The riders wore brightly coloured tunics – which seems to have evolved into decorated bronze armour by the 3rd century – and very ornate greave s and helmets with face masks . As Arrian described them , Substantial archaeological evidence has been found of such " sports equipment " , as it has been dubbed . A hoard of cavalry display armour dating to the 3rd century AD was discovered at Straubing in Bavaria in 1950 . It included extraordinarily elaborate horse armour , greaves , helmets and other pieces of armour . Many more " sports helmets " have been recovered from other locations . They were made from a variety of metals and alloys , often from gold - coloured alloys or iron covered with tin . They were decorated with embossed reliefs and engravings depicting the war god Mars and other divine and semi - divine figures associated with the military . One of the Newstead Helmet s from Scotland , for instance , is embossed with a naked winged figure of Cupid driving a chariot . The helmets were of both " male " and " female " types , portraying the wearers as Greeks or Amazons . These were apparently commonly competing teams in the " hippika gymnasia " , which may also have involved re - enactments of other scenes from classical tradition . The female helmets can be recognised by their sculpted hairstyles and other distinctively female elements such as diadems , ribbons and jewels . They were often equipped with the full - face masks mentioned by Arrian in his account . The faces depicted were not always those of Romans , as some were clearly intended to portray easterners . The origin of these very elaborate helmets is uncertain but appears not to have been Rome . Various origins have been suggested , including a theory that they came from Rome ' s eastern provinces . They were produced from the early 1st century AD through to the mid - 3rd century . Although they are relatively light , they appear to have been worn in battle as well as for display purposes . One such helmet was found at the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest , where three Roman legions were wiped out by Germans in 9 AD . It was perhaps worn by an officer or standard - bearer who intended its imposing appearance to intimidate his enemies on the battlefield . Arrian ' s account makes it clear that the horses were also armoured to protect them from javelins and other weapons used during the " hippika gymnasia " : " [ the javelins ] fall harmlessly on [ the horses ' ] sides , particularly since the sides are for the most part protected by the horses ' armour . " Examples of Roman scale armour for horses have been found at Dura - Europos in Syria . It is possible that cloth or linen horse armour may also have been used , which would have been in keeping with the tunics worn by the riders . Arrian also describes the horses as wearing frontlets or head armour , of which examples were found at the Roman fort of Trimontium ( Newstead ) in Scotland . Weapons and exercises . The riders in the " hippika gymnasia " were armed with dummy javelins and darts that they employed in mock battles . According to Arrian , the riders would divide into two teams , one of which would be the attacking side and one the defenders . They used their shields to cover their own and their horses ' backs , forming a type of mobile " testudo " . Two of the defenders would stand in front of their team , acting as targets for the throws of the other side . The attackers were tested on their accuracy in hitting the two defenders , who in turn would attempt to protect themselves with their shields . Some of the other defenders would ride out and try to hit the passing attackers . This was a challenging exercise , as Arrian noted : In another exercise , the cavalry would attempt to throw as many darts as far as they could in a gallop across the parade area in front of the viewing platform where the commanders or other dignitaries were sitting . Fifteen was considered to be a good number but achieving a score of twenty was considered praiseworthy . They also undertook exercises in accurately striking targets with a lance : " Each man carries one lance , and before he gets near the platform , he must whirl his lance with all his might , and , as soon as it reverberates , throw it , taking aim at the target which has been set up . . . on the left of the platform . " The final stage of the display demonstrated skills that would evidently have been useful in combat , where the cavalry was given the task of chasing down the enemy and preventing him from regrouping . As Arrian puts it , The emperor Hadrian witnessed one such display in North Africa in 118 and reviewed the performance of the riders . He complemented their prowess , telling them :