Tent pegging

Tent pegging (sometimes spelled 'tentpegging' or 'tent-pegging') is a cavalry or equestrian sport of ancient origin.

The sport
In the specific sport of tent pegging a mounted horseman, or at times a team of horsemen, rides at a gallop and uses a sword or a lance to pierce, pick up and carry away a small ground target (a symbolic tent peg) or a series of such small ground targets.

Origins
The origins of tent pegging are ambiguous and subject to some controversy. Some historians and other scholars believe it originated in Arabia,Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, London: Macmillan, 1949 ed others believe that it might have evolved in Central Asia,General Sir Richard Gale, Kings at Arms, London: Hutchinson & Co, 1971 while others still believe in its Indian origins.https://admin.fei.org/Development/Regional_Disciplines/Pages/tent_Pegging.aspx  ; Tent pegging recognised by FEI, Brief Report, 2004. Retrieved 15 Nov 2012 It is believed that people have practised the game of tent pegging since at least the 4th century BC, and over the ages Middle Eastern, Asian and later European empires popularized the game around the world.

The term "tent pegging", however, historically emerged from the attacks by Arabian Muslim cavaliers on enemy camps at dawn or late night, where they would gallop to their tents and pluck out the pegs of their tents, so that these would collapse on them,Horses and Riders of Arabia: A History of Military Tactics in Early Islam, Rawalpindi: Pakistan Army Press, 1979 thus causing havoc and terror in the camp. Several old medieval Arab books give descriptions of such tactics.See Muhammad Abdullah ibn Uthman al-Hakam, The Conquest of Persia (Orig.Arabic, 650-660 AD; translated Paris, 1874); and also several references cited in Ibn-Qutaybah, Uyun al-Akhbar (Section on arms and warfare), Vol. 1, Cairo, 1930, pp.128-132; as well as others

Present
Today, tent pegging is practised around the world, but is especially popular in Australia, Pakistan, India, Israel, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Canada 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.

However, it is important to recognize the difference between tent pegging as an 'international sport' and the local, rural version of the sport played by the traditional tribal peoples such as the Bedu in the Middle East and Oman, the Desi horsemen of Pakistani and Indian Punjab and so on. The former is a milder sport, whereas the latter is a fiercer and more commanding contest.

References

Category:Equestrian sports
Category:Middle Eastern culture
Category:Sport in India
Category:Sport in Pakistan