Equestrian Events Charm Horse Lovers At Olympics : NPR Equestrian Events Charm Horse Lovers At Olympics Embed Embed Equestrian Events Charm Horse Lovers At Olympics Equestrian Events Charm Horse Lovers At Olympics Embed Embed Equestrian sports are getting more attention than usual at this year's Olympic Games. NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner, a horse owner, rider and competitor, talks about what to watch for in the Olympic horse sports. NEAL CONAN, HOST: Equestrian sports are getting more attention than usual at this year's Olympic Games. The queen's granddaughter, Zara Phillips, brought royalty to the stands for her Olympic debut. Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate Middleton watched Phillips help Britain's equestrian team win a silver medal in the jumping competition. Ann Romney, the wife of the Republican presidential candidate, is also at the games to watch her horse, Rafalca, compete in dressage, an event also known as horse ballet. We want to hear from the horse people in our audience. What are you watching at this year's Olympics? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email us: talk@npr.org.

You can also join the conversation on our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION. Julie Rovner is NPR's health policy correspondent. She's also a horse owner, rider and competitor, and she joins us here in Studio 3A. And, Julie, good to talk horses with you. Good to talk sports for once or again, anyway. (LAUGHTER) JULIE ROVNER, BYLINE: Yes. Sorry not to be at the Olympics but at least glad to be here to talk about it. CONAN: And I was lucky enough to live in London during an Olympics Games, so I've seen an awful lot of television coverage of equestrian events. They take it pretty seriously over there. ROVNER: They take it very seriously over there. It is - when I was first starting eventing and actually Zara Phillips won her - helped the British win the silver medal in eventing, they have not started the... CONAN: In the jumping event. ROVNER: ...in the jumping. The jumping is the last of the three.

There are three equestrian - separate equestrian sports that happen in the Olympics, and the first to go is always the three-day event, which combined jumping and dressage, and then there'll be an actual dressage event - dressage-only event and then there will be show jumping only. So now the three-day event has just ended, and the Brits indeed won the silver medal. CONAN: Oh, well, congratulations to them. There will be some excitement there. But the three-day event - so dressage, jumping and there's a cross-country race as well. ROVNER: That's right. The three days are: the first day is dressage, the second day is cross-country and then the third day is the stadium jumping. Basically, a test to see if after the rigors of the cross-country, the horse basically still has enough gas in the tank to jump - show-jumping course. CONAN: And it is important to emphasize - well, men and women compete in this event against each other. But the athletes - the riders are athletes too, but the horses are the athletes. ROVNER: Oh, the riders are the athletes also.

I was listening to talk radio actually Saturday on my way to my dressage lesson, and some guy was talking on sports radio and said, you know, there's this sport in the Olympics where the horses memorize this pattern and the rider just sits there. And I thought, oh boy, the rider does not just sit there. (LAUGHTER) ROVNER: It's a lot of work. CONAN: In dressage, though, you're not allowed to speak, correct? ROVNER: That's correct. You're penalized if you speak to the horse during a dressage test. You use every other muscle of your body, however. And literally every other muscle of your body. CONAN: So how do you communicate? These are very intricate moves, how do you communicate? ROVNER: They're extremely intricate moves. You use literally - you use an enormous amount of core strength. I also take Pilates. A lot of riders take Pilates. You have a lot of muscles of your core. You use - you need to be able to relax certain muscles and use other muscles. You need to be able to use your arms and your legs and your midsection independently.

You need to be able - as you know, my dressage instructor likes - always can know when I have my jaw clenched, that will actually communicate tension to the horse. I mean, you know, little things. You know, if you move your head the wrong way or your neck the wrong way, I mean, the horse feels everything. Horses are incredibly intuitive, and everything is communicated through you to the horse. So it's an amazing - if you're having a bad day, your horse knows it. If you're having a good day, your horse knows it. CONAN: What is the origin of the sport of dressage? Well, it's actually - it goes all the way back to the Greeks, and, I mean, it is originally - it's one of the classics. It's called classical dressage. But the origin of the modern sport of dressage is really a military sport. In fact, until 1948, only men were allowed to compete in dressage in the three-day event because it was considered - dressage was to make sure the horse was obedient enough to be a good war mount, literally. That was what it was for. A good cavalry horse.

ROVNER: A cavalry horse. And to be able to do - to be able to move - remember, you've got, you know, you got soldiers with guns or swords or, you know, various other implements of weaponry. And so you need to be able to have a horse who is malleable, and you can make it go anywhere you want with sometimes just one hand, sometimes no hands. So that's basically the origin of modern dressage. But basically, what dressage is about these days is making the horse move properly with the rider on its back the way the horse would move without a rider on its back. That's what it's all about in the end, is getting the horse to move to round its back and move with the rider on its back properly as a rear-wheel drive animal, as one of my dressage instructors once said. (LAUGHTER) ROVNER: And it's a really good image. And if you watch dressage, you can see that's what you're looking for, and that's what it's really all about. CONAN: And we look at some of the motions in dressage, and it literally looks like - if it's done well - the horse is dancing.

ROVNER: It does, although dressage riders can't stand when it's called horse ballet. It's really not about ballet. It's - it can look like dancing. And only the freestyle is done to music. And the freestyles are relatively recent phenomena. And if you actually watch the dressage competition that will begin on Thursday, the first - there's three tests, actually, and the first two tests are not done to music. Everyone - every horse and rider does the same test, and it is a prescribed series of movements. And no, the horse does not memorize it. (LAUGHTER) CONAN: So this is like the old required events in figure skating? ROVNER: That's - that's much more what it looks like. It looks like the old-school figures from figure skating. And there are judges, and every figure, every movement gets scored from one to 10, and then there's collective marks. They call them at the end. The rider actually gets one mark for how effective the rider is. The horse gets one mark for, you know, how good the quality of the horse's gait, its walk, trot and canter.

But every movement - and some movements gets double, because they're considered to be more important. Actually, the walk usually gets double. It's considered one of the harder movements to - if you've got a horse with a really good walk, that's a really good thing if you're a dressage horse. And that's very difficult in the eventing dressage test, because these are event horses who are about to go gallop three and a half miles cross-country, and they have a tendency to not want to walk. (LAUGHTER) ROVNER: It can be very, very difficult to do this well. CONAN: We want to hear from the horse people in our audience today. What are you looking forward to in this year's Olympic coverage? Here's an email we have from Karen: I'm disappointed NBC did not air equestrian events on the main channel. Instead, we have synchronized diving, she complained. 800-989-8255. Email us: talk@npr.org. Laura's on the line with us from Charlottesville. LAURA: Hey. Thanks for taking my call. CONAN: Sure. LAURA: I was driving along here, just listening, so curious.

I don't know anything about horses. I'm not a horse person. But when you said that Ann Romney's horse is over in London, it made me wonder: Did they put the horse on an airplane? How did they transfer it over across the ocean? ROVNER: By FedEx. Actually, we did a story on this, I think, back in March. The horses go over on a large cargo plane, and it is, in fact, FedEx. And, of course, horses go to and from Europe all the time. I mean, people are, you know, buying horses, not just for the Olympics. There are major competitions. European horses come to the U.S. for major competitions. U.S. horses go to Europe all the time for major competitions. Yes, there are, in fact, people whose business it is to transport horses across the Atlantic - obviously, to other places, too. But going to and from the - between the U.S. and Europe is not that uncommon a thing. And, yeah, they fly. And, yes, they have big stalls on a big airplane. CONAN: Do they get... LAURA: All right. Thanks. CONAN: Do they get - thank you, Laura.

Do they get jetlag? ROVNER: Yes, some of them do, actually. And there's a lot of - there's people who decide, you know, some horses, they want to take them just shortly before they're going to compete, and some horses they want to take them several weeks before they compete. There's people who, you know, who do this a lot, who seem to know their horses and, you know, whether their horses do better or worse. And I don't know whether it gets worse going east or west. I know for some people it gets worse going east or west. I have never flown a horse. That gets really pricey. I have never taken a horse more than overnight in a horse trailer. CONAN: They, obviously, fly race horses back and forth, too, and... ROVNER: Clearly, yeah. CONAN: ...there's big disputes over whether you should bring them in early and get them accustomed, or... ROVNER: Yeah, exactly. It's exactly the same thing. Horses are very much creatures of habit. I do - I can vouch for that, that they, you know, they know what time breakfast is. They know what time dinner is.

And, boy, if, you know, if you leave them out in the pasture for an extra hour, they know it. They'll be standing at that gate saying, I want my dinner now. CONAN: Yeah. I know a little bit more about horseracing. If you were looking for the center of the industry where a horse should really be bred, that's where you go. That's, of course, Kentucky. Is there a Kentucky for Olympic horses, or dressage and event horses? ROVNER: Yes, and it's Wellington, Florida... (LAUGHTER) ROVNER: ...in the winter. I mean, it varies. Obviously, there's also in North Carolina. A lot of people go to North Carolina for the winter. A lot of other people go to Florida for the winter. Those are sort of the two main places. In dressage, it's mostly Wellington, Florida. CONAN: And that's where the great horses are bred? ROVNER: No. That's where the great horses show in the winter. (LAUGHTER) CONAN: Oh, I see, show in the winter. No, I meant go to Kentucky to - for the breeding.

And so where are the great dressage horses bred? ROVNER: Germany... (LAUGHTER) CONAN: OK. ROVNER: ...basically. And it's funny. You know, Germany has dominated dressage for so many years. And this year, it actually looks like it's the Dutch who - and the Brits who are going to battle it out for the gold medal. And yet they all - everyone is still sort of - now, everyone is sort of exporting German riders, German trainers and German horses. So it's - there are still a lot of Germans. They're just not all riding for Germany anymore. CONAN: OK. Let's see if we get another caller in. This is Jennifer, Jennifer with us from Ann Arbor. JENNIFER: Hi. I am watching - or should be watching, because I haven't actually watched it yet - Mary King, who is probably older than most of the other riders and maybe even older than most other Olympic athletes out there, and she is one of the top eventers, and her skills are just incredible. She has incredible horses. And I'm really looking forward to going home and calling up some online video. And I'll take my comments off the air.

CONAN: OK. Thanks very much for the call, Jennifer. ROVNER: You know, Mary King is one of the British event riders. I actually think she's younger than Karen O'Connor, who's the oldest U.S. Olympian this year, at 54. I think Mary - I think I've actually did look this up. I think Mary King is 51. But, indeed, this is a year for older eventers. Mark Todd, who rode for New Zealand, I think, is 56 or 57. So Andrew Hoy on the Australian team is also - a lot of really very experienced event riders. And, boy, on that really tough cross-country course yesterday, you saw a lot of that experience. It was a very, very difficult course, and a lot of these riders in their 50s were making it look, if not easy, at least very doable. And a lot of the younger, less experienced riders had an awful lot of trouble with it. So it's one of those sports - I mean, my hat is off to these guys who, you know, basically my age and a little bit older are still going around doing these maximum-sized courses.

I'm jumping really small stuff these days. I don't bounce the way I used to. CONAN: Our guest is NPR health policy correspondent and horse enthusiast Julie Rovner. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION, from NPR News. Email from Margaret in Little Rock: You just compared the dressage routine to the school figures that used to be required in figure skating. Another parallel would be katas, the basic moves in Oriental martial arts. Non-horse people just don't realize that dressage is a martial art. ROVNER: I've never heard dressage called a martial art, but I would not dispute that. CONAN: Padma(ph) is on the line with us from Jacksonville. PADMA: Hi. This is Padma. So exciting to talk to you, Neal. CONAN: Oh, thank you. PADMA: And so exciting to talk to Julie Rovner, as well. Quick question. My thing is, isn't this a painful thing for the horse? It's not a natural thing for the horses to be doing. So I just wanted to hear from Julie about that. CONAN: Is it painful for the horse? ROVNER: Not really.

PADMA: It's not fun. ROVNER: It's a - you'd be surprised, but it's a relatively natural thing. Horses do something called free school, and particularly high-level dressage horses, if you turn them out in the field, they'll do some of these movements on their own. I mean, you actually can see them do - I had my own horse, who used to free school. I would turn them out when they would be closed in in the winter. We'd have a snowstorm or something and, you know, they couldn't go out in the field, so we would turn them out in the arena, and he would go around and do some of these movements himself because that's what he's basically been trained to do. CONAN: A related question from email and Crispin in DeKalb, Illinois: We've heard many reports in the U.S. about how racing horses are mistreated. How are Olympic horses treated? ROVNER: Well, part of the problem with racing horses, obviously, there's a lot more money in racing horses, and they are trained and run very young.

I'm actually - I actually printed out the tests that the dressage horses will use, and it says minimum age is eight years. So you cannot even be in - you cannot do the Olympic test until a horse is eight years old as opposed to race horses, who are... CONAN: Three - two or three. ROVNER: Two. Two. Yeah, they start at two. So, I mean, that's one of the differences. There are certainly, you know, there have been cases. There's some controversy about some of the training method for dressage. There is definitely - there have been cases of mistreatment in jumping. There was some controversy about cross country some years ago, although some of that has been changed. They changed some of the rules now. Some of the big, solid jumps will come apart if the horse hits them there. There were some really dreadful accidents involving, obviously, people like Christopher Reeve, but also some horses. So some of that's been changed. And now, if you fall off, you must retire. It used to be you could fall off and get back on. Now - and indeed if the horse slips and falls, that you must retire. So there have been some safety changes made.

I won't say there's, you know, no mistreatment. Obviously, you know, there's animal cruelty in every, you know, everywhere and every sport. But it's not the kind of systemic problem that there is in horse racing. CONAN: Stephen Colbert has been some fun with dressage as the Joe Six-Pack sport of the 2012 Olympics. ROVNER: Oh, yes, he has. CONAN: So there is a reputation of this as a very elite sport only for wealthy people. Obviously, the - Mrs. Romney owns a share of one of the great horses. They are a very wealthy family. I don't think very wealthy would describe a national health policy correspondent. ROVNER: No. And that's, you know, the thing about the horse sports in the Olympics, in particular, you know, all of horses - sort of all of the horse sports in the Olympics are what they describe as a pyramid. And, you know, the very top horses, the horses that end up in the Olympics, are the very, very, very top of that pyramid.

And it's supported by the people at the bottom who do the sport, you know, like me, who are not members of the one percent and who do it. You don't have to be fabulously wealthy to ride dressage, and I think most of the people who ride dressage are not fabulously wealthy. But, yeah, at the very top of the sport, and probably to get to the Olympics, you probably do have to be fabulously wealthy and the people... CONAN: Because that horse is going to cost seven figures. ROVNER: Yeah, that horse is definitely worth seven figures. And all the Olympic horses are worth seven figures. And all the people who, you know, who end up at the Olympics pretty much have sponsors who helped them get there. That's how it happens. And, in fact, you know, one of the big sort of tragedies in the horse world right now, of this dressage competition, is that we are not going to see the best dressage horse in the world because he was sold out from under his rider on the Dutch team to ride around the German team, then the rider on the German team got sick.

So we're not going to see the best horse in the world because he was separated from his rider, because that's what happens when you have a sponsor. CONAN: Well, since we're not going to see that, what one thing are you going to DVR so you can make sure to see? ROVNER: I want to see if Anky van Grunsven, who's the reigning Olympic champion and is going for her third consecutive gold medal in dressage, is going to do it. I obviously want to see Rafalca, the Romney's horse. But I also want to see the British dressage team, who I think is going to be really impressive this year. CONAN: We'll end with this email for Darcy: I participated in the young rider's program in dressage. I miss it so much. I'm so excited to watch the dressage because my trainer's trainer, Tina Konyot, is on the team. I can't wait. I love how you can be in your 50s and still make an Olympic team. Julie, thanks very much. We'll be talking about very serious things when you're on the program next. ROVNER: Oh, OK.

(LAUGHTER) CONAN: NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner with us here in Studio 3A. Of course, she's a horse rider, owner and competitor. Tomorrow, historian John Dower on the events we choose to remember and what we forget. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Copyright © 2012 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc. , an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Equestrian / Dressage - Summer Olympic Sport The long and colourful traditions of Dressage go as far back as ancient Greece. Dressage, the highest expression of horse training, is considered the art of equestrian sport and is used as the groundwork for all other disciplines.

Trained for battle Two thousand years ago, the ancient Greeks recognised that if rider and horse were to survive in battle, complete cooperation was necessary between the pair and developed Dressage as a method to train the horses for war. A horse’s ability to move quickly from side to side, burst into a gallop or change direction immediately were all considered vital skills. Modern Dressage With the disintegration of Ancient Greece, the art of riding slowly fell into oblivion, until its revival during the Renaissance period. In the 18th century, classical Dressage reached its peak with the creation of the world-famous Spanish Riding School in 1729 in Vienna, and laid the basis of the modern discipline. More recently and with unprecedented success, the freestyle to music test was introduced and has since become an integral part of Dressage, making its Olympic début in Atlanta 1996. Freestyle is the pinnacle of Dressage execution and when it works, the result is magic. Olympic history Equestrian sports featured on the Olympic programme of the Paris Games in 1900, with jumping events, and were then withdrawn until the 1912 Games in Stockholm.

Since then, this sport has been on the Olympic programme with remarkable regularity. Until 1948, only men competed in the events, as the riders had to be officers. This restriction was lifted in 1951, and, since the Helsinki Games in 1952, women have competed with men in the mixed events. They competed first in dressage, then gradually in the other equestrian events. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Netherlands’ Anky van Grunsven confirmed her talent by winning gold for the third consecutive time in the individual dressage event. Her titles total eight medals - three gold and five silver. She is joined by Germany’s Isabell Werth (five gold medals and three silver) and Reiner Klimke (six gold and two bronze), who have also won eight medals.

Summer Olympics Events, Rio 2016 Olympics Events World Map / Sports / Olympics / Summer Olympic / Summer Olympics Events Summer Olympics Events 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held from 5 Aug to 21st Aug 2016 at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil The Olympics Games is an international multi-sport event that is subdivided into summer and winter Olympic events. Both the summer and winter games are held every 4 years. The current Olympics program includes 35 sports and nearly 400 events. The Summer Olympics includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines and the Winter Olympics includes 7 sports with 15 disciplines. The main olympic events are archery, badminton, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, judo, mountain biking, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer, softball, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling. Archery Archery is the practice of shooting arrows with the help of a bow .It has become a precision sports event which involves shooting a target by means of a bow and arrows.

In archery, scores are given on the basis of nearness of the shot to the centre of the target. After adding the individual scores, the archer with the highest score is declared the winner. Archery at the international level is administrated by the International Archery Federation. Athletics Athletics is also known as track and field or track and field athletics. This is a collection of sports events like running, throwing and jumping. The name “ athletics ” has been derived from “ athlon ”, the Greek word. In Greek, “ athlon ” means " contest ". In some languages, running, throwing and jumping are referred to as “ light athletics ” to differentiate them from weight lifting, wrestling, which are categorized as " heavy athletics ". Athletics was the original event at the first Summer Games which took place in 776 B.C. The only event held in that Summer Games was the stadium-length foot race or " stade ". Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport where a shuttlecock made of feathers is used as the projectile. Badminton is an indoor game. Contemporary badminton first appeared in the middle of the19th century . Badminton is played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs .

Badminton has been categorized on the basis of the number of players involved in the game. When two players play badminton , the match is called “ singles ”. When two pairs of players play opposite to each other, the match is called “ doubles ”. The rectangular court for badminton is divided into two halves by a net. Players or pairs take positions on the opposite sides of the net. The International Badminton Federation or the IBF is the governing body of international badminton. Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players each try to score by throwing a ball through a hoop. Competitive basketball is always an indoor sport , played on a basketball court under strict regulations. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) are the two governing bodies of basketball at international level. Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball game, in which a hard, fist sized ball is thrown by the pitcher towards the hitting area of a batter. The batter attempts to hit the ball with a cylindrical shaped bat made from wood or metal. The origin of the game, baseball is considered to be a bat-and-ball game called "rounders". It is the national game of the USA.

In the baseball game, a team can score only at the time of batting. During batting, the batters have to run counter clockwise on the field passing four markers set on the ground. The markers are called "bases". These bases are arranged at the corners of a diamond. The distance between two bases can be measured to be 90 feet. The rules are set by the Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and the NCAA. Beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a popular variation of the sport event, volleyball. Unlike the indoor volleyball, beach volleyball is played on sand courts. The number of players in the beach volleyball team is two. The Federation Internationale de Volleyball or the FIVB is the international governing body of beach volleyball.Beach volleyball is played on beaches around the world. This is an outdoor game played on sand . Players usually play beach volleyball barefoot . Track cycling is a discipline included in the cycling event at the international competitions. Track cycling is contested at the banked tracks, which are specially built for the event. The tracks built for track cycling is known as "velodromes". The Union Cyclist Internationale or the UCI is the governing body of the sport at international level.

Six cycling events were held at the 1896 Athens Summer Games. Since then, cycling is a regular event contested at the Summer Games. Cycling (BMX) at Olympics is one of the most adventurous cycling events of the world. A maximum entry of 48 competitors is allowed by International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the event of Cycling (BMX) in 2008 Beijing Summer Games. Of the 48, the maximum women entry can be 16 while the male entry can be 32. Boxing Boxing is a combat sport in which two participants of same weight fight each other with their fists. The fighter, who scores the maximum after the completion of the rounds, is declared the winner. Victory may also be achieved through the knock out of the opponent in the fight. Boxing is also known as Western Boxing, prizefighting or the sweet science. Olympics boxing competition will be an all-male competition. The events included in the boxing program will be light flyweight, flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and super heavyweight.

The World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Organization (IBO) are the governing bodies of the international boxing. Women's International Boxing Federation (WIBF) is the organization, which governs the field of women's boxing at the international level. Cycling Cycling is a sport which involves riding bicycles, unicycles, tricycles and other human powered vehicles. The cycling as a sport is governed by the Union Cyclist Internationale in Switzerland and by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association. Cycling was included in the schedule of the Summer Games in the 1896 Summer Games. Since then, cycling has been a regular event in the Olympics' program. Diving Diving is a discipline of Aquatics. Diving refers to jumping or falling into water acrobatically. This is an internationally recognized sport. Diving generally consist of three disciplines : One meter, three meters and tower . The tower is also called platform . Each dive is judged on the basis of its approach, takeoff, elevation, execution, and entry into the water . The score in diving ranges from 0 to 10 .

A perfect entry, with no splash, is called a “ rip ”. Equestrian Equestrian is the "expertise to drive or ride a horse". Equestrian consists of three disciplines — jumping , dressage and eventing . Eventing is a three-day event , which was restricted to military officers in the past. The other two disciplines of equestrian were open to civilians. Currently, the disciplines of equestrian included in the Olympics are dressage , the three - day event and stadium jumping . In each discipline, both individual and team medals are competed for. Equestrian is the only sport in the Summer Games where men and women participate together . The sport is governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports or the FEI. Fencing Fencing is the art of armed combat fought with swords , knives , pikes , bayonets , clubs. In the present day, fencing mainly refers to the European school of swordsmanship and the sport evolved from them. Fencing was included in the Olympics' schedule in the 1896 Summer Games in Athens . Since then, the sport has been a regular part of the Olympics program.

Three types of fencing weapons used at the Summer Games are the foil , epee and sabre . The three disciplines of fencing are named after the types of weapons used for the games. In all the three disciplines, individual and team competitions are held. The Federation Internationale d'Escrime or the FIE is authorized to govern the sport at international level. Gymnastics Gymnastics is a sport developed from fitness and beauty practices used by ancient Greeks . The sport involves a series of movements like handsprings, handstands and forward rolls . These disciplines are artistic gymnastics, house gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, sports aerobics, sports acrobatics, trampolining, general gymnastics and power tumbling . Gymnastics was introduced to the Summer Games in 1896 Summer Olympics . Women's events were included in the program in 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games . Trampoline Gymnastics Trampoline gymnastics is a part of the gymnastics schedule at the international level. In the event, gymnasts perform acrobatic movements jumping on a trampoline. The gymnastics event at the international level is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique or the FIG.

Trampoline gymnastics fro both men and women were introduced to the Olympic schedule during the 2000 Sydney Summer Games. Field Hockey Hockey is the oldest sport played with a ball and a stick. In hockey, two teams play against each other, trying to get hold of a ball or a hard round disc called puck. The aim of the hockey match is to drive the ball into the opponent's goal. Field hockey is the most dominant version of the sport. Field hockey is generally referred to as "hockey". Field hockey is governed by the International Hockey Federation or the FIH. The International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations or the IFWHA is the governing body of field hockey for women at the international level. Taekwondo Taekwondo is a martial art form which originated in Korea . This is a combination of Chinese, Japanese and traditional Korean fighting styles . Taekwondo , the most practiced martial art in the world, is also the national sport of Korea . Taekwondo combines combat technique , self-defense , sport , exercise , entertainment , and philosophy .

The most important organizations are the International Taekwondo Federation or the ITF, the International Taekwondo Alliance or the ITA and the World Taekwondo Federation or the WTF. Tennis Tennis is a racquet game involving two players or two teams of two players . A two players' tennis match is known as singles and a tennis match between two teams of two players is known as doubles . In tennis , a stringed racquet is used by the players to hit a ball . The ball used in the sport is a hollow rubber ball covered with felt . Olympic tennis competition is held in a single knockout round . Men and women compete in four events in the Olympic tennis . Men and women compete in singles and doubles matches each. The International Tennis Federation or the ITF is the international governing body for the sport. The other organizations having governing power are the Association of Tennis Professional or the ATP and the Women's Tennis Association or the WTA. Triathlon Triathlon is an athletic event consisting three contests . Triathlon is a combination of swimming , cycling and running. Triathlon is an endurance sport event. The athletes have to preserve their energy for the next stage, to excel in the competition.

They are also needed to be expert in all the three events contested during the competition. The International Triathlon Union or the ITU is the international governing body for the event. Volleyball Volleyball is a sport involving two teams separated by a high net. In volleyball , players hit the ball with their hands , arms or sometimes with other parts of their bodies. There are six players in a volleyball team . Each team is allowed to hit thrice to get the ball over the net. Volleyball is a very active game , which helps in the improvement of the players' hand-eye coordination. Weightlifting Weightlifting is a strength sport event. The aim of weightlifting is to lift heavy weights attached to steel bars. The sport is governed by the International Weightlifting Federation or the IWF at the international level. Weightlifting skill is a combination of power and technique. Weightlifters contest at two variations- "clean and jerk" and "snatch". Wrestling Wrestling is a combat sport.Wrestling is played between two players. The aim of wrestling is to fight each other without any arm. To win a wrestling match, a wrestler has to pin his or her opponent down on the ground. Wrestling technique consists of speed, strength and conditioning.

The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles or the FILA is the international governing body of wrestling. The two wrestling styles contested at the Olympics are-Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling. Aquatics-Water Polo Water polo is a water sport which combines swimming, football or soccer, rugby, basketball, ice hockey and wrestling. Water polo is a team sport. The water polo team in the present day consists of seven players, including six players and one goalkeeper. The ball used in water polo is of the same size as the soccer ball. Water polo was introduced in the Olympics schedule at the 1900 Paris Summer Games. Women's water polo was included in the schedule in the 2000 Sydney Summer Games. The Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur or FINA is the head of the international water polo competitions. Flat-water Canoeing Canoeing is a sport event, where a canoe or kayak is paddled using only human muscle power. In modern canoeing sport, both canoes and kayaks may be closed-decked. The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the governing body of canoeing at the international level.

Flat-water canoeing was held as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Paris Summer Games. The event got the status of a full medal sport in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Football Football is the most popular sport in the world. The game is also known as "association football" or "soccer". Football is a ball game, which is played between two teams of eleven players each.The object of the game is to score by directing the ball into the opponent goal. The team which scores the most goals by the end of the match is the winner. The International Football Association Board or the IFAB and the Federation Internationale de Football Association or the FIFA are the governing body of the international football. Men's football tournament has been held at the Olympics since the 1900 Paris Summer Games. Women started contesting in the Olympic football competition in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Handball Handball is a team sport contested at international level. The aim of the game is to pass and bounce a ball into the opponent goal.There are six players and a goal keeper in a handball team . The International Handball Federation or the IHF is the governing body for the sport at the international level.

Men's handball competition was included in the Olympic schedule at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. Handball for women was introduced to the Olympics in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Two gold medals will be given away in the Olympic handball event , one each for the men's and women's competitions . Indoor Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport, which involves two teams. The teams are separated by a high net set at the middle of the volleyball court. A volleyball team consists of six players. The aim of the sport is to pass the ball by hitting it with hand, arm or sometimes with other parts of body. Each team can hit the ball over the net for three times. Volleyball is a very dynamic sport event. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Volleyball or the FIVB at the international level. Judo Judo is a martial art and an extreme combat sport. In Japanese, the meaning of "judo" is "the gentle way". Judo was founded in Japan in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano. The sport is a successor of jujutsu. Judo is one of the main forms of wrestling contested at international level.

The competitors in a judo competition are called "judoka". The organization, which governs the sport at international level, is the International Judo Federation or the IJF. Modern Pentathlon The sport event consists of five disciplines. For this reason, the name of the event is "pentathlon". Pierre de Coubertin was the pioneer of the modern pentathlon. The event is contested at the international track and field competitions. The disciplines contested in the modern pentathlon event are- shooting,Fencing,Swimming,Riding,Running. Modern pentathlon at the international level is governed by the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne or the UIPM. Mountain Biking Mountain biking is a sport discipline included in the cycling event. The vehicles used during the event are mountain bikes.The sport event is governed by the Union Cyclist Internationale or the UCI. Mountain biking was included in the Olympic schedule at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Rhythmic Gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a discipline included in the gymnastics program at the international competitions. Rhythmic gymnastics is a combination of athletics and ballet. Then the event was called "modern gymnastics". The event is generally contested by only women.

Rhythmic gymnastics is contested with apparatus. The programs are performed accompanied by music. The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique or the FIG is authorized to govern the sport discipline at the international level. Road Cycling Road cycling is the most popular discipline among those included in the cycling event. The Union Cyclist Internationale or the UCI is the governing body of the event at the international level. Men's road cycling event was included in the very first modern Olympics at the 1896 Athens Games. At present, men and women both contest in the individual road race and individual time trial events. Rowing Rowing is a water sport. It is a speed and endurance sport, which involves rowing in narrow boats. The boats used in the rowing competition are called "shells" or "fine boats". The athlete sits on a sliding seat with face backwards and uses oars to move the boat. The two most common forms of rowing are sweep-oar rowing and sculling. In sweep-oar rowing, rowers hold one oar each with both hands. In sculling, each rower has two oars, one in each hand.

The Federation Internationale des Societes d'Aviron or the FISA is the governing body fro rowing at the international level. Rowing was introduced to the Olympic schedule at the 1900 Paris Summer Games. Women's rowing events were included in the Olympic rowing program in the 1976 Montreal Summer Games. At the current Olympics, 14 events are held in the rowing competition. Sailing sailing is a water sport. The aim of sailing is to control a moving sailing ship or a sail boat. The boats, which are used during sailing, move forward by the power of wind. The force of wind on the sails make the boats propel. At the international level, sailing is governed by the International Sailing Federation or the ISAF. Sailing was introduced to the Olympic schedule in the 1900 Paris Summer Games. The event has been held regularly at the Olympics. The format of the sailing competition at the Olympics is the fleet racing format. Shooting Shooting is the act of firing a gun. The shooters' shooting skill and speed are tested during the competitions. The International Shooting Sport Federation or the ISSF is the international governing body of shooting.

Shooting was included in the Olympic program at the 1896 Athens Summer Games. The event has always been a regular part of the schedule since the 1896 Games. The shooting disciplines held during the Olympic competition are shotgun, rifle, pistol and running target events. Canoeing is a water sport event. In the event, a canoe or kayak is paddled using only human muscle power. The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is authorized to govern the sport of canoeing at the international level. The slalom canoeing event for both men and women were included in the Olympic schedule at the 1972 Munich Summer Games. The events have been held regularly at the Olympics since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Softball The sport is considered to be the direct successor of baseball. Softball is a team sport in which, a ball is thrown by the pitcher towards the hitting area of a batter. The batter's aim is to hit the ball with a bat. The bat used in the sport is a smooth round stick. Generally the bat is made from metal or wood. A team accumulates scores at the time of batting.

The batter has to run touching a series of three markers set at the corners of a diamond to make scores. The markers are called "bases". At the end of the run, the batter also has to touch the final marker called "home plate". The International Softball Federation or the ISF is authorized to govern the sport at the international level. Softball is contested by only women at the Summer Games. The sport was included in the program at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Aquatics-Swimming Swimming is a technique used to move through water using only movements of the body. This sport has been a regular event and the centre of attraction in the Summer Games. In the early Summer Games, events were conducted only in breaststroke or freestyle. Backstroke was included in the schedule in 1904 Summer Games. Then butterfly stroke was introduced in the swimming events. Women's swimming started in 1912 Olympics; since then men and women have been competing in the Summer Games in almost identical program. Swimming can be categorized according to the strokes applied for swimming. According to the strokes, swimming can be of four types-Freestyle,Butterfly,Backstroke,Breaststroke.

Aquatics-Synchronized Swimming It is the combination of swimming, gymnastics and ballet. The sport was known as "water ballet". The Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur or FINA is the administrator of Synchronized Swimming at the international stage. The competition was open to only women. The synchronized swimming competition in the Olympic is divided in four categories---Solo,Duets,Teams,Free combination Table Tennis It is one of the most popular racquet sports in the world.Table tennis is known by many different names like "ping pong", "gossima", "whiff-whaff" and "flim-flam".In the table tennis matches, two or four players can participate. The aim of the sport is to strike a ball with a racket from one side to the other side of the table. The International Table Tennis Federation or the ITTF is the governing body of table tennis at the international level.Table tennis for both men and women were included in the Olympic program at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. Last updated on: March 23, 2016 What Are the Olympic Equestrian Sports? What are the Olympic Equestrian Sports?

The Basics Of Olympic Equestrian Sports Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters Thanks, You're in! There was an error. Please try again. Please select a newsletter. Please enter a valid email address. Did you mean ? Rider taking a jump on a cross-country course. Alex Livesey / Getty Images Updated April 20, 2016. What are the Olympic Equestrian sports? The Olympic Equestrian sports are dressage, three-day eventing and show jumping. Horse sports such as chariot and riding races were part of the early Olympic games. Riding was first included in the 1900 Olympics and reappeared in 1912. Originally in the modern Olympics, only commissioned officers were allowed to compete. Beginning in 1952 rules were changed to allow civilians and women. Olympic equestrian events are one of a very few Olympic sports where women compete equally with men. There are 6 Olympic Equestrian events that take place in a number of venues: Eventing, Team Competition All Olympic equestrian disciplines are governed by the rules of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) .

Dressage Dressage is the systematic training of a horse to carry a rider with ease and grace. Dressage competitions demonstrate the level of training a horse and rider team have attained. During the test, you will see the horse ridden at different paces, and different speeds within those paces. The horses will be asked to fluidly move in straight lines and circles. The horses will also be asked to move smoothly and obediently sideways, diagonally and in place. You will see horses in 'collection' where the horse is moving with higher elevation of back and legs, and 'extension' where the horse is reaching further with its legs while still carrying its neck and back in an elevated frame. Olympic level dressage competition highlights the most advanced and refined riding skills. It is often compared to ballet on horseback. The first Olympic competition was in 1912 although the sport is centuries old. Olympic dressage is scored by 5 FEI judges that each sit in a different position around the arena. Scores are based on the accuracy and brilliance of each required movement of the assigned test and rated on a scale of 0 to 10.

Horses and riders at the Olympics compete at the highest level of dressage recognized by the FEI; Grand Prix. Kur or freestyle is a dressage test choreographed to music. The score is based on the accuracy of the movements and artistic impression. The highest score wins. Show Jumping Show jumping tests the ability of horse and rider to jump over a series of obstacles inside a riding ring. You will see horses and riders jumping over a preset course of 10 to 16 jumps that are up to 6ft 6in (2m)high or wide. Courses are designed with many tricky turns and colorful obstacles challenging both the mental and physical agility of horse and rider. The horse/rider teams must finish within a set time and penalties are given for knocking down rails and other faults. Scores are based on the number of jumps knocked down, falls , touches, refusals to jump and time penalties. The rider with the fewest penalties wins. Ties are broken by jump-offs with penalties and fastest times used to break the tie. Riders inspect the course before riding to plan the best strategy for jumping these very challenging courses cleanly and quickly.

Three Day Eventing Eventing is a test of the skill, versatility, courage and endurance of horse and rider. Three day eventing is held over three days and consists of three disciplines: cross country jumping, dressage and stadium jumping . The cross-country phase takes place over a course of natural and man-made objects. There can be up to 40 obstacles that horses must jump or go through over the course that is up to four miles long. Scores are based on refusals, coming in under or over a set time and falls of the rider.

Question: What Olympic event is sometimes called "horse ballet"?
Answer: Dressage