The

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

program at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, b ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, included five medal events. There were individual competitions in

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by ...

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...

, and

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes ...

. Team scores were also gathered and medals awarded for teams in the eventing and jumping competitions. Equestrian had been absent from the Olympic program since the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from ...

, making the 1912 Games the second time the sport was featured. Ten nations competed:

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Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, and the USA. Only

and

were able to supply a full team for all three disciplines, with several countries (

and the USA) having several riders and horses used in two or even all three disciplines. A total of 88 entries ran in the three events, with 62 riders and 70 horses.

Disciplines

Show jumping

A total of 40 riders from 8 nations contested the jumping event, which consisted of a 15-obstacle, 29-effort course. It had a maximum height of 1.40 meters and width of 4.00 meters, and had to be completes a speed of 400 m/min. Individual and team competitions ran over the same course but were held separately. A maximum of 6 riders per country was allowed in the individual jumping event.

Dressage

The dressage competition had 21 riders from 8 countries. It differed from the current format in that it did not include movements such as

piaffe The piaffe () is a dressage movement where the horse is in a highly collected and cadenced trot, in place or nearly in place. The center of gravity of the horse should be more towards the hind end, with the hindquarters slightly lowered and great ...

and

passage Passage, The Passage or Le Passage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''Passage'' (2008 film), a documentary about Arctic explorers * ''Passage'' (2009 film), a short movie about three sisters * ''The Passage'' (1979 film), starring ...

but required five jumps up to 1.10 meters in height and a final obstacle: a barrel that had to be jumped while it was rolled towards the horse. Riders could garner bonus points for riding with one hand.

Eventing

The eventing competition had 7 nations competing with a total of 27 riders. The team event had 3 or 4 riders per nation, who were required to be officers on army mounts. The format differed greatly from what is currently used, being held over 5 days. The first day was a 55 km endurance ride to be completed in 4 hours, which included a 5 km, 12-obstacle cross-country course to be completed in 15 minutes. On the second day the horses were rested before coming out on the third day for a 3500m steeplechase over 10 obstacles, to be completed in 5min and 50 seconds. The fourth day was a jumping test, over a 15-obstacle course with a maximum height of 1.30 metes and 3.00 meters in width. The final day held the dressage test. Each phase could garner up to 10 points.

Medal summary

Participating nations

A total of 62 riders from 10 nations competed at the Stockholm Games: * * * * * * * * Including one Polish horse rider, who competed for Russia. * *

Medal table

References

Sources

* * {{Equestrian at the Summer Olympics 1912 Summer Olympics events

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ** German geophysicist Alfred ...

Equestrian sports competitions in Sweden