Countdown to Sydney

A world away from Atlanta, Australia lures riders and horses. In the four years between Olympic Games, riders have trained and competed their horses up through the levels. To enter the stadium in Sydney, they must prove they’re world

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT


A world away from Atlanta, Australia lures riders and horses. In the four years between Olympic Games, riders have trained and competed their horses up through the levels. To enter the stadium in Sydney, they must prove they’re world class in one of the three Olympic disciplines: show-jumping, three-day eventing, or dressage.


To the equestrian community, the Olympics is one in a series of competitions on the international calendar. Annual events offer similar prestige, with riders aiming to win at Aachen, Badminton, the World Cup (jumping and dressage), and the Nations Cup (jumping). The World Equestrian Games (World Championships in six international disciplines) alternates every four years, two years into the Olympic cycle. Some owners reserve their horses for such events instead of the Olympics, with the potential of earnings in addition to the honor.


With its worldwide coverage and scheduling only once every four years, the Olympic Games is a unique competition. However, at its basic level, the equestrian events resemble any other horse show: a blending of equine athletes, the appropriate venue, and an official structure. All elements will converge next September at the Sydney International Equestrian Center

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Award-winning writer Charlene Strickland lives in Bosque Farms, N.M. She has published 8 books and over 600 magazine articles, and is a member of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
313 votes · 313 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!