The times when almost every type of equestrian sport was considered an aristocratic sophistication remained in the past. Demand creates supply - a well-known truth, so the situation has changed dramatically.
Today, in any large, and often not very large city, there are sports societies, the program of which includes various types of equestrian sports, as well as horse riding lessons.
Equestrian sport combines various types of horse riding competitions. The main of them is considered to be riding and riding in a harness. More specifically, riding a saddle, the following equestrian sports can be attributed here: dressage, overcoming obstacles, record jumping, relay races, etc. As for the program of the Olympic Games, it usually includes dressage, triathlon and overcoming obstacles.
Riding is primarily aesthetics, so for training you need the appropriate equipment for equestrian sports. To participate in official competitions, a kind of dress code is installed at all. For competitions with overcoming obstacles and field trials for riders of civilian professions, this is a black redingote, a white jacket, white breeches, a black jockey, black boots, a white chemise with a tie.
For riders with an international certificate, the jacket should be red, for military personnel - the appropriate form. Also, riders participating in dressage wear a tailcoat, top hat and white gloves. For competitions in a harness, a cylinder or cap is required.
Naturally, the most interesting are the Olympic types of equestrian sports. In Olympic dressage competitions, competitions are held in the individual and team events. 3 riders start from each country. The riding program consists of several figures that participants need to perform as a keepsake at a site measuring 60 x 20 meters. The riding program drawn up by the International Equestrian Federation is valid for 4 years, i.e. no less than the full Olympic cycle.
Competitions to overcome obstacles are also held in the individual and team events. In total, each team is represented by 4 riders, and the seats are ultimately allocated according to the points collected, or rather, starting from the smallest number of penalty points earned.
Like the aforementioned equestrian sports, eventing is included in the Olympic program. It consists of three parts and is carried out over several days. Competitions in riding arena include performing figures of medium complexity (class M). Field tests are carried out at a distance of about 30 kilometers. Section A - driving at a distance of 7 km along roads and paths, segment B - a steeple chase of 3.6 km with obstacles, segment C - 8-14 kilometers on rough terrain, segment D - cross at a distance of 7.2 km. On the last day of the competition a show jumping is held. As a rule, this is overcoming 12-14 obstacles with a height of more than 1 meter. The length of the route for this kind of competition is about 800 m.