Dressage 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 the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements".
The hand is a non-SI unit of measurement of length standardized to 4 in (101.6 mm). It is used to measure the height of horses in many English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It was originally based on the breadth of a human hand. The adoption of the international inch in 1959 allowed for a standardized imperial form and a metric conversion. It may be abbreviated to "h" or "hh". Although measurements between whole hands are usually expressed in what appears to be decimal format, the subdivision of the hand is not decimal but is in base 4, so subdivisions after the radix point are in quarters of a hand, which are inches. Thus, 62 inches is fifteen and a half hands, or 15.2 hh.
The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation sire Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served many roles in 19th-century American history, being used as coach horses and for harness racing, as general riding animals, and as cavalry horses during the American Civil War on both sides of the conflict. Morgans have influenced other major American breeds, including the American Quarter Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse and the Standardbred. During the 19th and 20th centuries, they were exported to other countries, including England, where a Morgan stallion influenced the breeding of the Hackney horse. In 1907, the US Department of Agriculture established the US Morgan Horse Farm near Middlebury, Vermont for the purpose of perpetuating and improving the Morgan breed; the farm was later transferred to the University of Vermont.The first breed registry was established in 1909, and since then many organizations in the US, Europe and Oceania have developed. There were estimated to be over 175,000 Morgan horses worldwide in 2005.
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and international championships. Most shows consist of a series of different performances, called classes, wherein a group of horses with similar training or characteristics compete against one another for awards and, often, prize money.
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Riding for the Disabled Association, also known as the RDA, is a United Kingdom based charity founded in 1969 focused on providing therapeutic horse-riding, equestrian vaulting and carriage driving lessons to people with developmental and physical disabilities as well seeking to improve the lives of those with mental health difficulties. Princess Anne has been the organisations President since 1985.
Equine influenza is the disease caused by strains of influenza A that are enzootic in horse species. Equine influenza occurs globally, previously caused by two main strains of virus: equine-1 (H7N7) and equine-2 (H3N8). The World Organisation for Animal Health now considers H7N7 strains likely to be extinct since these strains have not been isolated for over 20 years. Predominant international circulating H3N8 strains are Florida sublineage of the American lineage; clade 1 predominates in the Americas and clade 2 in Europe.. The disease has a nearly 100% infection rate in an unvaccinated horse population with no prior exposure to the virus.
The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has more than 110,000 members, with a further 34,000 members affiliated through a British Riding Club, making it the largest equine membership organisation in the United Kingdom. It is one of the 19 organisations which form part of the British Equestrian Federation.
British Eventing (BE) is the Great Britain governing body for the equestrian sport of eventing, which combines a single rider and horse pairing competing in dressage, showjumping and cross country. The organisation both regulates the sport and organises nearly 200 affiliated events across the country. In Great Britain, the eventing season runs from March to October every year, weather conditions permitting. There are all sorts of different levels from BE80 (80cm) to 5* eventing. In 2019 the existing 4* events were changed to 5* events which include Badminton and Burghley.
The Pony Club is a voluntary organisation founded in England in 1929. It has now expanded internationally and Pony Club branches can be found worldwide. It is one of 16 organisations that form the British Equestrian Federation.
Equestrian Canada, formerly known as Equine Canada and commonly known by its acronym, EC, is Canada’s comprehensive national governing body for equestrian sport. It is the executive branch of Canada's Olympic and Paralympic equestrian teams; the national association and registry of Canadian equestrian athletes; the national regulatory body for equestrian coaches, competition organizers, and judges; and the national federation of Canadian horse breeders and Canadian breed registries.
The British Horseracing Authority, also known as the BHA, is the regulatory authority for horse racing in Great Britain.
British Equestrian, founded 1972 is the national governing body of equestrian sport in Great Britain and represents the country at the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). The Queen is the organisation's patron.
British Carriagedriving (BC), formerly known as British Horse Driving Trials Association (BHDTA), is the governing body for the sport of Horse Driving Trials in Great Britain. The association is responsible for the selection of Team GBR competitors to represent Great Britain at the World Carriage Driving Championships. It is one of the 18 organisations which form part of the British Equestrian Federation.
British Reining is the Great Britain governing body for the equestrian sport of reining. Reining is a recognised sport under the International Federation for Equestrian Sports and British Reining is responsible for selecting participants for Team GBR.
The British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) is a membership organisation in the United Kingdom which represents manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of goods for, and other businesses connected with, the equestrian market. It is one of the 16 organisations which form part of the British Equestrian Federation.
Ingmar De Vos is a Belgian professional sports manager serving as the thirteenth and current President of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). Educated in sports management, business administration and international law, he began his career in mainstream politics before working for the Belgian Equestrian Federation and supported that nation's equestrian teams at the Olympics and the FEI World Equestrian Games. He was one of the founders of the European Equestrian Federation and became secretary-general of the FEI in 2011 prior to being elected President of the organisation in 2014.
The horse industry, or equine industry, is the economic activity associated with horses. This includes core agribusiness activities related to the use, possession or ownership of horses, as well as leisure activities and related economic activity that provides associated goods and services.
Horse racing in Ireland is intricately linked with Irish culture and society. The racing of horses has a long history on the island, being mentioned in some of the earliest texts. Domestically, racing is one of Ireland's most popular spectator sports, while on the international scene, Ireland is one of the strongest producers and trainers of Thoroughbred horses. The Irish horse racing industry is closely linked with that of Great Britain, with Irish horses regularly competing and winning on the British racing circuit.
The German Equestrian Federation(Deutsche Reiterliche Vereinigung) is an umbrella organization in Germany for equestrian sports and breeding. It is the governing body for the majority of equestrian sports and their organization in Germany, including FEI-recognized disciplines of dressage, eventing, show jumping, vaulting, endurance, reining, para-equestrian, and driving. It also develops and enforces the rules for other events at horse shows. It is colloquially known as FN, short for the international term Fédération Équestre Nationale. The organisation runs the FNverlag, a publishing house for related books and other media
