The events of the equestrian at the 2004 Summer Olympics featured three equestrian disciplines: dressage, eventing and jumping. All three disciplines are further divided into individual and team contests for a total of six events.
Equestrian at the 1980 Summer Olympics was represented by six events. All of them, with the exception of the Individual Jumping Grand Prix, were held in the Trade Unions' Equestrian Complex, which is situated in the Bitsa Forest Park. Individual Jumping Grand Prix was held in the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium at Luzhniki.
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.
The equestrian events at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp included eventing, show jumping, vaulting and dressage. The competitions were held from 6 to 12 September 1920. Although there were 89 riders competing, many rode in more than one event, with 87 entries total. Vaulting was also held, its one appearance at an Olympic Games, with only Belgium, France and Sweden fielding teams.
The equestrian events at the 1924 Paris Olympics included eventing, show jumping and dressage. Vaulting was not included this year. The competitions were held from 21 to 27 July 1924. 17 nations fielded teams: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, and Yugoslavia, with Germany not being invited. Of those 17 countries, only 5 fielded teams in all 3 disciplines: France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. A total of 97 entries and 126 horses competed. Horses in both the jumping and eventing competitions were required to carry at least 75 kilograms (165 lb).
The equestrian events at the 1928 Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 8 to 12 August 1928. Teams were now fielded by three riders, rather than four, the purpose being to reduce pressure on national federations to find that many riders in order to compete for team medals. Riders had to be considered amateurs, which was defined as either an actively serving professional officer, or as a gentleman rider as defined by the rules of that rider's national governing body. A total of 113 entries were present from 20 nations: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. This was the first appearance for Hungary, Japan and Argentina in equestrian events at an Olympics. Additionally, after being shut out from two Olympic competitions, Germany also returned to the Games to win a few medals in the equestrian events.
The equestrian events at the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The host country, Germany, had a stellar year, winning both individual and team gold in every equestrian event, as well as individual silver in dressage. The competitions were held from 12 to 16 August 1936. Moderately priced tickets meant huge crowds at all equestrian events, with 15,000–20,000 spectators at any time during the dressage competition, 60,000 on the endurance day of eventing, and 120,000 for the Nations Cup in jumping.
Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It disappeared until 1912, but has appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Women and men compete together on equal terms.
Athletes from the Netherlands competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. 177 competitors, 168 men and 9 women, took part in 81 events in 17 sports.
Equestrian competitions at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics were held from 9 August to 21 August at the Hong Kong Sports Institute and Sheung Yue River in Hong Kong. It was the second time that the equestrian events were hosted by a member of the IOC other than the member hosting the main games. Unlike 1956, however, the equestrian events were part of the main games, and were held within the same period.
One of the competitions in equestrian at the 1924 Summer Olympics was the team eventing. The rules only allowed military officers to join the competition. From the results of the individual eventing, a team event was compiled.
The individual eventing at the 1928 Summer Olympics took place at Hilversum. The event consisted of a dressage competition, a jumping competition, and an endurance test. Scores in each component were added to give a total. Scores from the individual competition were summed to give results in the team competition.
The equestrian events at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured three disciplines for both individual and team competitions.
The team eventing competition was one of six equestrian events on the Equestrian at the 1992 Summer Olympics programme. Dressage and endurance portions of the competition were held at the Club Hípic El Montanyà, the stadium jumping stage was held at Real Club de Polo de Barcelona. The scores of the top three rider/horse pairs for each nation in the individual event were summed to give a team score.
The team eventing competition was one of six equestrian events on the Equestrian at the 1988 Summer Olympics programme. Dressage and stadium jumping portions of the competition were held at the Seoul Equestrian Park in Seoul, the endurance stage was held at Wondang Ranch in Goyang.
The individual eventing in equestrian at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was held on the May Field (dressage), in Döberitz (cross-country), and at the Olympiastadion (jumping) from 13 to 16 August. Of the 50 horse and rider pairs to begin the competition, only 27 finished. Three horses died during the competition.
The team eventing in equestrian at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was held on the May Field (dressage), in Döberitz (cross-country), and at the Olympiastadion (jumping) from 13 to 16 August. Scores from the individual competition were used to determine team results. Any nation with three individual horse and rider pairs was entered as a team, with team score being the sum of the three individual scores. All three pairs had to finish the event for the team to receive a place, however; this eliminated 10 out of the 14 teams.
The team eventing at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place between 11 and 14 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. Eventing was open to men only. It was the 9th appearance of the event.
The team eventing at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place between 6 and 10 September. Eventing was open to men only. It was the 10th appearance of the event.
The team eventing competition was one of six equestrian events on the Equestrian at the 1984 Summer Olympics programme. Dressage and stadium jumping portions of the competition were held at the Santa Anita Racetrack in Arcadia, California, the endurance stage was held at Fairbanks Ranch, California. Scores from the top 3 horse and rider pairs for each nation were summed to give a team score; the lowest pair's score was dropped. Teams without at least 3 finishing pairs were not given a final score.
