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.
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 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. Eventing and show jumping presented both individual and team medals, dressage presented only individual medals. The competitions were held from 5 to 11 September 1960. 159 entries, including 8 women, competed from 29 nations: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, and the USA. The youngest participant was Min Gwan-Gi from South Korea at 18 years old, while the oldest rider was Lilian Williams from Great Britain at 65 years old.
Italy competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. 200 competitors, 196 men and 4 women, took part in 93 events in 18 sports.
Italy competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 129 competitors, 114 men and 15 women, took part in 76 events in 13 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Rome, an Italian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.
The individual show jumping was an equestrian event held as part of the Equestrian at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme. The event was held on 24 October. There were 46 competitors from 17 nations. Each nation could have up to three riders. The event was won by Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, the first rider to win two gold medals in individual jumping; he did so 12 years apart, with his first in 1952. It was France's third gold medal in the event overall, moving out of a tie with Italy at two for most all-time. Hermann Schridde, representing the United Team of Germany, took silver. Great Britain earned its second consecutive bronze in the event, this time with Peter Robeson taking the honors.
The individual show jumping event was part of the equestrian programme at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on 12 September at the Olympisch Stadion in Antwerp. There were 25 competitors from 6 nations. The event was won by Tommaso Lequio di Assaba of Italy, with his teammate Alessandro Valerio earning silver. Carl Gustaf Lewenhaupt of Sweden took bronze. They were the first medals in individual jumping for both nations.
Tommaso Lequio di Assaba was an Italian horse rider who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics, 1924 Summer Olympics, and 1928 Summer Olympics.
Raimondo D'Inzeo was an Italian show jumping rider, an Olympic champion and double world champion. Together with his elder brother Piero D'Inzeo, he was the first athlete to compete in eight consecutive Olympic games, in 1948–1976. At the Rome Olympics in 1960 Raimondo won the gold medal and Piero won the silver in show jumping.
Colonel Piero D'Inzeo was an Italian show jumping rider, winner of six medals at the Olympic Games, and an officer in the Italian cavalry. He was born in Rome.
The individual show jumping was one of five equestrianism events on the Equestrian at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Saturday 27 July 1924. 43 riders from 11 nations competed. Nations were limited to four riders each; the team jumping event used the same results as this competition, with the top three individual scores counting for each national team. The individual event was won by Alphonse Gemuseus of Switzerland, with the nation winning its first victory in its debut in the individual jumping event. Tommaso Lequio di Assaba of Italy became the first person to win multiple medals in the event, taking silver to add to his 1920 gold. Adam Królikiewicz earned Poland's first individual jumping medal with his bronze.
The individual show jumping at the 1928 Summer Olympics took place on 12 August 1928 at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Scores from the individual competition were summed to give results in the team competition. There were 46 competitors from 16 nations. Each nation could send a team of three riders; 15 nations did so, while Japan had a single rider. The event was won by František Ventura of Czechoslovakia, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. France earned its first medal in the event since 1912 with Pierre Bertran de Balanda's silver. Charles-Gustave Kuhn took bronze, putting Switzerland on the podium for the second consecutive Games.
Vittorio Orlandi was an Italian show jumping rider.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich was held at Olympic Stadium on 3 September. It was open to men and women. There were 54 competitors from 21 nations, with two additional non-starters. The event was won by Graziano Mancinelli of Italy, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1960 and third overall, tying France for most of all nations. Great Britain extended its podium streak in the event to four Games with Ann Moore's silver. The United States reach the podium for a second straight Games as Neal Shapiro took bronze.
The individual eventing in equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was held at the Riviera Country Club (dressage), a specially built course in Westchester (cross-country), and the Olympic Stadium (jumping) from 10 to 13 August. NOCs were limited to three horse and rider pairs.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was held on 14 August. The event was called the "Prix des Nations" at the time. There were 14 competitors from 4 nations.
The individual show jumping in equestrian at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin was held at the Olympiastadion (jumping) on 16 August. The competition was also referred to as the "Prix des Nations." There were 54 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation having a team of three riders. The results of the individual event were used for the team jumping event as well. The individual event was won by Kurt Hasse of Germany, the nation's first victory in individual jumping and first medal in the event since 1912. Romania and Hungary each earned their first individual jumping medals, the former with Henri Rang's silver and the latter with József von Platthy's bronze.
The individual show jumping or "Prix des Nations" at the 1952 Summer Olympics took place on 3 August, at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium. It was the ninth appearance of the event. For the first time, the event featured two rounds. There were 51 competitors from 20 nations, with each nation able to send a team of up to three riders with the results shared between team and individual events. The event was won by Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, the nation's first victory in individual jumping since 1912 and second overall. Óscar Cristi of Chile took silver for that nation's first medal in the event. German rider Fritz Thiedemann earned bronze.
The individual show jumping at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place on 17 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The event was open to men and women, with two women competing. It was the 10th appearance of the event. There were 66 competitors from 24 nations, with each nation able to send a team of up to three riders and the team and individual events sharing results. The event was won by Hans Günter Winkler of the United Team of Germany, a victory in the debut for that nation though Germany had won in 1936. Brothers Raimondo D'Inzeo and Piero D'Inzeo took silver and bronze, respectively, the first medals for Italy in individual jumping since 1924.
The individual show jumping at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place on 23 October. The event was open to men and women. There were 42 competitors from 15 nations. Each nation was limited to three riders. The event was won by William Steinkraus of the United States, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. Marion Coakes of Great Britain was the first female rider to win a medal in individual jumping, taking silver. Great Britain also earned its third consecutive bronze medal in the event, with David Broome earning his second to become the fifth person to win multiple medals in the event.
