Horseball is a sport played on horseback where a ball is handled and goals are scored by shooting it through a hoop with a diameter of 1m. The sport is a combination of polo, rugby, netball, and basketball. It is one of the ten disciplines officially recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI); in 2015 the International Horseball Federation (FIHB) and the International University Sports Federation (FISU) signed memorandums of understanding with the FEI. [1]
Horseball was invented by Captain Clave of the French Army, a show jumping world champion. It is based on Pato, the Argentine national sport. The game was designed to improve partnerships between horses and riders, that could be played on a standard equestrian arena, and would be fun to play. It was developed by a French group under the presidency of Jean Paul Depons, a riding instructor and rugby player from Bordeaux. This group established the rules of horseball in France.
In the late 1970s, the French Equestrian Federation (FFE) accepted horseball as a discipline and it soon became popular in France. Horseball spread internationally in the early 1990s. In 1992 the International Commission of Horseball was established, with France, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Portugal as members. The first European Cup was held in Paris in December 1992, at the Salon De Cheval. [2]
Horseball is an equestrian sport that is like a combination of rugby and basketball, played on horseback. It is a fast-paced team game, with the objective of scoring goals. Each team has four players, and two substitutes. Teams must make at least three passes between different players before scoring. Players can be substituted at any break of play. The ball is a football held in a harness with six handles, so that it can be picked up. Players may hold the ball for less than 10 seconds, and must pass the ball when making an attack. If the ball falls to the ground, players may only pick it up without changing pace, or dismounting. This is called "ramassage". Players score by throwing the ball through a goal. This is a 1-metre diameter vertical hoop at the end of the pitch, suspended 3.5 metres from the ground and hung 1-metre into the pitch. The game is usually played on a rectangular pitch, with dimensions of 65 meters by 25 meters. Games last 20 minutes, in two 10-minute halves, and with a 3-minute half-time break when the teams change ends. The team that scores the most goals win. [2]
The FIHB organize several international competitions: the European Championship, the World Championship, and the clubs FIHB Champions League. [2] The annual European Senior Championship is the older international tournament, the first was in 1992 in Paris. This is a mixed-sex teams tournament. The European Ladies Championship was first held in 2003 in Abano Terme 2003 (Italy). The European Under-16 Championship is the youth tournament with mixed-sex teams, the first in 2004 in Lamotte-Beuvron 2004 (France). The World Championships for senior mixed teams were first held at Ponte de Lima in 2008. The teams that played in the championship were Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Spain. France won, Spain got Silver, and Portugal Bronze. World championships are held every four years, with the next competition due to be held in Argentina in 2025. [3]
The club level competition organized by the International Horseball Federation is the FIHB Champions League. This competition began in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden, between the top clubs from each of the four highest ranked European nations. In 2007, it was won by Chambly Horse-Ball France), Sporting Clube de Portugal CEJC got Silver and Caramel from Belgium got Bronze. The 2024 competition was held in Le Mans, and involved the top clubs from eight nations. [4]
Korfball is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m high pole.
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".
Equestrianism, commonly known as horse riding or horseback riding, includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the use of horses for practical working purposes, transportation, recreational activities, artistic or cultural exercises, and competitive sport.
The Selle Français (SF) is a breed of sport horse from France. An athletic horse with good gaits, it is usually bay or chestnut in color. The Selle Français was created in 1958 when several French riding horse breeds were merged into one stud book. The new breed was meant to serve as a unified sport horse during a period when horses were being replaced by mechanization and were transforming into an animal used mainly for sport and leisure.
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports is the international governing body of equestrian sports. FEI was established in 1921 and its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The individual show jumping event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from 22 to 27 August 2004 in the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the jumping competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. There were 77 competitors from 27 nations. Each nation could send up to 4 riders. Cian O'Connor of Ireland initially received the gold medal, but that medal was stripped from him due to doping. After his disqualification, the event was won by Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, the nation's first medal in individual jumping. Silver went to Chris Kappler of the United States, with bronze to Marco Kutscher of Germany.
Equestrian vaulting, or simply vaulting, is most often described as gymnastics and dance on horseback, which can be practiced both competitively or non-competitively. Vaulting has a history as an equestrian act at circuses, but its origins stretch back at least two-thousand years. It is open to both men and women and is one of ten equestrian disciplines recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports. Therapeutic or interactive vaulting is also used as an activity for children and adults who may have balance, attention, gross motor skill or social deficits.
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.
Combined driving is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. In this discipline, the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four. The sport has three phases: dressage, cross-country marathon and obstacle cone driving — patterned after the mounted equestrian sport of eventing. It is one of the ten international equestrian sport horse disciplines recognized by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). Combined driving became an FEI discipline in 1970 when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the then-president of FEI, produced the first rule book.
Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. Currently, the Olympic equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and show jumping. In each discipline, both individual and team medals are awarded. Since the XV Olympiad in Helsinki in 1952, women and men compete on equal terms.
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 Canadian Equestrian Team or CET collectively describes the athletes that represent Canada at the highest levels of international equestrian competition, specifically at the World Championship, Olympic, and Paralympic levels.
Big Star is a Dutch Warmblood stallion who competes in show jumping with the British rider Nick Skelton. Part of the gold medal team at the London Olympics, Big Star was elected the KWPN horse of the year and formed a partnership with Skelton in 2012. After good performances in the following year, he was temporarily taken out of competition because of a leg injury. Skelton has described the bay stallion, son of Quick Star and grandson of Nimmerdor as "the best horse he has ever ridden". Apart from his show-jumping, Big Star is a successful breeding stallion, licensed in 21 studbooks for sport horses. Some of his foals have won notable victories.
Royal Moroccan Equestrian Federation is the governing body of equestrian sports located at the Dar Es Salam facility in Rabat, Morocco. It has been an affiliated member of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) since 1958. The federation oversees equestrian sporting which includes horse racing, dressage, jumping, and the traditional equestrian sport of fantasia. Started in 1956, the federation was created under the Moroccan Ministry for Youth and Sports.
Equestrianism in Qatar holds significant economic and cultural importance. Following the Emirate's independence in 1971, the Al Thani family invested to make Qatar one of the major players in horse racing and equestrian sports. The Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club (QREC) was established in 1975, and the prestigious Al Shaqab stables were created in 1992. Today, Qatar is home to elite riders and world-renowned purebred Arabian horses. Since the early 21st century, the country has hosted lucrative horse races and major equestrian competitions, including the Global Champions Tour and international endurance riding competitions. While equestrianism is less prominent in Qatar compared to some neighboring Arab states, the ruling family continues to invest significantly in this sector. However, Qatar's rapid emergence on the international equestrian scene has been accompanied by controversy, particularly concerning allegations of doping in endurance events and horse racing.
Mylord Carthago is a gray Selle Français stallion and show jumping champion. Descended from Almé Z and sired by the Holsteiner stallion Carthago Z, his potential was recognized early on. At the age of seven, he was entrusted to French rider Pénélope Leprevost, who trained him. The pair went on to win European and World show jumping runner-up titles in 2010 and 2012. Mylord was also one of France's last national stallions and the threat of his sale from France in 2014 led to negative reactions from the show jumping public and political figures. Diagnosed with cervical osteoarthritis, Mylord was retired from jumping in 2014 to be a full-time breeding stallion.
Flora de Mariposa was a chestnut show-jumping mare registered in the Belgian Warmblood studbook, born on April 26, 2005 in Belgium at the Herman de Brabander stud. She achieved excellent results in her early years, from age 4 to 7, under the saddle of Belgian rider Kurt De Clercq. French rider Geneviève Mégret, owner of the Clarbec stud farm in the Pays d'Auge region, acquired her at the end of 2012 and entrusted her to Rouen rider Pénélope Leprévost, who took her to the highest level. Flora de Mariposa was the French revelation of 2014, despite her young age, thanks to her performances during the World Equestrian Games. In 2015, she won two Grand Prix and had the best season of any French show jumping horse, earning her the title of "Horse of the Year". Selected for the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won a team gold medal. Injured in 2017, she fell to another rider, Félicie Bertrand, at the end of 2018. She died of endotoxemia at the age of 15 on July 30, 2020.
Equestrianism is the third most popular Olympic sport inFrance, and the leading sport for women.
Totem de Brecey is a gray Selle Français gelding, ridden in eventing competitions by the French rider Christopher Six. It participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 and won a bronze medal in the team event.