The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad and commonly known as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956.
The equestrian program at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, included five medal events. There were individual competitions in dressage, eventing, and show jumping. Team scores were also gathered and medals awarded for teams in the eventing and jumping competitions. Equestrian had been absent from the Olympic program since the 1900 Summer Olympics, making the 1912 Games the second time the sport was featured. Ten nations competed: Belgium, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA. Only Sweden and Germany were able to supply a full team for all three disciplines, with several countries having several riders and horses used in two or even all three disciplines. A total of 88 entries ran in the three events, with 62 riders and 70 horses.
The equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm due to the Australian quarantine regulations and included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 11 to 17 June 1956 at Stockholm Olympic Stadium. There were 158 entries from 29 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and Venezuela. This would be the first appearance for Australia, Cambodia and Venezuela in equestrian events.
Denmark competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 31 competitors, 27 men and 4 women, took part in 25 events in 10 sports.
Venezuela competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, and in the equestrian events held in Stockholm, Sweden. Twenty-two competitors, all men, were selected by the Venezuelan Olympic Committee to take part in sixteen events across five sports. The delegation featured no female competitors, for the second time, and won no medals. While most of the Venezuelan athletes did not advance past the qualifying rounds of their sports, there were some good placings in the shooting, with Germán Briceño and Carlos Monteverde finishing in the top 10 of their events.
Canada competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 92 competitors, 77 men and 15 women, took part in 81 events in 14 sports.
Sweden competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations. Instead, those events were held five months earlier in Stockholm, Sweden.
Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.
Norway competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 102 competitors, 96 men and 6 women, took part in 72 events in 14 sports. Earlier in the year, Norway had hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.
Norway competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 40 competitors, 39 men and 1 woman, took part in 39 events in 11 sports.
Lis Hartel was an equestrian from Denmark. She was originally coached by her mother, Else Holst, but began to be coached by professional horseman Gunnar Andersen when she became nationally competitive.
Erling Asbjørn Kongshaug was a Norwegian rifle shooter. He competed in the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics in 50 meter rifle three positions and 50 meter rifle prone and won a gold medal in the three positions event in 1952. He also won 13 medals at the ISSF World Shooting Championships from 1947 to 1954.
Hiram Edwin Tuttle was an American equestrian who competed in dressage at the 1932 Summer Olympics and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He is the only American dressage rider to win an individual medal at an Olympic Games. Tuttle was a lawyer in Boston prior to being a US Army quartermaster officer from 1930 to 1944. He owned and trained his own horses, unusual in a time when the majority of Olympic competitors rode Army-owned horses, and is buried near three of them at the cemetery in Fort Riley.
Gustav Fischer was a Swiss equestrian athlete who competed at five Summer Olympic Games, winning a total of five medals. He won medals in the team dressage events in the 1952, 1956, 1964, and 1968 games; there was no team dressage event held in 1960, but he won an individual dressage medal in that year.
Else Christophersen was a Norwegian equestrian. She was born in Kristiania. She competed in equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, where she placed 13th in individual mixed dressage, and seventh in the team competition.
Anne-Lise Kielland was a Norwegian equestrian. She was born in Kristiania. She competed in equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, where she placed 27th in individual mixed dressage, and seventh in the team competition.
Bodil Russ was a Norwegian equestrian. She was born in Vetre Aker. She competed in equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, where she placed 29th in individual mixed dressage, and seventh in the team competition.
The individual dressage at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place between 15 and 16 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The event was open to men and women. The team and individual dressage competitions used the same results. Five judges gave scores, with the result being the sum of the scores.
The team dressage at the 1956 Summer Olympics took place between 15 and 16 June, at the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. The event was open to men and women. The team and individual dressage competitions used the same results. Five judges gave scores, with the result being the sum of the scores. The three individual scores were summed to give a team score.
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.
