Driving
Horse driving is basically an umbrella term for attaching a horse or an equine to a harness to pull a vehicle behind it. Horse driving is used in agriculture, for transportation purposes and is also a competitive equine discipline.
(Combined) Driving
This is the eventing of the horse driving world governed by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI). Over three days, horses and drivers compete in the Dressage, Marathon, and Cones disciplines, together designed to test their partnership and stamina as well as the horse’s obedience and endurance. Driven Dressage is essentially like classical dressage with a horse and carriage and where the suppleness and obedience of the horse is of utmost importance. The Marathon consists of a nature obstacle course which typically includes water, hills and hefty turns. Finally, the Cones discipline demands the horse and driver navigate between several pairs of cones laid out on a course similar to how the obstacles in show jumping are. In the same way, as for eventing, the competitors rack up penalty points throughout the different disciplines and whomever with the lowest score wins the competition.
Watch a beautiful video showing all three elements of Combined Driving:
Vaulting
Vaulting is an equestrian sport that combines gymnastics and dance on the back of a cantering horse. It can be both an individual and team sport and is governed by FEI. The horse is guided in a circle on a long rein while the vaulter or vaulters jump onto its back and do a series of gymnastic figures such as head and handstands, mounts and dismounts and lifting another vaulter while in motion. This sport requires incredible strength, stability, and balance from the vaulters and a harmonious horse with an even and comfortable gait.
See professional vaulting programs from the 2016 FEI World Championship:
Drill Team
Equestrian drill teams can range from four to over twenty. They may use western, English, parade or any other type of tack, or some ride bareback with no tack at all. Often the horses are all of one type, and team members wear matching clothing and use similar tack and grooming styles. The goal is to coordinate a group of horses and riders to perform precise maneuvers to music. The elements of a drill ride are often pulled from dressage and other disciplines such as reining and even jumping. Some drill teams only perform to entertain audiences at events, while others may compete in drill riding competitions. Each team’s performance is scored on the accuracy with which it performs the drill. The judges consider things like timing, speed, accuracy, crowd appeal, horse manners, level of difficulty, the closeness of the horses and synchronization. The music and overall presentation also influence the score. But, catchy music and spectacular costumes will not make up for sloppy accuracy.
Racing
Horse racing in its most basic form is two or more horses competing to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. This is one of the oldest equine sports around and is in many places associated with gambling as people bet on horses. The sport has many variations depending on location and traditions such as the gait, the types of horses, whether obstacles are incorporated and the type of surface the horses compete on.
Endurance Riding
Endurance riding is a long-distance race that tests the endurance and stamina of both horse and rider. Races are usually either 100 miles (160km), 50 miles (80km) or 25 miles (40km) long and divided into sections. The rider needs to adjust the pace throughout the course to get through it as fast as possible, but without tiring out the horse or exceeding the maximum heart rate levels allowed. There are strict veterinarian checks before, during and after the race to check the horse’s soundness, heart rate and hydration levels to make sure they and are fit to start or continue the competition. Horses are kept at the vet holds for a set period of time before they are allowed to continue. The winner of the race is usually the horse that first crosses the finish line and passes the final vet check.
Polo
This is believed to be the oldest equestrian sport out there and is played between two teams of four players each. Polo is played on horseback, and the teams hit a ball with a wooden mallet into goals while staying in the saddle. Horses in the game, or “polo ponies,” carry their riders close to the ball and finagle their way around other horses. There is one off-court and two mounted umpire referees for each game. Polo has been called “the sport of kings”. It has become a spectator sport for equestrians and society, often supported by sponsorship.
Horseball
Horseball is another equestrian sport played in teams of four. However, in this game, the players pass the ball to each other and score by throwing it into a hoop somewhat like a basketball hoop, only larger and placed vertically instead of horizontally. Players can ‘tackle’ each other by using their horse’s weight to push the opponent out of the arena or try to steal the ball but only as long as they remain seated in the saddle while doing so. If the ball drops to the ground any player can pick it up as long as they do so in the direction the game was headed when the ball dropped initially. The team with the highest number of points wins.
Buzkashi
Finally, I wanted to tell you about Buzkashi. This Central Asian sport takes place when horse mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. In Afghanistan, where I spent as a civilian a very meaningful year of my life, Buzkashi is the national sport often played on Fridays (day off from work in many Muslim countries). Matches draw thousands of fans. Traditionally, games could last for several days, but in its more regulated tournament version, it has a limited match time. During the rule of the Taliban regime, buzkashi was banned in Afghanistan, as the Taliban considered the game immoral. After the Taliban regime was ousted, the game resumed being played.
See a short clip showing a snippet of a Buzkashi game:
