Safekipedia

Equestrianism

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
Visitors enjoy a horseback ride with Icelandic horses in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland.

What Is Equestrianism?

Equestrianism is the name for activities that involve horses. It is also called horse riding or horseback riding. The word comes from Latin words that mean "horseman" and "horse."

There are three main kinds of activity: riding, driving, and vaulting. Riding means sitting on a horse and moving with it. Driving means guiding a horse that pulls a vehicle.

Fun Ways People Use Horses

People use horses for working jobs, for getting from place to place, and for fun. Horses can be trained for police work or for herding animals on a ranch. Many people also enjoy going to horse shows, where horses take part in many different contests.

Riders can enjoy Western riding or English riding. Western riding grew out of the work of cowboys on ranches in the American West. Riders with different abilities can also take part in para-equestrian sports, including at the Paralympics.

Horses Through History

People have worked with horses for a very long time. Experts think horses were first domesticated around 3500 BC. Horses have helped people with farming, travel, and trade all over the world.

Equestrian events became part of the modern Olympic Games in 1900. Some well-known horse sports are dressage, show jumping, and eventing. Horse racing is also loved by people all around the world.

Quiz time!

3 questions about Equestrianism

Question 1 of 3

What is equestrianism the name for?

Pictures

Hayley Beresford riding Relampago do Retiro, a Lusitano horse from Brazil, competing for Australia in dressage at the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
Riders on Lusitano horses approach during a performance at the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art in the gardens of the National Palace of Queluz, near Lisbon, Portugal.
Horses and riders performing at the Coca-Cola Arena during the Melbourne Show in 2005.
Tang Dynasty musicians on horseback, playing a hand drum and panpipes (paixiao). Figures like these were found in Tianshui and are on display at the Gansu Provincial Museum.
A chestnut American Quarter Horse trotting with its rider at a Western Pleasure class, a horse show event where riders are judged on their style and control.
A grey Welsh Mountain Pony pulling a small carriage during a pony driving class.
A small group of horses walks up to check out a pickup truck that has just arrived.
Birgit and C. Erik Ridderstedt on horseback, photographed in Sweden and in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Capitoline Wolf, a famous bronze statue in Rome showing a mother wolf caring for the twins Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of the city.
An ancient cave painting from Doushe cave in Lorestan, Iran, showing horses painted by early people thousands of years ago.
A cutting horse working with a cow during a cutting competition, a sport where riders show how well their horse can separate one animal from a herd.
Girls getting ready to step onto the polo grounds in Maple Plain, Minnesota, before the annual Polo Classic fundraiser.
A chestnut Finnhorse stallion named Turon Myrsky, age 6, shown in the trotter section at a stallion show in Kiuruvesi, Finland, in March 2008.

Keep exploring

Latin
Domestication
Trade
Olympic Games
Show jumping

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Equestrianism, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.