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Here is a list of sports in which the competitors ride on the back of a horse, are pulled along by a horse, or have the involvement of horses in some way.

Team Sports On Horseback

• Arena Polo — a minified version of polo that is played on horseback on a field much smaller in size and enclosed by walls on all sides.
• Beach Polo — polo on horseback though played on a sand field with sideboards so the ball is always in play.
• Buzkashi — a Central Asian sport like polo in which riders on horses attempt to drag a goat carcass toward the goal. There is a variant known as kokpar which is quite similar.
• Cowboy Polo — similar to regular Polo, though riders compete with western saddles, usually in a smaller arena and with an inflatable rubber medicine ball.
• Horseball — The sport is like a combination of polo, rugby and basketball, played on horseback where a ball is carried and shot through a high net to score.
• Horse Soccer — a variation of Pushball, a team sport where an inflated ball is driven through a goal while riding a horse.
• Jereed — a traditional Turkish team equestrian sport in which the objective is to throw blunt wooden javelins at players of the opposing team.
• Pato — a cross between polo and basketball played on horseback. It is the national sport of Argentina.
• Polo (Horse Polo) — a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to hit a ball into a goal using a long-handled mallet.
• Polocrosse — an equestrian sport combining the sports of lacrosse and polo.
• Snow Polo — a variation of Polo on horseback that is played on compacted snow on flat ground or a frozen lake.
• Cricket on Horseback — a short-lived sport where players attempted to play cricket while riding a horse. [historical sport]

Equestrian (Horse Riding) Sports

• Dressage — riders and horses perform from memory a series of predetermined events.
• Eventing — riders compete in three types of races, dressage, cross-country and show jumping, in a single competition.
• Show Jumping — riders on horseback attempt to jump cleanly through sets of obstacles within a specific time.
• Cross-Country Equestrian — horse riders are required to jump over 30 to 40 obstacles within a fixed time, incurring penalties for exceeding the allocated time or if a horse refuses to clear an obstacle.
• Endurance Riding — an equestrian discipline where riders and horses compete in races over very long distances.
• Equestrian Vaulting — a gymnastics and dance discipline performed on horseback.
• Reining — equestrian riders guide their horses through a precise pattern of spins, circles and stops.
• Western Pleasure — a horse show competition in which horses are evaluated for their manners and composure.
• TREC — a French equestrian sport in which the objective is to test both the horse and the rider in competitions consisting of three separate events.
• Gymkhana — a multi-game equestrian event that is performed to display the talents of the horses and their riders.

equestrian jumping

Horse Racing Sports

• Horse Racing (General) — - equestrian sport that involves jockeys riding horses or being pulled along by horses.
• Thoroughbred Racing — horse racing sport that involves the racing of thoroughbred horses.
• Steeplechase — a horse racing sport in which competitors on horsebacks race on a long-distance course that has several types of obstacles.

Horse Pulling Sports

• Carriage Driving — sports in which horses or ponies are hitched to a wagon, carriage, cart or sleigh by means of a harness.
• Harness Racing — horses trot or pace while pulling a driver in a sulky.
• Combined Driving — a driver on a carriage pulled by horses takes part in three events: dressage, marathon and cones.
• Pleasure Driving — a horse and carriage sport judged on a horse's manners, performance, quality and conformation.
• Chuckwagon Racing — a chuckwagon is pulled by four thoroughbred horses around a track.
• Scurry Driving — ponies pull a carriage with two riders around a track.
• Skijøring — being pulled either by a dog, a horse or a motor-operated vehicle while on skis.
• Horse Pulling — one or two horses harnessed to a weighted sled pull for the greatest distance.
• Chariot Racing — horses pull along a driver riding a chariot (extinct sport).

puszta horse show

Rodeo Type Sports on Horseback

• Barrel Racing — a rodeo event where participants and horses complete a clover-leaf pattern around barrels.
• Chilean Rodeo — two riders on horseback try to stop a calf.
• Cutting — an American western style sport of the equestrian discipline in which the objective for a rider on a horseback is to separate a few cows from its herd and prevent it from returning.
• Campdrafting — a sport from from Australia where a rider on horseback attempts to cut out a cattle from its herd and drive it into a pen.
• Roping — a rodeo event where calves or cows are caught by throwing around it a rope with a loop as quickly as possible.
• Tent Pegging — the objective for a horse rider is to pierce, pick-up and carry a target, with a lance or a sword, as they gallop towards the target.
• Team Penning — the objective for each three-rider team on horseback is to separate three specific cattle from a herd.
• Toros Coleados — involves chasing down a bull while riding on horseback (also called Bull-Tailing).

Other Sports on Horseback

• Cowboy Mounted Shooting — involves shooting at targets while riding a horse.
• Horseback Archery — shooting arrows at targets while riding a horse (not common)
• Equestrian Fencing — sword fighting on horseback (extinct)
• Mounted Orienteering — participants navigate from start to end through control points, usually on horseback.
• Jousting — competitors on horsebacks with long lances try to knock each other down (historical sport)
• Quintain — competitors on horsebacks with long lances try to hit a stationary object hanging from a pole (historical sport)
• Horseback Boxing — competitors fight each other while riding on the back of a horse. (unusual historical sport)

Other Horse Related Sports

• Horseshoes — players toss horseshoes at stakes in the ground.
• Hobby Horsing — participants simulate traditional equestrian events while riding a simple object resembling a horse's head mounted on a stick.

Related Pages

• Equestrian Sports
• Man vs. Horse Marathon — an event where runners and horse riders compete against each other over a long distance.
• Complete List of Sports
• Unusual Sports involving animals

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