Asian Games 2023: Historic gold for India in Equestrian Dressage team event; so what is this sport?

Equestrian riding has three disciplines - dressage, show jumping and eventing.

Equestrian dressage

In a historic achievement at the ongoing Asian Games 2023, the Indian mixed team, comprising Hriday Chheda, Divyakriti Singh, Anush Agarwalla, and Sudipti Hajela, secured a gold medal in the Dressage team event Equestrian on Monday.

The Indian team amassed a total of 209.205 points, outshining the host China (204.882 points) and Hong Kong China (204.552 points).

READ | Asian Games LIVE updates: Historic gold medal for Team India in Equestrian dressage

This victory marks the end of a 41-year-long wait for a gold medal in Equestrian at the Asian Games as the country's previous gold medals were secured at the 1982 Asian Games when the country clinched three gold medals in Team Eventing, Individual Tent Pegging, and Individual Eventing, respectively.

So what is an Equestrian dressage team event?

Equestrian riding has three disciplines - dressage, show jumping and eventing.

Dressage resembles a graceful dance between a rider and their horse, showcasing the horse's attentiveness to the rider and its agility. Often likened to "horse ballet," the discipline involves a series of precise movements that encompass various gaits, transitions, circles, figures, and lateral actions like leg-yield, shoulder-in, and half-pass. The primary aim is to execute these movements with impeccable precision, harmony, and fluidity.

During the performance, the horse performs walking, trotting, and cantering while accompanied by music. This discipline takes place on a flat 20x60 meter area, demanding perfect synchronization between the horse and rider.

In show jumping the rider guides the horse through an obstacle course that includes multiple fences. This aspect of equestrian sport draws comparisons to sports like pole vault, high jump, hurdles, or steeplechase.

Eventing can be described as an equestrian triathlon, serving as a comprehensive test of both the horse and rider's abilities across three formats: dressage, cross country, and show jumping. Some riders, such as Fouaad Mirza, liken the cross-country event to a battle, as horses must navigate rugged terrain at high speeds to compete.

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