To date 7 nations have teams in all three Olympic events in Hong Kong 2008 - Dressage, Show Jumping and eventing

These are:
Australia, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, and USA

To date 9 teams consisting of 3 riders and 3 horses per team, have qualified for Dressage being the following:
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Sweden, USA and the Netherlands

The Swiss Dressage team made a decision early 2008 that they would not compete at the 2008 Olympic Games and their place will be filled via FEI Olympic Rider Rankings as at 01 May 2008.

Australia has named their team
Brett Parbery riding Victory Salute
Heath Ryan riding Greenoaks Dundee
Rozzie Ryan riding Donna Carrera

Japan has named their team
Hiroshi Hoketsu riding Whisper 115
Mieko Yagi riding Dow Jones
Yuko Kitai riding Rambo 394

• Show jumping became an Olympic event for individuals in the Paris Olympics in 1900
• Team show jumping and individual dressage and eventing were added in 1912 for the Stockholm Olympics.
• Team dressage was added in 1928 for the Amsterdam Olympics.
• In Berlin in 1936 Germany won all 6 gold medals in the equestrian events.

A classical western style of riding designed to show a reining horses agility, mobility and flexibility. Competition reining consists of guiding a horse through a series of set patterns consisting of a variety of circles and speeds, 360 degree spins, flying lead changes, sliding stops. Reining developed from the moves horses made when working cattle. The sport has enjoyed rapid growth and in 2000 the FEI incorporated Reining into its disciplines.

The Olympic Games are co-ordinated by the International Olympic Committe (IOC). The IOC bring the athletes and teams to the Olympic Games via a network of National Olympic Committees (NOC’s). There are currently 205 National Olympic Committees over five continents, who in turn draw from the International Sports Federations (IFs). The International Federations are international non-governmental organisations, that administer national federations.

Recognised International Federations whose sport is part of the Olympic program are known as International Olympic Federations.

The Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) is the recognised international federation for various horse disiples including the olympic events of Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing.

The FEI has 134 affiliated National Federations and was created in 1921.

The quota for Show Jumping in the 2008 Olympic Games is 75 riders and 75 horses (15 reserve horses/1 per team). The quota for Eventing is 75 riders and 75 horses (no reserve horses). The quota for Dressage is 50 horses and 50 riders with 10 reserve horses/1 per team.

In order to be eligible for selection the horse and rider must be registered with their National Federation and compete at specific olympic selection events. Horses and riders are selected via a ranking system by NOCs.

This discipline tests both the horse and riders fitness and ability. Endurance rides are over a variety of distances ranging from 20 – 25 for introduction rides, training rides can be 40 - 50km over 1 or two legs, endurance rides are 80 - 240km which are completed at 80km per day for 3 days, and titles or Tom Quilty and Tavis Cups or Presidents Cup in Dubai are over a distance of 160 per day. Marathon riding is over 250 - 400 km are completed at 80km per day over consecutive days.
It is not necessarily the first over the line that wins the endurance race. The horse must pass vet checks and if anything is found to be out of order eg: heart rate too high or lameness the horse will be ‘vetted out’ and your race over.

On March 10 the USEF (United States Equestrian Federation Inc.) released the names of the horse and riders that have made the short list for the Show Jumping at the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Hong Kong on August 8 - 24.

The final selection will be made early July 2008.

The riders and horses combinations are as follows:

1. Laura Kraut riding Cedric (Wellington, FL)
2. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson riding SRF Dragonfly (Thousand Oaks, CA)
3. Anne Kursinksi riding Champ 163 (Frenchtown, NJ)
4. Charlie Jayne riding Urbanus (Elgin, IL)
5. Kate Levy riding Vent Du Nord (Wellington, FL)
6. Anne Kursinksi riding Roxana 112 (Frenchtown, NJ)
7. Beezie Madden riding Authentic (Cazenovia, NY)
8. McLain Ward riding Sapphire (Brewster, NY)
9. Jeffery Welles riding Armani (Wellington, FL)
10. Will Simpson riding Carlsson Vom Dach (Thousand Oaks, CA)
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This popular discipline is renowned as part of the rodeo circuit, however it has extended beyond the confines of the circuit to hold dedicated barrel racing events.

It is also a popular pony club sport and it is here that many barrel racers both horse and rider are introduced to the sport.

The course consists of 3 drums and a start - finish line. The course must be completed in a clover leaf pattern in the fastest possible time. The rider may choose either the left or right barrel to commence their pattern. Each ride is timed from the start/finish line and should a barrel be knocked over (and in some competitions even hit) a five second penalty is added to the contestants time.

The contestant with the fastest time wins.