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Which Olympic equestrian disciplines allow both team and individual competition?
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horsemanship
An Icelandic horse moving swiftly at the tölt, a smooth four-beat, lateral running walk.
In the context of Olympic equestrianism, there are three primary disciplines that feature both team and individual competitions:
- Dressage: This discipline focuses on the harmony between horse and rider, requiring the completion of predetermined movements at the walk, trot, and canter.12
- Jumping: In this event, horse and rider must clear a series of obstacles within a set time limit, with penalties assessed for faults such as knocking down rails or disobedience.132
- Eventing: Often described as an equestrian triathlon, this is considered the most demanding discipline. It combines dressage, cross-country endurance riding, and show jumping into a single competition.142
These three disciplines have been staples of the Olympic program, and it is a fundamental ethical principle of the sport that these events are mixed, meaning men and women compete against one another in the same categories.2