The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for
equestrianism
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
, and are administered by the
Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
, since 1990. Prior to that year, all ten of the FEI's individual disciplines held separate championships, usually in separate countries. The modern WEG runs over two weeks and, like the Olympics, the location rotates to different parts of the world. Riders and horses competing at WEG go through a rigorous selection process, and each participating country sends teams that have distinguished themselves through competition as the nation's best in each respective discipline. At the 2010 Games, 57 countries were represented by 800 people and their horses.
The WEG gradually expanded to include eight of the FEI's ten disciplines:
combined driving
Combined may refer to:
* Alpine combined (skiing), the combination of slalom and downhill skiing as a single event
** Super combined (skiing)
* Nordic combined
Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skii ...
,
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined ...
,
endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide. Endurance rides can be any distance, though they are rare ...
,
eventing
Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This ...
, paraequestrianism,
reining
Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope (a version of the horse gait more commonly known worldwide as the canter), ...
,
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes show ...
, and
vaulting
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
. The FEI's two remaining regional disciplines,
horseball
Horseball is a sport played on horseback where a ball is handled and goals are scored by shooting it through a hoop with a diameter of 1m. The sport is a combination of polo, rugby, netball, and basketball. It is one of the ten disciplines ...
and
tent pegging
Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tent-pegging or tentpegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. Used narrowly, the term refers to ...
, still conduct independent championships.
The
2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...
marked a series of firsts in WEG history: the first time WEG were held outside Europe; the first time that championships for eight FEI disciplines were held at one location (the
Kentucky Horse Park
Kentucky Horse Park is a working horse farm, international equestrian competition venue, and an educational theme park opened in 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located off Kentucky State Highway 1973 (Iron Works Pike) and Interstate 75, at E ...
); and the first time WEG had a title sponsor (in this case the animal health and nutrition group corporation
Alltech, headquartered in the nearby city of
Nicholasville). Permanent upgrades added to the Kentucky Horse Park leading up to the event included the completion of a 6,000 seat, climate-controlled
indoor arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances, or Sport, sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating f ...
and completion of a 7,500 seat outdoor stadium.
The
Tryon International Equestrian Center, near
Mill Spring, North Carolina, was the location of the
2018 FEI World Equestrian Games.
Locations
Medal count
The current historical medal count (as of 2018) of the FEI World Equestrian Games is as follows:
;Notes
Medal count is sorted by total gold medals, then total silver medals, then total bronze medals, then alphabetically. The table doesn't count events before 1990.
* The reunified Federal Republic of Germany (1990 onwards) is regarded by the FEI as being the same country as pre-reunification
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
(1948-1990), as part of an unbroken line going back to Germany's affiliation to the FEI in 1927 during its
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is a ...
(1919-1933).
If Germany and West Germany were considered to be two separate countries, their medal tallies would be: Germany 26 gold, 14 silver, and 20 bronze; West Germany 4 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze.
* The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
competed only in the
1990 Games, as it collapsed prior to the
1994 Games
Results
*
Eventing World Championship
*
Show Jumping World Championships
*
Dressage World Championship
See also
*
Equestrian at the Summer Olympics
Equestrian sports were first included in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics of 1900 in Paris. They were again included in 1912, and have been included in every subsequent edition of the Games. The Olympic equestrian disciplines are dre ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fei World Equestrian Games
Dressage events
Eventing
Show jumping events
Horse driving competition
FEI-recognized competition
Recurring sporting events established in 1990