Telecasts are scheduled daily on WMAQ-TV (Ch. 5) from 6:30-11 p.m. Equestrian events will be included on the following days:
– Tuesday, Sept. 20: Cross-country event
– Tuesday, Sept. 27: Team jumping final
– Saturday, Oct. 1: Grand Prix jumping final
– Additional telecasts: Sept. 16, 7-11 p.m.; Sept. 17, 18, 24, 25, Oct. 1, 3-6 p.m.; Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.; Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 7-11 a.m.; Sept. 19-25 and 26-30, 6-9 a.m., 3-4 p.m.; Sept. 24, Oct. 1, 11 a.m.-noon;
Oct. 2, 6-10 p.m.
WHAT IT MEAN
– Aids: Signals used by the rider to communicate his intentions to the horse; these include the natural aids of hands, legs, body and voice and artificial aids such as reins, whips and spurs.
– Balance: The forward movement, combined with suppleness and flexibility, that is necessary for the horse and rider to perform easily and efficiently.
– Forehand: The horse`s head, neck, shoulder and forelegs.
– Seat: The rider`s position in the saddle; the classical seat has the rider sitting upright over the horse`s center of gravity.
OBJECTS OF THE GAMES DRESSAGE
– Competition: Horse and rider are tested on a variety of defined sets of actions, including paces, movements, figures and transitions.
– Judging: Five judges rate the competitors on the how well they execute each required move and on general impression, deducting penalties for errors and for exceeding the time allowed.
– Scoring: Each set of actions is given points from 0 to 10, with 0 given for total failure to perform and 10 an excellent mark. General impression is also rated from 0 to 10. Penalties are deducted for such errors as taking a wrong turn, omitting a required action, rising instead of sitting during a trot or failure to properly handle the reins.
SHOW JUMPING
– Competition: In show jumping, the horses are challenged to jump over various obstacles in a specified order and within a given time limit without knocking down any of the obstacles.
– Judging: Olympic show jumping has one judge for each obstacle.
– Scoring: Points called faults are deducted for mistakes, including falls by horse or rider, refusals to jump, knocking down top rails, failing to clear the pool in water jumps, exceeding the time limit and deviations from the course. The winner is the competitor with the fewest faults. Some errors, such as a third refusal, jumping obstacles in the wrong direction or the wrong order or jumping a knocked-down obstacle before it is rebuilt, can result in elimination. Unlike dressage, the jumping team and individual competitions are held separately. There are two rounds in the team competition and three in the individual, with only the best competitors going into the final rounds.
THREE-DAY EVENT
– Competition: The three-day event is actually held on four days: two days of dressage followed by one day of cross-country and one day of show jumping.
– Judging: Three judges make up the dressage and show jumping juries and supervise the judging of the cross-country competition.
– Scoring: Penalty marks from all three elements of the three-day event are added together to determine the scores.
JUMPING
The most spectacular of the equestrian events is held on a sand or grass course and includes 12-15 fences. To avoid penalties, riders must complete the course twice, no slower than at a rate of 400 meters a minute. A rider is disqualified if a horse refuses threejumps over the course. If a horse and rider complete the course without a fault and within the time specified, they can compete in the finals.
– Typical course: 700-900 meters long. Each jump is 1.4-1.6 meters high. Fences must be jumped in specified order. An experienced rider can plot the track of the course and approach to the various fences in
order to save time.
– Spread: Duble or triple plane.
– Upright: Single verticle plane.
DRESSAGE
HORSE AND RIDER
– Equestrian sports bring together the strength, beauty, agility, intelligence and obedience of the well-trained horse with the diligence, discipline and guidance of the experienced rider.
– The pirouette: The forelegs describe a circle around the hindlegs, which describe a smaller circle while the horse continues in a canter.
– Piaffer: A cadenced trot in place in dressage.
– Rein back: A dressage movement involving a backward walk with the legs being raised and lowered in diagonal pairs.
– Lateral movements: Dressage movements in which the horse`s forelegs and hindlegs move on two different tracks.
– The trot is a two-beat action that has a dum, dum, dum hoofbeat.
– Instructions: Rider`s straight spine, and corresponding leg and hand action conveys the riders intentions. Pressure from the seat encourages horse to move forward from the hindquarters. The hands should be light and responsive, being used in a give and take action. The calves control impulsion in the hindquarters and guide the direction of the horse.
EUIPMENT
– An english saddle is compulsory for dressage and the three-day event, but not for show jumping. A dressage saddle helps the rider keep a central seat and is cut straighter for the lengthened leg position. A jumping saddle is more forward cut to keep the riders seat and weight positioned in the deepest part of the saddle.
– Velvet cap: Worn for dressage and show jumping.
– Blunt spurs: Compulsory in three-day event; allowed in show jumping;
optional in dressage.
– Dress: In dressage, participants wear black jacket or dark coat with top hat or bowler hat, hunting stock, white breeches, black boots and spurs. A whip may be carried only by women riding side saddle. In show jumping, riders wear riding club or hunting uniform, a red or black coat, white breeches (fawn for women), a hunting cap or top hat (or bowler for women) and black boots. In three-day event, dress is similar to dressage, except in the endurance competition. Lightweight dress such as a polo shirt is condidered appropriate. Protective headgear secured by a chin strap and boots are compulsory.
THREE-DAY EVENT
– The Olympic cross-country course has four phases in its 18.6-mile length:
(A) Roads and tracks requires a fast trot averaging about 9 m.p.h. to maintain an adequate pace. (B) Steeplechase requires a good gallop of about 25 m.p.h. (C) Another roads and tracks section of 9 m.p.h. (D) Cross-country requires an average speed of about 21 m.p.h. A mandatory 10-minute rest period is between phases C and D.
– A bank followed by a large drop requires increased impulsion to prevent the horse from landing too heavily. Any hesitation is likely to result in failure. – Steeplechase: Part of the cross-country competition of the three-day event in which horse and rider must jump over a series of fences with great speed.
MODERN PENTATHLON
Horsemanship is one of five skills challenging athletes in the modern pentathlon. The event resembles a military dispatch rider trapped in enemy territory trying to escape on horseback, fighting his way toward freedom with sword and pistol, swimming a river and running.
– Day 1/Riding: Unlike other equestrian events, the pentathlon rider does not know his horse, which is provided by the Olympic Committee and is chosen by lots. The competition is similar to show jumping. Horse and rider are given 20 minutes to practice prior to going over a 15-obstacle course that includes one water jump, one double and one triple combination. Each competitor starts with 1,100 points from which points are deducted for various faults.
– Day 2/Fencing: Epee (dueling) swords are used in this portion of the competition that pits each pentathlete one-on-one against every other one. Matches are decided by one touch anywhere on the opponent`s body. If neither fencer touches within three minutes, then both are given defeats. Points depend on the total number of competitors, but an athlete who wins 70% of his matches scores 1,000 points. Points are added or subtracted depending on bouts.
– Day 3/Swimming: Competitors swim 300 meters freestyle against the clock. For completing the swim in 3 minutes and 54 seconds, 1,000 points are awarded. Each second above or below that time results in eight points being subtracted or added. Five seconds are added to the time of any swimmer responsible for three false starts.
– Day 4/Shooting: Using a .22-caliber pistol, competitors fire four groups of five shots each at a rotating silhouette target located 27 yards away. A target score of 194 (out of a perfect 200) results in 1,000 competition points. Each target point above or below 194 results in a gain or loss of 22 competition points. Various numbers of points are deducted for rules violations.
– Shooter has 3 seconds to fire befor target disappears for 7 seconds.
– Shooter`s arm must be at 45 degrees angle until target faces him.
– Day 5/Cross-country running: Competitors run over a 2 1/2-mile course across open country without obstacles. Runners start at one-minute intervals in an order determined by their cumulative point standing at the end of the previous competitions. Whoever wins this event wins the pentathlon.
(color) Chicago Tribune Graphic by Judie Anderson, Martin Fischer, John Hancock, Dennis Odom and Terry Volpp; Sources: ”Basic Horsemanship”, ”The Handbook of Riding”, ”The Rule Book”, ”Summer Games Access”, ”The Book of the Horse” and ”The Complete Book of the Horse”.
