While popular equestrian sports like show jumping, dressage, horse racing, polo and Western pleasure are well-known, there are many unique and less common horse sports and activities that offer different challenges and showcase the versatility of horses and riders. Here are some unusual horse sports
Mounted Sports with a Ball/Object
Horseball: This is a fast-paced team sport that combines elements of polo, basketball, and rugby. Teams of four riders pass a ball with handles and attempt to score by shooting it through a hoop.
Polocrosse: A hybrid of polo and lacrosse, players use long lacrosse-like sticks with nets to carry, pick up, and throw a ball while on horseback, aiming to score goals.
Pato: Originating in Argentina, this is a much rougher version of horseball, so intense it has been banned multiple times. Teams compete to get a ball with handles into a net.
Cowboy Polo/Horse Soccer: Informal games played with brooms and large rubber playground balls or extra-large, soft balls that horses bat forward with their front legs.
Historical/Skill-Based Mounted Sports
Jousting: Competitive jousting focuses on accuracy, with riders in armor using balsa wood lances to score points by hitting targets.
Mounted Archery: Riders shoot arrows at targets while their horses are in motion, often on a course with a single moving target. It requires incredible coordination and accuracy.
Tent Pegging: An ancient cavalry practice where riders gallop and use a lance or sword to pick up small targets (pegs) from the ground. It's popular in India, Australia, and parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Endurance and Team Challenges
Endurance Riding: While sometimes considered mainstream, this discipline involves very long-distance races over varied terrain, testing the stamina of both horse and rider.
Ride and Tie: A unique endurance sport where a team of two riders and one horse alternates between riding and running. One rider sets off on the horse while the other runs, then they switch.
TREC (Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition): A French equestrian sport that involves a mounted orienteering course, a mastery of gaits, and an obstacle course, testing a horse and rider's partnership and skills for trail riding.
Winter Sports
Skijoring: Derived from a Norwegian term meaning "to be driven forward," skijoring involves a person on skis being pulled through the snow by a horse (or dogs or a vehicle).
Gymnastics/Acrobatics
Vaulting: Often described as gymnastics on horseback, vaulters perform acrobatic and dance movements on a cantering horse, typically on a lunge line. It's a recognized FEI discipline.
Working and Cultural Sports
Buzkashi: A traditional Central Asian sport, incredibly rough and fast-paced, where riders compete to seize and retain possession of a goat or calf carcass.
Working Equitation: This discipline showcases the practical skills of horses and riders used in traditional working livestock environments. It includes dressage, ease of handling (obstacle course), and speed tests.
These sports highlight the incredible athleticism and intelligence of horses, as well as the diverse ways humans have partnered with them throughout history and across cultures. Take a look at Other Disciplines on EIE. It is amazing what you'll find!
You can find more informative articles in our section on Riding Disciplines. Be sure to take a look at our Curated Amazon Store.
