The "Sport of Kings"

The modern day racehorse, called the Thoroughbred, is descended from 3 Middle Eastern stallions that lived during the 17^th and 18^th century. The British crossbred these 3 stallions with European mares and within a century, they produced the modern Thoroughbred.

Horse racing is also known as the "Sport of Kings" because in the past, it was only exclusive to the rich and noble. Now a sport for all people, horse racing is currently well established in most countries, where millions of dollars are involved every year, affecting people from all walks of life.

Polo

Polo had long been a popular sport in India and was picked up by the British during the 19^th century. Its popularity soon spread to the UK, USA and later to Argentina and other parts of the world where it is still widely played today.

Rules of the game: The aim of the game is to score as many goals as possible by hitting a small ball with a mallet between the opponents’ goalposts while on horseback. Each team has 4 players (note: indoor polo has only 2 players). A match is divided into several periods called chukkas with each chukka lasting 7½ minutes. The match lasts just under an hour and is very fast paced so the players have to change fresh Polo ponies for each chukka.

Equestrian

Equestrian sports are slowly gaining popularity in Asia though they have yet to catch up with the west. Two of the most well-known equestrian events are Show Jumping and Dressage. Both are part of the Olympics Games today.

Show Jumping: Every rider completes an obstacle course in an arena. Penalties are given for dislodging obstacles, refusal to jump and elimination for the third refusal.

Dressage: A very disciplined form of competitive riding. The horse has to perform a series of precise leg movements to the highest perfection with minimum guidance from its rider.