The word "equestrian" has come from the Latin word equus meaning horse.  In equestrian events the all-round ability of the horse and the rider is tested.

The equestrian sports as we know them today, particularly the Olympic disciplines of jumping, dressage and eventing, were born in the sixties of the 19th century. On 15 April 1868, the Royal Dublin Society included in the programme of its annual " Horse Show"  for the first time two jumping competitions- the " high leap" and the " wide leap"- both derived from the Irish passion for fox hunting. 

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