The Federation Equestre Internationale World Equestrian Games

The World Equestrian Games (WEG) are comprised of the world championships for seven equestrian sports – show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance, vaulting and reining. The games started in 1990 and they are held every four years, two years prior to the Summer Olympic Games, and are governed by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) based in Lausanne , Switzerland . The FEI is the international governing body of equestrian sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee. It is the organization which establishes rules and regulations for the conduct of international equestrian events. Today, the FEI has some 130 member-countries.

The concept of the World Equestrian Games, with the championships of all seven of the major disciplines held simultaneously at a single venue, is relatively new. Prince Philip, president of FEI in the 1980's, proposed the idea of holding world championships for the six most important equestrian disciplines at one location. The first "World Championship" was held in Stockholm , Sweden in 1990. The bringing together of the world's best horses, riders and drivers was a huge success and reinforced interest in all equestrian sports worldwide. A seventh event, reigning, was added in 2002.

To many, the World Equestrian Games is even more relevant to the equestrian world than the Olympics because the Olympics only host three of the seven mainstream equine events: show jumping, dressage and eventing. (Equestrian sports are the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete directly against one another.)

United Arab Emirates

• Modern Gulf State with a strong economy and high growth rate
• Serviced by all major airlines
• Hosts the world's richest flat race, the Dubai World Cup (G1-UAE) annually, as well as many other international conventions and events
• Dubai is a perpetual leader in the FEI discipline of endurance
• They are building a new world-class arena that will house several of the events if they win the bid as the host
• Because Dubai's sovereign is so keen on equine sports and the Games, the Dubai bid has almost unlimited funding

Basse-Normandie, France

• Large equine industry with over 7,000 people taking care of more than 55,000 horses
• Many international equestrian competitions are held in Normandie each year
• Several of France's top riders base their stables out of Normandie
• President Chirac has weighed in personally for Normandie's bid, stating that he is whole-heartedly in favor of it.

Reining

Reining is an event that showcases the athletic ability of a ranch-type horse. Contestants are required to ride one of ten approved patterns which include small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll backs over the hocks, 360-degree spins done in place and the exciting sliding stops that are the hallmark of the reining horse

Dressage

Often described as “horse ballet,” the horse and rider perform a predetermined pattern, or “test,” and perform gaits and movements, such as a walk, trot, canter, half pass (slow-motion trot), piaffe (trot in place) and one and two tempi changes (where the horse appears to skip as it canters). The dressage tests performed at the World Equestrian Games are those of the highest level – Grand Prix

Vaulting

Vaulting can most easily be described as gymnastics performed on a moving horse. Participants are judged on a series of compulsory moves and in freestyle competition. The horse is lunged (guided) in a circle and vaulters, consisting of individuals, pairs or teams, perform on the back (or other parts) of the moving horse

Endurance

Similar to a marathon, the competitors face a 160 kilometer course with the winner determined by the fastest time. In addition to the titles of individual and team champions, the Veterinary Commission will elect the horse deemed to be in the “best condition” from the ten fastest times

Driving

Driving competitions are held for teams of four horses, four ponies, two horses, two ponies, single horse and single ponies. They compete in three disciplines: dressage (and possibly presentation), marathon and obstacle driving. The lowest cumulative faults (penalties) from all three tests determine the individual and team champions

Show Jumping

In the discipline of show jumping, horse and rider must complete a predetermined course of 15 obstacles of up to five feet high and six feet wide within the time allowed. Four faults (penalties) are given for every jump a horse knocks down. Penalties are also given for refusals and going over the allotted time

Eventing

This “equestrian triathlon” is comprised of three phases- dressage, cross-country and show jumping- to test horse and rider both on the flat and over obstacles. Over the centuries it has evolved from a test of the ideal military charger to a sport that attracts all levels of enthusiasts, testing the well-roundedness of both horse and rider