Special Olympics Equestrian is a collection of equestrian events where all competitors have a physical or mental disability.

Special Olympics equestrian is a series of competitive equestrian events held at the World Summer Games and meant for athletes with physical or mental disabilities. Athletes are able to compete in a variety of English and Western-style events, including relays, drill teams and prix caprilli (jumping events). As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in competition divisions according to ability level and age (equestrian athletes are not separated by gender).

The goal of equestrian is ride a horse through a course of obstacles and jumps in the fastest amount of time, while incurring as few faults as possible.

Equestrian debuted at the 1987 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Indian. There, 38 athletes competed in equestrian sports competition, but it was not until one year later that equestrian became an official Special Olympic sport. The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games hosted 137 athletes representing 23 countries in the sport. As of the 2005 Special Olympics Athlete Participation Report, 16,914Special Olympics athletes compete in equestrian.

Helmet
Horse
Riders Attire
Saddle
Tack

Riding a horse presents riders with the risk of falling or being thrown from a horse. Riders should be comfortable handling the horse and wear a helmet to reduce the risk of head injury.

Special Olympics athletes who compete in the equestrian events learn to ride, develop sports skills and gain the self-confidence to direct and control a horse.

Clean Round - when a horse completes the prescribed jumper course within the time allowed without incurring jumping faults

Combination - two or three jumps set up so they must be taken in quick succession, separated by only one or two strides

Course - in each class over fences, competitors must negotiate the jumps in a prescribed order; courses for each class are

posted in advance near the In-Gates so that riders and trainers may memorize them

Fault - penalty assessed in jumper classes for mistakes such as knockdowns, refusals, and exceeding the time allowed

Gaits - the different paces at which the horse travels are the walk, trot, canter, gallop, and varying speeds of each

In and Out - a two-jump combination, with elements separated by one or two strides

Jump-off - all horses with "clean" first rounds jump a shortened course against the clock to determine the winner

Jumps - the general types of jumps in competition are a straight or vertical fence and a spread (wide) fence or oxer

Junior - a rider under 18 years of age

Open - advanced divisions in which competitors are not restricted by previous winnings

Riders Attire - breeches and boots, a ratcatcher, hunt coat, and hunt cap are all worn by the riders

Round - term used to describe a rider's turn in each class

Schooling - the warm-up session prior to each rider's round in which they jump practice fences in the schooling area

Standards - the various types of supports which hold up the rails of a jump

Stride - the amount of ground covered by a horse in one "step" at the canter

Tack - the equipment worn by the horse

Vertical - a fence with no spread to it, which forces a horse to make a steep arc in his effort to jump

http://www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/Coach/Sports_Offered/Equestrian.htm
http://jmatt.net/ElecEq/vocab.html