As a sport, barrel racing developed from cowboy contests in determining who had the best cow ponies that could dodge around sagebrush at breakneck speed to out-maneuver the most wayward cow. Eventually three barrels replaced the sagebrush, cowgirls replaced the cowboy, and the cloverleaf pattern of racing became the standard. This sport is generally found at Rodeos, and in performance classes at breeds shows for the Quarter Horse, Appaloosa, and Paint.

horse: n, pl hors.es also horse [ME hors, fr. OE; akin to OHG hros horse] 1 a: a large solid-hoofed herbivorous mammal (Equus caballus, family Equidae, the horse family) domesticated by humans since a prehistoric period and used as a beast of burden, a draft animals, or for riding..... from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary

No matter how the horse is defined, it remains that for uncountable eons it has been a companion, a slave, a friend, and a partner in the upward climb of humanity. Selectively bred for specific type of work, the horse evolved over the centuries into an amazing number of types and shapes, many which still remain as distinct breeds today.

Over 85 breeds are recognized by the international horse world, sponsored and promoted by breeds clubs, and enthusiastically championed by owners themselves. Below you will find a number of breeds that are supported by websites, and found in this listing.

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Buzkashi, or goat grabbing, is the national sport of Afghanistan. The game starts with a headless goat carcass placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players of two opposing teams. The object of the game is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area. Buzkashi is divided into two versions, Tudabarai and Qarajai. The game is very similar to polo except for fewer rules. Players are not allowed to shoot or stab a member of the opposing team.

Close enough to horseback riding to count. :) This section for sites offering carriage rides, hayrides, or Sleigh Rides.

Horse and carriage driving is one of the fastest growing equestrian sports today. Driving a horse and carriage in harmony is a true art form. It can take years to become a successful carriage driver. With any luck, this section will provide some insight into the wonderful world of carriage driving. If you would like your web site included in this listing, it can only be listed in one category. Please make sure your site is not already listed before you request inclusion--thanks! Please note that listings are in no preferential order. All sites are treated equally and objectively. Sites listed within this category are non-commercial and are sports-related.

Riding teams from Colleges and Universities throughout the United States and abroad.

Large scale facilities offering show grounds and cross country courses for various equine organizations for all types of disciplines and events.

Competitive Trail Riding is often seen by most equestrians as the gentle, relaxed sister-sport to Endurance Riding. Although both sports are based upon riding distances, they are very different in their philosophies. Unlike the "race-to-win" attitude of Endurance Riding, CTR focuses primarily on the ability of the horse to travel specified distances while maintaining adherence to a strict framework of equine condition specifications and rigid time limits. It is a wonderful sport that is practiced throughout the equestrian world, and continually gaining more popularity among families and casual riders.

This category offers directories providing links to sites of a general nature to the equestrian community. Directories that are specific to certain regions will be found in the Regional sub-category. Directories that are specific to a particular sport will be found under that discipline.

Dressage has been called an "elegant dance of horse and rider", and has been practiced as an art for centuries.

In the western world the Greeks were among the first to extol this type of equestrian partnership by putting their training methods down in writing. Among the principles espoused was the need to train the horse as a war horse, including all the intricate movements necessary to assist the rider while fighting in close quarters. By necessary, these movements had to be precise and immediate, no matter where the horse was at any particular moment or time, or the soldier risked forfeit of his life. With training, these movements became more rigorously defined, building to a level of detail and precision that often required years of study for both horse and rider to develop and hone.

The ancients may have set the stage for an enduring partnership between the horse and humanity, but it was the French, as great exponents of this art, who were the first to coin it "dressage".

Although the horse no longer participates in the battlefields as it did in the past, the Dressage arts have moved to a higher level in the world of sports, advancing it world-wide on many levels -- from local beginner to international Olympic. It is a beautiful discipline of classic origins -- elegant to watch and a joy to ride.

This category focuses specifically on the professional education of those seeking a career with horses. Only sites providing substantial and comprehensive educational resources for the career student are included here. For general horse information and resources, please see http://dmoz.org/Sports/Equestrian/Directories/

Endurance Riding is unquestionably the most grueling, demanding, and physically challenging of all the equestrian disciplines. The thought of racing 50 to 100 miles over difficult terrain - often in only one day and only on one horse - is enough to turn most riders pale at the very prospect.

For those less inclined to race at speed past the scenery, the sport of Competitive Riding offers no less of the horse and rider in terms of an ideal partnership, but at a slower pace.

Whether it be Endurance or Competitive, once you have tried distance riding, you can never look back without a sense of utter awe and admiration for those that can take this sport to the highest level - be it the justifiably famous (or infamous) Tevis Cup (in the western US), the unbelievably grueling Old Dominion 100 (in Virginia), or the paragon of endurance rides - the Endurance event at the Olympic trials.

This category offers a plethora of sites to whet your curiosity, interest, and needs in the fascinating world of distance riding.

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Open to sites that offer information on equipment and apparel specific to the equestrian disciplines.

For sheer thrill and excitement, there is no equestrian sport that can equal the blood-and-guts aura of Eventing -- or, as is often identified by its proper name: Combined Training. The awesome power of a horse and rider team displaying a brilliant and fluid partnership in an elegant dressage test, and then a short time later flying at galloping speed over huge man-made and nature-enhanced obstacles in a run cross county run for miles, and then topping off their achievement in a test of skill, ability, and agility on a timed course of difficult show jumps is indeed an equestrian sport that demands the highest level of both horse and rider.

The sport saw its beginnings during the early 20th century when warfare still incorporated the use of the cavalry horse, and the rigorous training for battle demanded absolute obedience on both the parade ground and in the field under fire. The advanced military machinery of World War I, however, quickly (and utterly) destroyed forever the use of the horse in modern warfare. Nonetheless, the cavalry training methods refused to die. Still sponsored by the Olympic committee, they gradually migrated their way out of the military agenda, to be warmly received by the civilian equestrian community.

The sport continues to be enjoyed on an international level, and is practiced by all levels - from novice to advanced, pony clubber to Olympian, from simple day events to the all-encompassing three-day. Some of the greatest and best known American (three day) Combined Training events are Radnor Hunt and Chesterland in Pennsylvania, Fair Hills in Maryland, Lexington in Kentucky, and Morven Park in Virginia.

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Organized to present a broad overview of all facets of equestrian sports, both English, Western and driving, as well as the various breeds of horses and ponies used. Generally this includes clinics, demonstrations, lectures, preview of breeds, and educational opportunities for the spectator. Many equine fairs also host trade shows for those industries that are supported by the equestrian community.

Gymkhana means a competition in which horse and rider compete against others in timed events which test both speed and agility.

This section is for sites that offer horse and riding based therapy for the handicapped and others.

Jousting, also known as tilting, is a European martial competition between two mounted combattants, which enjoyed its peak popularity in the 14th to 16th centuries. Combattants were typically armed with a lance, which they would use to attempt to unhorse their opponent. Today, modern jousters may compete in full-contact jousting (involving body protection based on mediaeval armour), or in jousting against targets (such as rings or quintains).

Based upon the objectives of the pioneers and explorers of the past centuries - the goal being to ride safely cross county from Point A to Point B while negotiating an unknown area with only a map as a guide - this sport involves a horse, map, compass, and a good sense of direction. The sport provides a fun unique learning experience and can be practiced either as a single or team effort.

This category relates to sites hosting on-line or broadcast news and media for equestrian events, happenings, and updates.

Associations or clubs are formed by groups of people with similar interests - the purpose is usually to promote the interest or activity and to provide resources and opportunities for those who share the interest. Associations and clubs are usually run on a not-for-profit basis with income being re-invested in the Association or club.

This section for anyone's personal home pages showing off their horse or telling tales (tails? :) about their horses.

No sites can be submitted at this level. Please choose the appropriate subcategory that best describes the primary focus of your website.

History claims that the honor of inventing the game of polo belongs to the ancient Persians whose brilliant artifacts often depicted this highly charged, fast-and-furious sport of what can loosely be described as "hockey on horseback."

In truth, this fast-paced, team oriented sport is not widely seen outside the equestrian community except in South America where it is ranked among the most popular equestrian activities.

Polocrosse is a team equestrian sport similar to polo except a net is used instead of a mallet. Polocrosse was originally developed by combining the sports of polo and lacrosse at a riding school near London and was used as an exercise to help people improve their riding. The modern game took shape in Australia in the 1930s. Today, there are over 6,000 players in the world. A polocrosse team consists of six players, divided into two sections of three who play alternate chukkas of a maximum of eight minutes each, either six or eight chukkas usually comprising a full match. The three players in each section consist of a No. I or "Attack", a No. 2 or "Mid-Field", and No. 3 or "Defense". Teams score goals by throwing the ball through the opposition's goal posts. At the same time, they protect their goal from the other team. All players can catch, carry and throw the ball with their racquets. However, only the player at the number 1 position is allowed to score. The rules are designed with one primary concern, safety -- for player and horse. Anything creating a dangerous situation is ruled illegal and is a penalty. The game is played on a pitch about the same size as rugby pitch.

Since the dawn of time, when humanity first scrambled upon the horse, racing has been a sport enjoyed by both rich and poor, educated and illiterate, young and old.

Known officially as "The Sport of Kings", this exciting horse sport spans venues from turf to dirt tracks to hurtles, and a variety of distances ranging from short, explosive quarter mile tracks to races covering miles at a stretch. Specialized breeds were developed over the centuries to produce racehorses that could either run the farthest (the Arabian), the fastest (the Thoroughbred), the quickest (the American Quarter Horse), or out-trot anything on four legs (the Standardbred). The result was the promotion of an unparallel level of refinement in the selection of various racing bloodlines that are closely controlled by governing bodies overseeing the now multi-billion dollar racing/breeding industry.

This category is devoted to all sites promoting, sponsoring, or providing information on flat, harness, or steeplechase horse racing.

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This category offers a listing of equestrian riding stables that offer training, boarding, and lessons. They may also host shows and events on the facility property.

The development of the modern Saddle Seat equitation is founded on the ideals of the early colonial plantation owners who, by virtue of their vast land holding, sought to find the most comfortable horses to ride during the overseeing of the daily operation. As a result many of America's gaited horses were selectively breed and developed to produce a smooth, fast walk and running walk (often called a "single foot") plus a rocking-horse canter that is without peer, none of which required the rider to post or rise from the saddle at any time.

This category offers information on horse sales and equine services via links to other equine related areas of ODP.

Competitive Equestrian events covering all disciplines from riding to driving.

A very elegant method of riding that developed in about the 16th Century for ladies to ride with more security than pillion, and is today still practiced exclusively by women.

Tent pegging is a cavalry sport. The term usually refers to a specific mounted game with ground targets. More broadly, it refers to the entire class of mounted cavalry games involving edged weapons on horseback, for which the term "equestrian skill-at-arms" is also used.

Without proper training, a horse is just a nice looking animal. There are many types of training, and many training approaches. Horses may be trained to a high level for a particular type of sport, and specialist trainers will be found under the discipline or breed in which they specialize. Riders also must be trained, but sites relating to teaching and training the rider are not included in Sports/Equestrian/Training.

This category is directional only, providing links to categories that list sites relating to the transportation of horses or equestrian related travel.

Horse riding is an increasingly popular activity for holiday makers and many establishments cater specifically for those wishing to enjoy a horse riding holiday. Many Riding Stables also provide facilities for the casual rider but this category is for facilities that specialise in providing horse riding tours and holidays for visitors to an area.

Excerpt from American Vaulting Association's website: "Vaulting is one of the seven equestrian disciplines recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) for international competition, and is most easily described as gymnastics performed on the back (or other parts) of a moving horse." Voltiging, the art of acrobatics on a living horse.

Western Performance disciplines trace their roots to competitive cowboys wanting to prove they were the best rider who rode the best horse. These informal competitions have evolved in the past 100 years to organized events with specific rules and organizations to govern them. Though originating in the United States, participation in western riding has quickly spread around the World.