No they don’t, only the men and women.

　　Men and women?

　　That’s right. Equestrian is the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other.

　　Really?

　　Yes, and it’s also the only Olympic sport, along with modern pentathlon（五项全能运动）, where humans and animals compete together.

　　Well, people have ridden horses since the beginning of time, haven’t they?

　　I don’t know but horses have played an important role in human history all over the world, in war and peace.

　　And when did they start using horses for sport?

　　Hard to say, but there were horses at the ancient Olympics, in the chariot（战车） events.

　　Did anyone famous take part?

　　Well, the Roman emperor Nero competed in the Games in A.D. 67. He nearly died when he raced a ten-horse chariot. He also performed as an actor and a singer.

　　Is that right? What about the modern Olympics? They don’t have chariot races nowadays, do they?

　　No, nor acting or singing, either. But equestrian first appeared in the modern Olympic programme in 1900. Nowadays there are three events: dressage, jumping, and eventing.

　　What’s the difference?

　　Well, in dressage the rider guides the horse to make the natural movements that it does without thinking in the wild. In jumping they jump over a series of obstacles（障碍） as fast as they can, and eventing is a combination of these, with cross-country jumping as well.

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