In my last post, I promised to explain what a World Equestrian Games is. Here goes: In a nutshell, a WEG is the world championships of the eight equestrian sports (or “disciplines”) governed by the International Equestrian Federation (acronym FEI for its French name, the Federation Equestre Internationale). Those eight sports are: eventing, jumping, dressage, reining, vaulting, endurance, driving, and para-equestrian dressage.

The WEG is held every four years, occurring midway through the summer Olympic Games’ own four-year cycle. The most recent summer Olympics were in 2008; the next WEG is in 2010; the next summer Olympics will be in 2012. WEG and Olympic equestrian competition are roughly equivalent in terms of difficulty and prestige. Only three equestrian disciplines (eventing, jumping, and dressage) are part of Olympic competition, however, so it’s possible to draw comparisons only for those three sports.

Both competitions are run under FEI rules, but Olympic equestrian competition is a bit more complex because every Olympic sport is subject to the ultimate governance of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This means that the equestrian rules for an Olympics may contain tweaks not found in the usual FEI Rule Book. But the major standard elements, such as the dressage tests, remain the same.

WEGs and Olympic Games are the creme de la creme for their disciplines, but there are other major championships as well. For example, there are annual FEI World Cup Finals for the sports of eventing, jumping, and dressage. Only the very top horses and riders from their respective “leagues” qualify for these prestigious championships, but because they’re held every year they don’t have quite the same cachet as a WEG or an Olympics