History of the Games
Before the World Equestrian Games
The concept of a World Equestrian Games, at which all the FEI disciplines would decide their World Championships at one time and place, was first proposed to the
FEI in 1983. Until that time, the World Championships for each discipline was then accorded the privilege of hosting the next World Championship in that discipline four years later.
For example, the Kentucky Horse Park was selected by the United States Federation to host the Eventing World Championship in 1978 after Bruce Davidson won the
1974 title at Burghley and thus earned for the USA, the right to host the Eventing championship.
Previous Host Countries
The very first World Equestrian Games were held in Stockholm in 1990. Six disciplines were involved--
Jumping, Dressage, Eventing, Driving, Endurance and Vaulting.
In 1994 the city of The Hague in the Netherlands hosted the Games.
After a late cancellation of the Games that were to be held in Dublin, Ireland, Rome stepped forward to host the 1998 Games on one year's notice.
All disciplines except the Endurance were held and beautifully executed considering the very short preparation time. The Endurance was held in Dubai that year.
The next Games were held in Jerez de Frontera, Spain in 2002 and included all six disciplines and Reining for the first time. Following that the
Games went to Aachen 2006, again with seven disciplines, and were a fabulous success.
In 2010 the games leave Europe for the first time and come to the United States to the Kentucky Horse Park where, for the first time, Para Dressage, the newest
FEI Discipline will be competed together with the other seven.
The Games will be broadcast on NBC Sports, which has marked the largest commitment to network coverage of equestrian sport in U.S. television history.
Equine Village
The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will represent an unprecedented opportunity for our nation's multi-faceted equine industry to showcase itself,
in a variety of ways, to spectators from around the globe. Equine Organizations such as breed and discipline organizations, as well as others, will have the
opportunity to be prominently featured during the 2010 Games in the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Equine Village.
The Equine Village venue is unique to the 2010 World Equestrian Games. It will be a central site that house both exhibits from various equine organizations and a
number of world class equine demonstrations and special events. The combination of equine exhibits and demonstrations will showcase the depth and scope
of the equine industry to spectators. The Equine Village gives the entire equestrian world, outside of the eight disciplines, a chance to be involved in
the World Equestrian Games.
