From the brutal battlefields of Ancient Greece, to horses dancing jauntily to music at the modern Olympic Games, equestrianism has come a long way. One of the most traditional Olympic sports, it has a strong military background and at first was open only to men. Women however, entered the fray in the 1950s and arguably equestrian is now the sport that most promotes equality in terms of gender and age.

While some other Olympic sports – such as badminton, tennis, biathlon and figure skating –  have mixed events alongside men’s and women’s competitions, equestrian is the only one in which all the medals are competed for on equal terms by both men and women.

In the Paralympic world, equestrian joins wheelchair curling, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair  tennis, boccia and sailing in having all mixed competitions.

And along with curling, equestrian is probably the Olympic and Paralympic sport in which the age of an athlete matters least in terms of their chances of reaching the podium. For example, the most successful equestrian Olympian of all time, Germany’s Reiner Klimke, won the last of his six gold medals in dressage aged 52 at the Seoul 1988 Games. He had won his first gold medal 24 years earlier at the Tokyo 1964 Games.

At the London 2012 Games, Japan’s Hiroshi Hoketsu competed in the dressage competition at the age of 71, finishing 17th out of 24, nearly half a century after his first Olympic appearance in Tokyo. Also in London, the gold-medal winning British jumping team was led by 54-year-old veteran Nick Skelton, who had a hip replacement operation one year before.

Japan’s Hiroshi Hoketsu was the oldest athlete at the London 2012 Games, aged 71 (Photo: Getty Images/Alex Livesey)

In Paralympic competition, Britain’s Anne Dunham won five gold, one silver and one bronze medal at four Games. Her final victory came at Beijing 2008 at the age of 59.

Olympic equestrian events are divided into three disciplines: dressage, jumping and eventing. While horses first appeared in the ancient Olympic Games in 680 BC, when chariot racing was introduced, jumping was the first discipline to be included in the modern Olympic Games, making its debut at Paris 1900. It originated in England in the 18th century as a result of the Enclosure Acts, which saw fences erected across the countryside, leading foxhunters to seek out horses that could jump. At first jumping was dominated by military riders, but as the world’s armies were mechanised, civilian riders came to the fore, and women entered the discipline at the Stockholm 1956 Games.

Dressage is considered the highest expression of horse training and used as the basis for all disciplines. It was also practised by the Ancient Greeks, who used it to train war horses to perform intricate movements in harmony with the rider. It joined the modern Olympic programme in 1912 in Stockholm, although at first only army officers could compete. This rule was changed in 1951 and the following year in Helsinki women made their Olympic dressage debut. Dressage is sometimes called the ‘art of equestrian sport’ or ‘horse ballet’ – particularly in reference to the ‘freestyle to music’ section.

Eventing, which also joined the modern Olympic Games at Stockholm 1912, is the most demanding of the three disciplines. It combines dressage and jumping with a cross country course. Originally developed to test cavalry horses and dominated by men in the early years, women entered at Tokyo 1964, when Helena du Pont competed for the United States.

Equestrian joined the Paralympic programme at the Atlanta 1996 Games. Athletes can compete in dressage events, a championship test of set movements and a freestyle test to music. There is also a team test that involves three to four members.

Across the three disciplines, the most successful Olympic nation by some distance is Germany, with 38 gold medals, 20 silver and 25 bronze. Sweden is next with 17 golds, 11 silvers and 13 bronzes and the USA is third with 12 golds, 22 silvers and 17 bronzes. Germany is the top nation in dressage (with 19 golds compared to second-placed Sweden’s seven and the former Soviet Union’s four) and jumping (with 12 golds compared to France’s six and USA’a five). But the USA leads the medal table for eventing, with seven golds and 13 silvers, compared to Germany’s seven golds and seven silvers, and Sweden’s seven golds and four silvers.

Canada’s Ian Millar was the oldest medallist in Beijing, winning jumping team silver at the age of 61 (Photo: Getty Images/Julian Herbert)

In dressage the top three medal winners are Germans: Klimke (seven gold and two bronze), Isabell Werth (five gold medals and three silver, won between 1992 and 2008) and Nicole Uphoff (four gold from 1998 and 1992). Dutchwoman Anky van Grunsven won the individual gold for the third consecutive time at Beijing 2008.

German Hans Gunter Winkler is the most successful jumper with five golds, one silver and one bronze (won between 1956 and 1976), although his compatriot Ludger Beerbaum, who has four golds, still hopes to overtake him. Canada’s Ian Millar was the oldest medallist in Beijing, winning the team silver medal aged 61.

Charles Pahud de Mortanges, from the Netherlands, is the most successful eventer, with four golds and a silver won between 1924 and 1932. In more recent times, Australians Andrew Hoy and Matthew Morgan Ryan have won three gold medals each.

Great Britain leads the Paralympic equestrian medal table with 24 golds, 13 silvers and eight bronzes, ahead of the USA (seven golds, eight silvers, two bronzes) and Germany (six golds, 10 silvers, five bronzes).

Qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic equestrian competitions will start this year, at the World Equestrian Games in France in August. In contrast, Paralympic athletes have been able to register a qualifying standard since the start of 2014.