There is far more to horses than just racing. From show jumping to dressage through vaulting to eventing, there are numerous bets to be made on equestrian sports.

Dressage is about the development, through standardised progressive training methods, of a horse's natural athletic ability and willingness to perform. The end result is that a horse that should, with minimal aid or impulsion by the rider, perform smoothly and beautifully a range of actions including trots and pirouettes. The competitors are scored by a jury.

Show jumping is a timed event judged on the ability of the horse and rider to jump a series of obstacles. These must be negotiated in a specified sequence, the objective being to minimise the number of refusals or knockdowns of all or part of each obstacle. Riders receive penalties for various failures, or simply taking too long to complete the course and the team with the fewest penalties after all rounds are complete is the winner.

Eventing is a combination of show jumping, dressage and cross-country. Again, the penalties at the end of events are totalled and the rider with the fewest penalties wins.

All three of the above disciplines are part of the Summer Olympics, but there are numerous international competitions such as the FEI World Equestrian Games, considered by many to be more important than the Olympics. These games feature no fewer than eight different equestrian events.

Betting markets for equestrian sports, as in racing, are primarily based on places. The experienced horse racing punter may well find equestrian events a rewarding change from pure racing bets.