LEGO Olympic Sports - Part 2: Equestrian
Posted by CapnRex101,
Over one hundred medals have already been given out at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and several more will be decided today in the equestrian. Horses were among the first animals to appear in LEGO sets, beginning with brick-built models such as 806-2 Cowboy & Pony, and they continue to prevail today.
It is therefore to be expected that equestrian events have been represented in LEGO on a number of occasions and you will find a selection after the break.
Equestrian consists of three disciplines at the Olympic Games, the first of which is dressage. The rider aims to display exceptional control of the horse in this event by performing a series of pre-determined riding figures. Horses have appeared in many sets but their riders are a little less common and have only recently appeared in a couple of Friends sets as well as 10674 Pony Farm. 8909-9 Horseback Rider formed part of the Team GB Collectable Minifigures series in 2012 too but was without her horse.
The cross-country element of the team equestrian took place yesterday and this exhibits stamina, speed and jumping ability. The horse exerciser in 41126 Heartlake Riding Club is perfect for training horses in readiness for the demanding nature of cross-country and a number of horse trailers have also been released to transport horses from their stables to the countryside.
The third and final element is jumping. This is by far the most prevalent aspect of equestrian in LEGO and it is not limited to Heartlake City as a rider and fence is included in 7635 4WD with Horse Trailer. Furthermore, an entire series of jumps was included in 6379 Riding Stable and Paradisa sets such as 6417 Show Jumping have also exhibited the discipline.
Fences and other pieces of show jumping equipment also appear in several Friends sets, indicating that this is the most popular aspect of equestrian eventing in the world of LEGO. Perhaps this is due to the relatively recent arrival of horses with poseable hind legs which has made show jumping far easier!
We will be publishing more articles based on Olympic sports and their appearances in LEGO over the next couple of weeks.
Which is your favourite horse-based set? Let us know in the comments below.
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13 comments on this article
I never know if Pegasai count or not, because I loved Paladum's Mixel set. XD
Don't forget 6379-1 - town riding stable from the eighties - before Lego friends this was a sought after set for young girls (and many lads) who liked Lego!
http://brickset.com/sets/6379-1/Riding-Stable
Actually, there are a fair number of minifig dressage and show jumping riders in the Paradisa theme.
Sets like 6405 Sunset Stables, 6417 Show Jumping Event, and 6419 Rolling Acres Ranch all feature horses and riders in proper riding attire.
Yeah, some other classic Town sets as well as I think there is an old truck and carrier from the 80s.
Ouch - NZ has just place fourth in the equestrian teams event.
Here in Equestria, friendship is magic! (I'm sorry, I had to go for the low hanging fruit.)
Great article!
I own a horse in real life so I enjoy reading articles that combine my two largest interests, horses and Lego. :)
Paradisa was hit and miss for me but I like the horse-based sets. Looking forward to part 3!
what about http://brickset.com/sets/10223-1/Kingdoms-Joust ?
I do sometimes miss the feel that sets like this one from Paradisa breathe:
http://brickset.com/sets/6419-1/Rolling-Acres-Ranch
There's certain magic to them in the way the box art and set is designed
Nice article. My favorite would be 6379, which I am still missing in my collection.
The pony farm http://brickset.com/sets/10674-1/Pony-Farm looks good too!
Lest we forget the TeamGB dressage rider from Olympics 2012 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wiredforsound23/10441828795/
A MOC I made of Lord Vladek ride.