A horse shaped ancient gravestone in Georgia

Equestrianism History in Georgia

 

In the ancient world, Georgia was one of the first countries with high developed horse related civil and military activities. Due to its geographic location or historic background this could not be otherwise. In the archaelogical findings of Caucasus and namely in Georgia, horse tack accessories, their sculptural and basrelief images were found in all chronological layers. The archaeological findings of late bronze age (from the 13th of B.C.) prove, that horse was worshiped in ancient times (V. Elashvili, 1968).

For Georgians a horse was essential in the times of war, and because the existence of this small country was many times in danger, it is obvious how important it was to have well trained horses and riders. Because of it, the horse-rider relationships are many times described in Georgian folk, literature and historical sources.

The Georgian equestrian games exist along many centuries, the diversity and complexity of them show, that these games were not only for entertainment. The games require well trained horse and rider, which together formed a good warrior. So these games were used for training purposes in peace times. The amazing Georgian equestrian games were shown in the beginning of 20th century in USA and other countries of the world, see Wild West Georgians.