The Modern Olympic Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1908

The first edition of the Modern Olympic Games saw the light in 1896 thanks to the vision of a certain Baron Pierre De Coubertin, whose interest in the concept had grown following the findings and research made available by a German archaeological team on the original Olympic Games. These had spanned over 1000 years, only to be abandoned in 393 A.D. by decree of the Christian Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, as their ancient associations with what were considered pagan gods had become irrelevant.

But the concept, adapted in terms of concept and format were destined to return and it was at the first Modern Olympic Games congress in June 1984 in Paris, that Athens was unanimously declared as the venue for this first edition.

At the heart of all initial discussions following the election of Athens was the choice of sports. The inclusion of horsesport was reviewed and rejected by the Greek organisers, with the difficulties surrounding the transport of horses, facilities, and the preparations of competition sites cited as the major drawbacks. Furthermore, chariot races ? which had been so popular in ancient Olympia - had ceased to exist and horse racing was considered too professional for the amateur ethos which reigned over Baron Pierre De Coubertin’s Olympic movement. As for the current Olympic disciplines of Jumping, Dressage and Eventing they were still in their infancy as far as international competitions went. There would be no horse sport for this first edition in Athens in 1896

Key figures (general): 14 nations; 241 athletes (0 women, 241 men); 9 sports

Games of the II Olympiad, Paris (FRA), 14 May ? 28 October 1900

Paris hosted the second edition of the modern Olympic Games, but these were not held as a stand alone event, but rather crammed into the summer long Paris World Fair. A lack of financial resources and sheer power meant that De Coubertin was, to a certain extent, at the mercy of the Paris organisers. They did what they saw fit and although a report was produced at the end of 1900, recording what had happened during the year, the whole concept was lost, with just a collection of randomly organised events held during the spring, summer and even autumn supposed to be part of the overall Olympic programme.

It was a break or make situation, and this experience had the effect to redirect the vision and expectations of De Coubertin.

Interestingly, equestrian events did take place as part of the 1900 Olympic programme, namely Grand Prix Jumping, long jump, high jump, hunter competition and a coaching competition. However, these events went officially unrecorded until the 1970s, which is why it is often assumed that 1912 Stockholm marks the first inclusion of equestrian sports on the Olympic programme.

Key figures (general): 24 nations; 997 athletes (22 women, 975 men); 18 sports  

Games of the III Olympiad, St Louis (USA), 1 July ? 23 November 1904

The 1904 St. Louis Olympics organizers repeated all of the mistakes of 1900. The Olympic competitions, spread out over four and a half months, were lost in the chaos of a World’s Fair. Of the 94 events generally considered to have been part of the Olympic program, only 42 included athletes who were not from the United States. The 1904 Olympics were the first at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded for first, second and third place.

Horsesport was not on the programme.

Key figures (general): 12 nations; 651 athletes (6 women, 645 men); 17 sports  

Games of the IV Olympiad, London (GBR), 27 April ? 31 October 1908

The 1908 Olympics were originally awarded to Rome, but were reassigned to London. At the Opening Ceremony, the athletes marched into the stadium by nation, as most countries sent selected national teams.

During the 1906 IOC Congress in Athens, the Swedish Count Clarence Von Rosen, Master of the Horse to the King of Sweden, proposed the inclusion of the equestrian events for the following edition, London 1908. He argued that the inclusion of the military would further strengthen the Olympic ideals and broaden the appeal. His request was well received and Baron Pierre De Coubertin asked him to create an Olympic equestrian programme. Count Von Rosen did as requested and presented the programme at the following Congress in The Hague in 1907 which was accepted.

All the National Olympic Committees were informed of the addition of equestrian sports to the programme and went on to register riders and horses for London 1908. However, when the British received entries for 88 riders from 6 nations, they decided to call it all off and told the IOC they could not host the equestrian events due to organisational issues.

As the next edition of the Games were set to be held in Sweden, Count Von Rosen decided to lead by example and went home to intricately organise the equestrian events which are still remembered for their exemplary turn out as part of the fifth edition of the Olympic Games, Stockholm 1912.

Key figures (general): 22 nations; 2,008 athletes (37 women, 1,971 men); 22 sports

To download this document in PDF format, Click here .