38 The World’s Oldest Sport

Most of us have heard of thoroughbred horses. But what does “thoroughbred” mean? It means a horse of a pure breed. In other words, a thoroughbred is a type of horse that has not been mixed with any other type of horse through breeding.

Thoroughbred horses are the world’s fastest racers. Long ago, three Arabian stallions were brought to England by King Charles II. They were the ancestors of all thoroughbreds known today. They were called Byerley Turk, Godolphin Barb, and Darley Arabian.

Horse racing is one of the oldest sports in the world. Rulers of all times have enjoyed breeding their own horses. In the Middle Ages, kings liked to watch their knights on horseback compete in tournaments. Because of this, horse racing is often called “the sport of kings.”

There are many different kinds of horse races. Flat races are races that take place on grass or dirt tracks. They are called “flat” because the horse is not made to jump over any obstacles.

In another kind of race, called the steeplechase, a horse must jump at least eighteen fences. Steeplechasing gets its name from races once held in Ireland. In these events, the course was set between the church steeples of one village and the next. The most famous steeplechase in modern times is the Grand National, held in England.

我们大多数人都听说过纯血马。但“纯血马”是什么意思呢？它指的是纯种的马。换句话说，纯血马是一种通过繁殖从未与其他任何类型的马杂交过的马。

纯血马是世界上跑得最快的赛马。很久以前，三匹阿拉伯种公马被查理二世国王带到了英国。它们是如今所有已知纯血马的祖先，分别被称为拜耶利土耳其马、戈多尔芬阿拉伯马和达利阿拉伯马。

赛马是世界上最古老的运动之一。各个时代的统治者都喜欢培育自己的马。在中世纪，国王们喜欢观看他们的骑士在马上比武大会中竞技。正因为如此，赛马常被称为“国王的运动”。

赛马有许多不同的种类。平地赛是在草地或泥地赛道上进行的比赛，之所以称为“平地”，是因为马不需要跨越任何障碍物。

另一种比赛叫做障碍赛，在这种比赛中，马至少要跨越十八道栏。障碍赛的名称源于曾经在爱尔兰举行的比赛，在这些赛事中，赛道被设置在一个村庄和下一个村庄的教堂尖塔之间。现代最著名的障碍赛是在英国举行的格兰国家障碍赛。