Continuing traditions from the days of Astley, scenic riding remained extremely popular in the 19th century, before the purely acrobatic style supplanted it. In scenic riding the equestrian, appropriately costumed, acted out a pantomime on horseback. The greatest exponent of this artistic mode…

Twentieth-century equestrian acts can be divided into three main groups: voltige, in which a rider vaults onto and off a horse’s back; trick riding, in which the standing rider performs somersaults and pirouettes or forms human pyramids with other riders on one or…