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ESSENTIAL RULES The specific game of tent pegging has a mounted horseman riding at a gallop and using a Sword or a Lance to pierce, pick up, and carry away a small ground target (a symbolic tent peg) or a series of small ground targets. The broader class of tent pegging games also includes ring 2007 A given tent pegging competition's rules specify the size and composition of the target; the number of consecutive targets placed on a course; the dimensions and weight of the sword, lance, or bow; the minimum time in which a course must be covered; and the extent to which a target must be struck, cut, or carried.Major General RKR Balasubramanian, ''Rules for Tent Pegging (First Edition)'', International Equestrian Federation, June 2002 ORIGINS Cavaliers have practiced the specific game of tent pegging since at least the 4th century BC, and Asian and later European empires spread the game around the world. As a result, the game's date and location of origin are ambiguous."Tent pegging at Hurlingham", ''Illustrated London News'', Summer 1875 In all accounts, the competitive sport evolved out of cavalry training exercises designed to develop cavaliers' prowess with the sword and lance from horseback. However, whether tent pegging developed cavaliers' generic skills or prepared them for specific combat situations is shrouded in anecdote and national Chauvinism .Lenox-Conyngham Papers, "Camp on the Raptee River", Cambridge University Centre of South Asian Studies, 16 January 1859 The most widely accepted theory "Tent pegging recognised by the FEI" , International Equestrian Federation, 2004, retrieved 17 May 2006 is that the game originated in medieval India as a training tool for cavaliers facing War Elephants . A cavalier able to precisely stab the highly sensitive flesh behind an elephant's toenail would cause the enemy elephant to rear, unseat his Mahout , and possibly run amok, breaking ranks and trampling Infantry . Tent pegging and bareback horse riding were among the sports staged between Chariot Race s in the Circus Maximus of Rome''A Let's Go City Guide : Rome'', 2004, page 82, ISBN 1-4050-3329-0. The term "tent pegging" is, however, certainly related to the idea that cavaliers mounting a surprise pre-dawn raid on an enemy camp could use the game's skills to sever or uproot ever employing such Tactics . Because the specific game of tent pegging is the most popular equestrian skill-at-arms game, the entire class of sports became known as tent pegging during the twilight of cavalry in the twentieth century. CONTEMPORARY SPORT Today, tent pegging is practiced around the world, but is especially popular in Afghanistan , Australia , India, Israel , Pakistan , South Africa , and the United Kingdom . The Olympic Council Of Asia included tent pegging as an official sport in 1982, and the International Equestrian Federation recognised the sport in 2004. While members of cavalry regiments and 2004 , retrieved 31 May 2006 , the sport is increasingly embraced by civilian riders. New and emerging national tent pegging associations have helped spread the sport's popularity. The Australian Royal Adelaide Show, the British Tent Pegging Association "Up in arms to peg back cavalry regiments" , Equestrian Today, 15 August 2005 , retrieved 02 June 2006, and the United States Cavalry Association "The National Cavalry Competition" , US Cavalry Association, 2006, retrieved 02 June 2006 now hold annual national championships and demonstrations in their respective countries. The pre-eminent tent pegging games remain centred in Asia and the Middle East, with the International Tent Pegging Championships and the continental Asian Olympics traditionally enjoying the highest number of competitors and participating states. "Indian riders to the fore" , ''The Sportstar'', 22 March 2003 , retrieved 02 June 2006 POPULAR CULTURE REFERENCES In George McDonald Fraser 's Flashman novels, title character Harry Flashman served in a Lancer regiment, and frequently mentions tent pegging and his broader skills with the lance. NOTES AND REFERENCES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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