Evolved in the American West, mostly on cattle ranches.  The sport of Western riding consists of a variety of riding opportunities including Western Pleasure, Western Riding, Trail Riding, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Cutting and Reining.

 

Evolved in Europe, and includes hunters and jumpers.  Hunters focus on style, confirmation, and form.  Jumpers are judged soely on speed.  When someone learns to ride English, they begin walking and learning form.  Then they learn to trot and go over ground poles, jump over cross rails, and then jump even higher if they choose.

 

Dressage has its origins in the military.  The highest levels of dressage are exemplified by the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.  A Dressage arena is 20X40 meters or 20X60 meters depending on the test being ridden.  A test consists of approximately 25-30 movements, each movement is judged on a scale of 1 to 10.