The World Equestrian Games were created in 1990 as a way to combine the World Championships into one competition. Before, each discipline held separate world championships in different venues around the world. The World Games became a kind of equestrian Olympics exactly two years after each official Olympics. As in the official Olympics, countries pick their top athletes to perform in teams at the World Games.

1990: The first Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden, with six disciplines: dressage, eventing, show jumping, carriage driving, endurance and vaulting. Thirty-seven countries participated.

1994: The FEI awarded the Games to the Hague, Netherlands. The Games went bankrupt and were plagued with organizational problems.

1998: The Games' future looked doomed. The city of Dublin pulled out at the last minute, leaving Rome to organize the event in a year. Nonetheless, 42 countries participated.

2002: The Games were held in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, and the sport of reining was added. Forty-eight countries competed.

2006: The Games were held in Aachen, Germany. For the first time, the organization broke even. Sixty-one countries took part in seven disciplines.

2010: The Games will be held in Lexington, Sept. 25-Oct. 10.