Eventing is the triathlon of equestrian sport. Developed from cavalry competitions held during the early 1900's, eventing is the ultimate challenge for horse and rider, testing their partnership and athletic prowess in three diverse and demanding disciplines: the grace and harmony of dressage, the rigors and thrills of cross country jumping, the power and pageantry of stadium jumping. Penalty points from each of these phases are totaled for a final standing. The lowest score wins the division.

The objective of dressage is for a horse and rider to move through a series of required patterns without any appearance of effort on the rider's part. Patterns become more and more difficult as competitors move up from Novice level up through Advanced divisions. At the Novice level riders might make large circles and cross the ring in a variety of ways at a walk, trot and canter. At higher levels, the horses are expected to be more consistent in the way they follow the rider's requests and the patterns have more intricate movements, demonstrating the horse's ability to lengthen and shorten his stride.

The cross-country phase of the event is the heart of the sport. The rider gallops the horse over a set course, jumping fences that have been built to blend into the land so that they seem like natural obstacles. The fences ask questions and, in so doing, test the horse's ability to jump uphill or downhill, drop into or out of water; go through differing light conditions, or deal with changes in footing and terrain.

In Cross Country, penalty points are assessed for refusing to jump or for running out of either side of an obstacle. Time penalties are given for going slower than the optimum time allowed. Speed penalties are given for finishing too quickly.

The stadium jumping phase of eventing tests the horse's obedience and athleticism over a timed course of typical show jumps. In every division, the size of the stadium jumps is the same as for the Cross Country Phase and competitors are assessed penalties for refusals, knocking rails down and exceeding optimum time limits.

Contact us to learn more about how you can become involved in the sport of Eventing.