The Horse Trials:

Introduction to Eventing

Horse Trials, also know as Eventing, is the equestrian equivalent of triathalon comprising three disciplines - Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country. Often considered the ultimate test for horse and rider, the sport's origins lie in the training of cavalry horses. As such it requires a high level of schooling and obedience combined with courage, stamina and physical ability and a real partnership between horse and rider. It is a sport at which Britain excels with recent Olympic, World and European medal successes bringing it to the forefront once again. It is also one of a very few sports where men and women, young and old can compete against each other on equal terms and a genuine amateur can compete against an Olympic champion.

The first test is dressage which involves a set sequence of compulsory movements in an arena 20m wide by 40m long (60m long at higher levels of competition). The test is judged by one or more experts who are looking for balance, rhythm, suppleness, obedience of the horse and its harmony with the rider.

The show jumping test is one round of jumping over coloured, knock-downable fences in an arena. The objective is to jump all the fences, clear and within the maximum time allowed. The course is a test of agility, accuracy and skill since fences knocked down or refusals incur penalty points, as does exceeding the time allowed.

The final phase is the Cross Country test. Here a course of natural, solid obstacles has to be jumped, usually at a faster pace but again within an optimum time to avoid incurring penalty points. Stopping or running past an obstacle incurs penalties. A fall of the horse or rider also occasionally occurs but this is now penalised by elimination and the competitor is not permitted to continue due to safety considerations.

In many events, such as Thornton Watlass, the horse and rider complete all three tests on the same day (one day events) but at the higher levels such as Badminton and the Olympics, each test takes place on a different, consecutive day (three day events).

The scores from each test are combined in a cumulative penalty basis over all three phases. The winner is the partnership of horse and rider with the fewest penalties, i.e. the lowest score.

The sport has different levels of competition  through which horses progress as they score points and gain experience. All horses need to build up their levels of skill, regardless of the ability of the rider. You will therefore see even the very top riders bringing their young or inexperienced horses around the lower levels of competition alongside amateur or inexperienced riders. Here at Thornton Watlass you are watching the two lower levels of the sport (BE 90 and BE 100) but the challenges competitors face are relative to their horse's experience and so just as demanding.

See Photos of the Course in the Gallery

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