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Eventing Explained
Called the triathlon of horse sports, eventing is an equestrian event consisting of dressage, cross-country and stadium-jumping. Tracing the roots of eventing back, it was originally used as a military training system to test obedience, stamina and bravery.
Dressage
The first phase of an event is Dressage. The horse and rider combination must complete a test of exact sequences of movements in a 20x60 or 20x40 meter arena. Ridden correctly, the test looks as if the pair is mentally communicating by using very subtle aids. The test is judged by one or more judges who are looking for balance, rhythm and suppleness and most importantly, obedience of the horse and its harmony with the rider. The challenge is to demonstrate that a supremely fit horse, capable of completing the cross country phase on time, also has the training to perform in a relaxed and precise manner. Every movement is given a score of one through ten, a ten being perfect; which are rarely given out. The scores from the test are added up, with some scores on the rider, although most scores are from the test. Any errors when "on course" of the test, like doing the wrong movement, running out of the ring, etc., give you penalty points. The first error takes away 2 points from your test, the second error takes 4 more points away, and finally the third error causes the elimination. Obviously, the penalty points deduct from the overall score of the test. After being added together, and hopefully not having any deductions, the score becomes a percentage score. The percentage is out of 100%, 100% being perfect and again, nearly impossible. Different from traditional dressage with percentages, the Eventing Dressage takes the percentage and converts into into penalty points. For example, if a horse received an 80%, it would be converted into 20 penalty points. The lower the score, the better. The penalty points are carried over into the jumping phases, where further penalties are added if needed.
Cross Country
The second phase of an event is Cross Country, which is considered "the heart of Eventing." Cross Country is what divides a show jumper from a dressage rider, and is the favorite phase for both horse an rider. This is the phase that event riders and horses live for. Horse and rider either canter or gallop across natural terrain of various heights, and jump solid, or fixed, fences which are natural looking. They include ditches, water, banks and logs. Due to the fact that only the riders have seen and walked many times the course, the horse must totally trust the rider while on the Cross Country course. If there's a slight bit of hesitation of the horse, rider or both, the results can be catastrophic because the fences are solid obstacles that don't move. You move around the jump, not the other way around. The rider has to know exactly how the horse's wellbeing is to be safe around the course. Horse and rider are given penalty points for refusals, falls and time faults for exceeding the optimum time. The pairs are eliminated if the horse falls or the rider exceeds the amount of refusals. The penalties from the Cross Country phase are added to the penalties from Dressage, giving the almost completed score. Stamina, bravery, courage and trust are tested and shown in the Cross Country phase.
Stadium Jumping
The third, and final, phase of an event is Stadium Jumping, where a horse is to jump a twisting and turning course over excitingly colored and decorated fences with poles resting in shallow cups. Unlike on Cross Country where a horse can rub a fence and get away with it, Stadium Jumping requires scope and athleticism to clear the fences without picking up penalties from knocking down poles, refusing, and exceeding the optimum time. Different from tradition Stadium Jumping, the Eventing Stadium Jumping don't have the extreme difficulty, especially in height as the traditional Stadium Jumping courses do. The reason for the Stadium Jumping phase is to show the horse's obedience to come back to the rider after the Cross Country and to show athleticism. Penalties collected from this phase are added onto the added-together scores of Dressage and Cross-Country; ending on however many penalties horse and rider have picked up from the Cross Country and Stadium Jumping plus their Dressage score.
These types of tests can run over one, two, or three days as a horse trial or an FEI event (also known as a three-day event). The horse and rider win with the lowest combined score of all three phases.