Eventing Nation came up with a slogan that perfectly captures the spirit of equestrians all over: red on right, white on left, insanity in the middle. When you’re on the back of a 1,200 pound animal, going 25 mph at a solid 4 foot fence that is as tall as it is wide, you have to be at least a little crazy, or so they say. Doing this while also making sure you’re going through the course in the correct order and jumping the fences in the right direction is no small task, and is meant for the very best. Eventing is a competition that typically takes place over a span of three or four days, and includes multiple phases that test both horse and rider. Of course, it has evolved over the years. Taking a look at the history of Eventing and the components that are a part of it today will provide a sufficient overview of what makes Eventing such a popular, adrenaline pumping sport.

The history of Eventing begins with the cavalry. Dressage demonstrated the ability to perform on the parade ground; cross-country tested the stamina and bravery, which was important for chargers going on long marches; and show jumping was to prove the horse’s soundness after the difficult cross country course, according to the United States Eventing Association. The cavalry did some pretty wild stuff, like jumping houses and people. Eventing made its first Olympic appearance in 1912 at the games in Sweden, but only male military officers in active duty riding military charges could compete. In the Paris Olympics of 1924 the three-day format that we use today come about, and male civilians were allowed to compete. However, it wasn’t until 1964 that women were allowed to take part as well, which again was reported by the USEA.

Today, Eventing consists of three phases: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping.

Dressage is the first phase that is meant to exhibit elegance and grace, and is often called the ballet of eventing. Clare Menzel defines it as “horse and rider performing combinations of walking, trotting, and cantering with the desire to appear effortless.” Dressage movements are really hard to explain to people who aren’t familiar with riding, so I’m just going to go over the basics. The trot is a two-beat gait where diagonal leg pairs move simultaneously. The canter is a three beat gait where the outside hind leg pushes off, then the inside hind leg and the front leg diagonal to it, and then the lead leg, which is always on the inside. Dressage horses have really exaggerated movements and they pick up their feet; any old quarter horse cantering around the field is not going to look like that. Some skills could be transitioning from the walk to the canter, canter to halt, and then extending and shortening those movements as well. Sarah Broussard is quoted saying, “There is a lot of communication, but you don’t see it. It looks easy and that’s the tick. It’s not easy." According to the United States Eventing Association, each movement in a dressage test is given a score from 0, not performing the movement, to 10, excellently performing the movement. All the judges marks are added, and the penalty points are deducted. That number goes through a couple more calculations before getting the penalty score that accompanies the rider to the next round.

The cross-country phase comes second and showcases the pairs’ endurance, speed, and power over rugged terrain, that includes, but is not limited to, large obstacles, water, ditches and banks. AJ Dyer of Eventing Nation sums up the components of competition very well—at a four star event, which is basically as good as it gets, the cross country course is generally 30 fences, lasts around 11 to 12 minutes, and covers roughly 4.5 miles. A horse and rider pair will be penalized if the horse refuses a jump, the rider falls off, they go off course, or if they go over the time allowed, which depends on the course. The riders know which direction to take the jump by the little flags on each end. You want to keep the red flag on your right at all times, and the white flag on your left, hence the EN slogan. Cross country course designers like to get creative here and make the jumps look as realistic as possible, using logs and brush. A lot of the time there are also jumps that resemble fish or a ducks when the horses travel through water.

Show jumping is the last phase that encompasses precision and agility, while performing in front of a large crowd. Penalties are relatively the same as the cross-country phase. However, show jumps knock down very easily. During the cross country phase, horses are allowed to be sloppy per se because the jumps are really sturdy, so it is a drastic change for them to go back into the show ring and perform without giving the rails even the slightest nudge. More often than not, it is just a matter of who can get through the course with knocking down the least amount of rails. For every rail down, the rider receives 4 faults, and for every second they go over the time allowed they receive 1 fault. Course designers, again, like to make the show ring beautiful. For example, one of the photos below is from the 2012 Olympic games in London. The jump designer made a remarkable effort to make one of the jumps look just like a miniature Big Ben. There are also different types of jumps. The jump in the photo is considered a square oxer because the front and back rails are the same height. A lot of the time you’ll see an ascending oxer with the rail in the back higher than the front. Other jumps include the vertical, which is just poles placed one directly above another, and combinations, which are two or three jumps in a row.

At the very end of competition, the pair with the lowest overall penalty score wins. Eventing is a significant test of communication and skill between horse and rider that has rapidly progressed over the years. It is difficult to find a single horse that can excel in all three aspects of Eventing. It may seem insane at times, but it is a sport that is adored by fans all around the world.