The Three Phases

    In dressage you are judged on your horse and how well he or she moves, how well you two work together, and also how well you and your horse preform the movements. The lower the score, the better you did on the dressage test. In cross country you are scored by how many refusals you have and how close you are to the optimum time. In stadium you are scored the same way as you are in cross country. In the two jumping phases you do not want any refusals and you want to be the closest to the optimum time to get the best score.

Is it a Sport?

     Most people think that Eventing is not a sport. That the horse does all the work, and the rider does nothing but sit on the horse. This is completely wrong. Eventing requires a lot of muscle strength, endurance, and balance. Riding incorporates all of your core strength and leg muscle.  Your core keeps you balanced while riding and your inner thigh muscle is crucial for staying on.
    While riding good posture is also important. You should be sitting up straight, while not looking down but, but looking straight ahead.

Riders/Horses falling

Point Two Air Jacket - Falling Demonstration

How dangerous is Eventing??

    Eventing is the second most dangerous sport in the world. It is extremely dangerous to the rider because falling off at a full gallop could easily disable you, or even kill you. Also if you fall off, there is a chance that your horse could step on you crushing your body.

    As of November 2008, 22 riders have died because of fatal eventing accidents. Recently, course designers have been designing courses that are a lot safer for both the horse and rider. They have also been creating safer jumps. Instead of the jumps being solid, they are more "breakable" which will bring down the number of falls. 

    To protect the rider in cross-country, it is a rule that you have to wear a safety vest approved by the USEA (United States Eventing Association). An addition to the safety vest, there is another vest called Point 2 Air Jacket. This vest has a CO2 air cartridge that is attached to the jacket. The jacket has a string that you clip on to your saddle. When this string comes unclipped, within 1 second the vest is inflated to protect your body.

   <--- My trainer Sally Buffington 

Levels of Eventing

    In Eventing there are six levels that you can compete at, at horse trials in the United States. In the international horse trials the highest of levels are named by the star system.
    The six levels are: Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, Preliminary, Intermediate, and Advanced. To compete at Beginner Novice, Novice, and Training the rider can be any age and the horse has to be at least 4 years old. For Preliminary the rider has to be 14 years of age or older and the horse has to be 5 years old. To compete at Intermediate the rider has to be at lest 16 years old and the horse 6 years old.  For Advanced the rider has to be 18 years of age or older and the horse 6 years old. After Advanced is the levels CCI*** and CCI****. The 4star level is known as the Rolex Kentucky 3 Day Event. This is held in Kentucky in the first week in April. The first 2 days of the competition are dressage. The second day is Cross-crountry. The third day is stadium jumping or also known as show jumping. To get into Rolex you have to qualify. Riders from all over the world come and compete and this event.

What is Eventing???

   Eventing could also be called an "equestrian triathlon." It involves working with a horse both on the flat and over fences. The three phases are: dressage, endurance (or cross-country), and show jumping. This sport tests a rider’s skill more than any other thing.

   The first phase, dressage, shows the horse's and rider’s ability to perform a series of prescribed classical movements on the flat in an arena. The second phase, cross country, involves the horse and rider galloping over natural grounds, jumping a variety of jumps on the way. In the final phase of show jumping, horse and rider jump a series of show jumping fences in an arena.

  Throughout competition, the rider accumulates so many penalty points. And at the end of the three phases, the rider who has the least amount of penalty points takes home the top spot.