Eventing
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Eventing is one of the three equestrian disciplines in competition at the Olympic games (with Jumping and Dressage).
Eventing evaluates all aspects of horsemanship and consists of three separate tests: Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping, where judges evaluate the versatility of both horse and rider. Dressage and Jumping being disciplines of their own right, the abilities needed in Eventing differ from those in Dressage or Jumping events. Eventing takes place over a three-day period where the same horse/rider team competes in all three events. Traditionally, the order of tests is Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping. This allows evaluating the flexibility and obedience of the horse and the synchronisation with the rider, then the stamina, speed and endurance of the horse and the rider’s knowledge, and finally, the jumping technique and abilities of both the horse and rider. While Dressage and Jumping take place in the rings, Cross Country is all about the contact with nature. Different from Show Jumping, the fences are fixed and consist mostly of hedges, logs and river crossings identified with numbers indicating in which order to take the jump, and red and while flags identifying which way to jump the fence (white on the right and red on the left). The winner is the horse/rider team incurring the least penalties throughout the three events combined. |
