What is Eventing?
Eventing is a horse triathalon - a combination of different athletic challenges that test the
all-around ability of both horse and rider. The sport is carried out at competitions which are
called Horse Trials, Three Day Events, or Events, the origins of which trace from the military.
Back then, horses were tested in conditions simulating parade grounds and battlefields. Today,
penalty scores from the three phases that developed from the military setting are combined for
the final result. The winner has the lowest numerical score.
The three tests as they have evolved in today's sport are as follows:
DRESSAGE
Horse and rider perform a series of prescribed movements from memory in an enclosed arena. The
horse must be relaxed, supple and obedient to the wishes of the rider. Both individual movements
and overall performance are evaluated.
CROSS COUNTRY
This phase of competition is designed to prove the bravery and jumping ability
of the horse as well as the rideršs knowledge of pace and the use of his horse across country.
Banks, ditches, water jumps and combinations are included with more straightforward solid fences
in natural terrain. Riders may inspect the course beforehand, but the horses may not, and
therefore they must trust their riders implicitly. Refusals, run outs and falls count as jumping
faults. Time is taken with faults incurred for excessive speed (at the lower levels) as well as
for exceeding the optimum time allowed.
STADIUM JUMPING
The object of this phase of competition is to show that an extremely fit and bold horse has the
obedience necessary to negotiate a winding course of colorful show jumps in an enclosed arena.
As in the Cross Country phase, performance is evaluated on jumping faults with penalties
incurred for variations from the optimum time allowed. Six levels of National competition are
recognized in descending order of difficulty - Advanced, Intermediate, Preliminary, Training,
Novice and Beginner Novice. Additionally, at the Maui Jim Horse Trials, three levels of
International competition will be offered CIC*** (equivalent of Advanced), CIC** (equivalent of
Intermediate), and CIC* (equivalent of Preliminary).
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