Cross country horse riding is a sport that is sometimes called “Hunter Trials” or “XC”. Cross country horse riding requires the horse and rider to endure a really long course that has jumps and it has different obstacles that promote speed riding all across the countryside.
It is just one of the regulations battled for in eventing, along with showjumping and dressage.
Cross country horse riding is a test of endurance, the horse’s jumping ability, speed, conditioning, and obedience.
Riders have to show their knowledge and ability of technical riding and of pace for long distances. The higher the level of competition, the harder the course becomes. It will have trickier and higher fences with longer distances to go.
What are Hunter Trials?
Hunter Trials are events that are considered “stand-alone events”. It is made up of single or paired competitors that ride a longer course that is basically the same as the cross country one. The rules are different depending on the organizer.
These events are solely cross country, and you will find many competitors that are wanting to practice for the cross country part of a Three Day Event (including showjumping and dressage) that will ride in the Hunter Trials.
Purpose and rules for Cross Country Horse Riding
The purpose of this event is to get around the specified course with the least amount of penalties and mistakes as possible yet within a certain speed time.
For each course, there is a time limit and an optimum time.
Time limit:
The time for this will be double what the optimum time is. If you go over this time limit, you will receive penalties.
Optimum time:
The perfect amount of time to complete the course safely.
You are timed from the start line to the finish line. Penalties incur for every second that you go over what is the optimum time. You can also get penalties for finishing too much under the optimum time.
To be able to calculate the “optimum time”, the course length is divided by the pace that is mandatory at the British Eventing level. This is in the “Members’ Handbook”.
Jumping faults:
There are faults for jumping that you will get penalties for also.
REFUSAL:
If your horse refuses to jump over an obstacle and stops short of it.
RUN-OUT:
This is when your horse refuses to pass its entire body over any obstacle.
CIRCLE:
Your horse is allowed to cross its track or circle around obstacles without getting a penalty if it hasn’t already jumped the very next obstacle.
If you have an obstacle with many elements to it then your horse will indeed be penalized if it goes across its own tracks in between them or if it goes around the backs of any elements.
If you are competing in a three day event, showjumping and dressage are also combined with cross country horse riding so, in the end, the points you have in penalties are added together. This will tell you where you are placed in the overall competition.
Added rules:
Since the course for the cross country horse riding event is so much longer and they have many more obstacles, you may have more than one rider, possibly several riders, on the same part of the course at the same time.
Since this is more dangerous, there are rules put into place when more than one rider is in the same area. The rules are as follows:
- If for whatever reason your horse is hindered or held up, you must hold your horse back until it is safe to continue.
- If you do not stop once you are told to, you are eliminated.
- If a competitor is hampered then their time is to be stopped until it is safe for them to move again.
- If you try to go around or overtake another rider in an unsafe way, you are eliminated.
- If you purposely try to hinder another rider from passing you/overtaking you, you are eliminated.
How long is the cross-country course?
If you are competing at the National Level, the British Eventing course is around sixteen hundred to four thousand meters. You will also have around eighteen to forty jumps. However, the exact numbers depend on the level of the competition.
How do you know which obstacle to jump next?
Each obstacle will be numbered, you simply follow the numbers. You will be invited to ‘walk the course’ before the event without your horse so you can be sure of which way to go. Each jump will also have white flags on their left and red flags on their right to show you which direction you need to approach the obstacle from. The red flags that have a black stripe on them mean that you can approach the obstacle from either side without getting a penalty.
Different types of cross country jumps
Below is a list and description of some of the common cross-country jumps.
Corner:
The corner fences are triangle in their shape and your horse will need to jump over one corner.
Log fence:
This is one tree trunk placed horizontally. It can also be multiple ones in an arrangement. The log fence is the #1 most recognized jump in cross country events.
Angled fence:
This includes a post and a rail jump that will be positioned, instead of straight ahead, at an angle. This makes the obstacle just a little more challenging.
Bounce:
This is a more difficult obstacle because the fences are placed close enough together that your horse cannot get a full stride in between them but they are far enough apart that your horse cannot jump two at a time.
Gate:
This is exactly what it’s called, a “countryside” gate. For a more challenging jump, more height can be added to the gate.
Wall:
This wall is solid, and it has a wooden beam topping it. There are three ways to increase the difficulty of this obstacle. Make it an angled approach, add more height, or just choose a difficult position on the course.
Coffin:
This obstacle has three different elements to it. First, a jump, then a ditch, and the last element is a final jump.
These are just a few of the common jumps during the cross country horse riding course to give you an idea of what the obstacles are like.
Conclusion
To ride in the cross country event is a difficult challenge to be able to master, it is also one of the most rewarding things to accomplish as an equestrian.
Our advice would be to get in lots of practice and to take advantage of the fact that you are given a “course plan” and also allowed to walk the course before the event. This will help you more than you know so make sure to do it.