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Articles
• The Course
• Scoring
• Levels of Eventing - Chart
• The Ideal Cross-Country Mount
• Conditioning
• Approaching the Cross-Country Fence
• Handling a Cross-Country Bank
• Handling the Cross-Country Drop into Water
• Train Your Horse to Jump Ditches
• Riding Cross-Country at Home
• Conditioning the Performance Horse
• Build Your Own Cross-Country Jumps

The Course

A cross-country course. Note start box in upper right corner.

Length and types of obstacles
The cross-country course is approximately two and three quarter to four miles long, comprising some twenty-four to thirty-six fixed and solid obstacles. Obstacles usually are built to look "natural" (out of logs, for instance), however odd materials and decorations may be added to test the horse's bravery. Obstacles can include all those that might be found if riding across the countryside, including water, ditches, and banks.

All obstacles or compulsory passage ways are flagged, with a red flag on the right and a white flag on the left. A black stripe on the red flag indicates that it is an option for the obstacle, and another route may be taken if the rider so chooses, without penalty. All obstacles are numbered, and the color of the numbering can indicate which level the fence is for if multiple levels are competing at the event (for example, white numbers on a green background indicate that the fence is on the Preliminary level course).

Design
Cross-country courses for eventing are held outdoors through fields and wooded areas. The terrain is unique for each course, which usually incorporates the course into the natural terrain of the area, and therefore events in certain parts of the world may be held on mostly flat land, while others are over very strenuous hills. Good course designers will use the terrain to either help the inexperienced horse and rider at the lower levels to prepare for an obstacle, or to make an obstacle more difficult for the experienced competitors. For example, the designer may place a fence at the opening of a wooded area, resulting in a lighting difference between the takeoffs and landing side. This requires careful riding and a confident horse. Designers may make an obstacle more difficult by placing it along the side of a steep hill, at the top of a mound (so the horse can not see the landing until he is about to take off, testing bravery), or use the natural trees and ditches to force riders to take slightly more difficult lines to their fences.

"Skinny" fences are designed to test the training of the horse and the rider's ability to ride accurately, and provide the horse an easy "way out" if the rider does a poor job

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