Eventing: Horse & Hound's home for eventing fans

Eventing is a three-phase equestrian sport in which a horse and rider combination compete in dressage, showjumping and cross-country.

The same combination have to compete in all three phases – a rider can’t substitute a different horse for any part of the competition.

The sport is designed to be a test of all-round horsemanship of the rider and the adaptability and training of the horse across the different sports.

Scores are given as penalties and the horse and rider with the lowest penalties after all three phases of an event are the winners.

Events, also known as horse trials, are typically referred to as one-day or three-day events, despite the fact a competition can actually be held over one, two, three or four days.

Eventing in Britain is overseen by the sport’s governing body British Eventing with competition starting over jumps of 80cm in height and increases in height up to advanced level over showjumps with a maximum height of 1.25m and cross-country fences set at 1.20m.

There are also international eventing competitions run under FEI rules from one- to five-star level.

What is eventing?