Eventing
Eventing is the horse equivalent to a triathlon.
It requires skill, strength and courage as the same rider and horse has to carry out three different tests in three days. The friendship and reliance between horse and rider are undoubtedly required for victory.
Competitors invest a huge amount of time training their horses and have enormous respect for them. These horses are true tri-athletes at high level: they are only permitted to compete in a test such as Pau, once every 6 weeks with a maximum 3 or 4 events per year! Monitoring by the veterinary officials throughout the event ensures the horses well being.
Day 1 – First test, dressage:
This test combines art and obedience. Twenty designed movements must be performed in a predetermined sequence in the three paces (walk, trot and canter) within a 60m x 20m rectangle. It is marked by three judges in a way similar to figure skating – elegance, suppleness and precision are rewarded for each manoeuvre.
Day 2 – Second test, cross-country:
The cross-country course of several kilometres requires courage and strength and is not for the faint hearted! The track uses the ground’s natural contours as the layout curves through undergrowth, meadows and water. Many static obstacles (constructions of tree trunks, water crossings, ditches or hillocks) have to be negotiated within an optimum time. Some obstacles have choices for the rider but the easier options are less direct and will take the combination longer thus risking a time penalty.
Day 3 – Third test, show jumping:
At the start of the day all competitors file in front of the jury and under the vet’s vigilant eye. The least sign of fatigue, the least irregularity in movement means elimination. The survivors tackle the obstacles in reverse ranking order so suspense is guaranteed to the last bar! Although the fences are not as high as in competition show jumping the course is technically challenging. Precision and determination is needed until the very end.
In 2000 the 3 day event held in Pau – Pyrénées had three stars. The stars themselves are set internationally and represent the technical difficulty of the cross-country course and the jumping (obstacle height, course length and speed). This was a necessary step so that the CIC of Pau could welcome, in 2001, the European Eventing Championships. Since then a 4* event has been held annually in Pau each autumn.
A horse must qualify itself in stages and climb up the international levels step by step in order to reach 4* status. Today, therefore the horses which compete in the Pau 4* event are confirmed champions, having often already taken part in the Olympic Games or the World championships.
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