Do not ride a cross country course alone. Have someone with you either on foot or another rider. Wear a riding hat that meets or exceeds all current safety standards.
Wear a good quality body protector. Wear a long sleeved shirt even if its warm. Ensure your horse is wearing boots. Ensure you are wearing riding boots. Ensure the course owner is aware of your experience level. Make sure you have the correct insurance cover in place. Are the cross country course and xc obstacles suitable for you and your horse.
Visit the course before you take your horse there. Check the quality of the ground. Check the obstacle heights and distances. Check the water complex, if there is one, for depth and footing. The maximum size for completely solid fences at the Olympics is 1. Fences can go up to 1. Many of the jumps will be less than this permitted maximum because other factors make them challenging, such as the fact the fence is on an uphill or downhill slope, is narrow or is close to other jumps.
The whole eventing competition is scored in penalty points, so lower scores are better. Riders incur penalties for faults at obstacles such as refusals, run-outs or falls and also for exceeding the optmium time. Each team has three riders, although most teams will also have an alternate, who can be swapped in between phases, although this will incur penalties. All the riders in teams are competing for individual medals as well as team honours.
Some nations only have one or two riders, so they are only competing as individuals and are not part of a team. Horses will have some training on the flat before they start jumping with a rider, so they understand the signals the aids the riders give with the legs, reins and body weight to indicate that they want to go faster, slower or turn.
When training for cross-country specifically, the riders start over small, easy fences and gradually build up to Olympic standard. A horse is a big, strong animal and it is very difficult to make a horse do anything — the horses which excel in eventing and make it to Olympics are those who enjoy it and want to take part.
Cross-country will always be an activity with an element of risk because it involves horses and riders jumping solid fences at speed. Everyone will fall at some point if they ride cross-country frequently and it is expected that there will be some falls on the Olympic course — probably five to 10 of the riders in Tokyo will fall out of a starting field of While many falls are innocuous, serious injuries to riders and horses do occur and occasionally even fatalities.
The ideal score is "0", meaning no penalties or time faults. Cross-country jumping is also known by some as endurance riding. Fitness is a very important element, both to compete successfully but safely. A tired horse or rider can mean obstacles are negotiated poorly, resulting in stumbles or falls.
Tired muscles can become strained. If you are riding most days of the week, doing flatwork and jumping your horse will likely be fine for the lowest levels. You may want to add in conditioning over the same sort of distance and terrain you will be facing. Start slowly, building up speed and distance. Your horse must be controllable in open areas and a confident jumper.
Rider fitness is as important as horse fitness. Don't rely on someone else to condition your horse. You must put in hours of schooling with your horse on the flat and over fences to ensure your horse is absolutely obedient. Schooling over a cross-country course with a coach will help you learn to pace and how to safely negotiate the course. Cross-country jumping is a physical and mental challenge for horse and rider. It is a great confidence builder to successfully complete a cross-country course.
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