About the Chase

By Cindy Collier Rawson

            The steeplechase phase of a three-day event is an exhilarating experience, but can be nerve wracking for the uninitiated! You and your horse will be running at close to racing speed, clearing brush fences to complete the course against the clock.  As the ‘chase is unique to three-day competitions, many riders have little experience jumping at its higher speeds and often feel a little daunted at the prospect.

            This article is about how to prepare for a steeplechase and, like my previous articles, has been written with the rookie in mind.  This is not a definitive guide, but is a description of how I prepare and what works for me.  I have outlined some of the pointers and tips I have picked up (often the hard way!) and naturally, not everything I do will suit everyone.  As with my previous articles, I am assuming that both you and your horse are fit enough for the task and that you have access to a trainer to guide you.

            Although somewhat under threat with the move toward shorter competition formats, steeplechase currently remains one of the four “disciplines” to prepare for in the classic, long format CCI (three-day event).  Steeplechase forms part of the speed and endurance aspect of a three-day event and involves the horse and rider galloping and jumping safely at three/quarter racing speed over a series of six to eight brush fences within an optimum time.  Speeds vary according to the level of competition from 640 meters per minute (mpm) at a CCI* to 690 mpm at CCI**** level.  That’s equivalent to approximately 23-26 miles per hour.

            Minimizing the effect of the ‘chase on your horse’s energy stores requires maintenance of a consistent rhythm and balance.  To make the whole phase as effortless as possible, a dedicated practice is therefore necessary before your first three-day event to establish the essential rhythm, balance, and confidence at speed.

Are You Ready?

            A good gauge to determine is you are ready to compete at a three-day event is your current performance at horse trials.  You should be comfortable at preliminary level, able to confidently attack the varying questions on the cross-country courses, and routinely finish clear and inside the time.  If you are achieving this, then you are already riding at approximately 550 mpm.  The step up to the steeplechase pace of 640 mpm is then relatively straightforward.

Getting Started

            First of all, always think about you and your horse’s safety.  I use the same equipment for steeplechase training as for cross-country schooling.  For the horse, this includes studs in all four shoes, front and hind protective boots, bell boots, stud girth and overgirth.  My own safety equipment includes my ASTM/SEI approved helmet and my safety vest.

            As always, never jump alone and if possible, “coax” someone to assist you on the ground.  The ground person can help both with adjusting fences and with filming.  I make it a priority to have my competitions and schooling sessions recorded on video, as I find I learn twice as much if I can analyze my performances both visually and tactically.

            To start your steeplechase training session, find a suitable galloping area such as a large, flat field.  Remember that it is essential to do your speed work on good footing- more harm than good will be done if you pound your horse over hard and uneven ground.  Many racing yards in the UK have all-weather gallops that they allow other riders to use.  If you are fortunate enough to live near such facility, use it!

            Once you have found a large field with good footing, use a meter wheel to measure out a wide oval circuit.  Alternatively, you can pace out the distance.  Measure out and place markers at 520 meters, 550 meters, 570 meters, 600 meters and 640 meters.  The first three distances relate to the pace required for preliminary, intermediate and advanced cross-country courses respectively.  The 600-meter marker is an additional reference point as you increase to the required steeplechase speed of 640 mpm.

            The chances are that you will not have access to steeplechase fences, but building a suitable alternative is very simple and requires just a little adaptation.  If you have a solid show jump “filler”, simply add a bar to one side by tacking on a strip of wood and a few end pieces to create slots to insert the brush (discarded Christmas trees make excellent brush jumps!).

            Alternatively, construct a freestanding wooden frame that allows you to insert the brush and check carefully that there are no gaps in your jump in which your horse could get his hoof stuck.

            Don’t build too small a fence. This encourages the horse to run to the bottom of the fence before jumping rather than standing off slightly as is preferred for good ‘chasing technique. The solid part of the fence should be at least 3’-3’3” high with some width.  It should lean away and have a visible ground line.

            To encourage your horse to brush through the fence and not try and clear the fence like a bullfinch, allow some of the branches to protrude higher than the main body of the fence.  Don’t make the brush too thick and solid until your horse has become familiar with brushing through the branches.

            Using full size racing fences is an option but should be undertaken with caution.  These fences will be large and unforgiving and during the learning phase you should not overface your horse or scare yourself in the process!

Rhythm and Balance

            The steeplechase mantra is “rhythm and balance.” 

            After a suitable warm-up period of approximately 20 minutes at slow trot and canter, you’re ready to start learning to gallop comfortably at speed.  To make this easier, try riding with your stirrups a hole shorter than you normally would for cross-country.  This will help you stay over the horse’s center of balance.  Don’t try to ride as short  as a jump jockey, however, or I guarantee you’ll be popped out the front door at an inopportune moment!

            A big key to ‘chasing is learning not to interfere with your horse.  Do not make major adjustments in front of the fence and upset his balance.  Up until now, your experience of riding horses over obstacles at speed is likely to have come solely from cross-country.  In steeple chasing you must learn to let the horse flow.  While you’re natural tendency may be to shorten his stride slightly as you approach the fence, try to concentrate on staying over his center of balance and not interfering. Sit up slightly six to eight strides away from the fence to help the horse keep his balance over his hindquarters and aim to keep a nice steady contact moving into your hand.  It may be difficult to do at first, but with practice at speed your confidence and trust in one another will develop.

            A few important principles to think about are as follows:

• As the horse will be in more of a racing frame—lower to the ground, with his nose further in front than you’re used to—you’ll need to help him maintain his balance with as little interference as possible.
• Keep a steady position, more braced (lower leg slightly further forward) than for cross-country.  Riders that sit too far forward can be shot out the front door if the horse pecks on landing.
• As you approach the fences, don’t change the contact of the hand.  Allow the horse to determine the take-off point.

            To learn to gallop at speed, you need to be able to gauge your horse’s pace in terms of meters per minute.  Practice using your watch to gauge the speed needed to cover the distance between the markers in your field in one minute, starting with the 520 mpm and the 550 mpm markers.  Jump your ‘chase fence several times at this speed, as this is your normal cross-country pace.  Try to allow your horse to run freely, with minimum interference from you.

            Pick up the pace and try to move up to 570 mpm and then 600 mpm.  If your horse backs off too much or drops the contact before the fence, give him a little tap behind the saddle on landing, to send him forward and to encourage him into bridle.  Finally, move him up to 640 mpm and you’ll have accomplished your goal.  Do one or two circuits at your ‘chase speed and then slowly bring your horse back in a balanced canter to trot and walk. 

Trust

            Once you are up to full steeplechase speed, you need to start trusting your horse’s eye.  As he gallops faster, your horse’s stride increases by anywhere from six o 12 feet per stride.  To put this into perspective, a fence that is normally six strides away will feel like it is 36 feet closer than it would on a cross-country course.  For a horse with a big stride, this can be a real shocker!  The speed therefore increases the difficulty for the rider to see a stride to the fence. 

            Steeplechasing relies upon the horse to naturally find his rhythm at speed and his own distance to the fences (if the rider does not interfere).  As you approach the fence, sit up to help the horse balance himself six to eight strides away.  The horse’s head will come up slightly as he sees the fence and he will reduce the contact slightly.  Stay in the rhythm and keep moving to the fence.  A good stride will come, but you have to be brave enough to have faith in your horse’s eye.

            On landing, encourage your horse to gallop on in the same rhythm.

            Give the horse a good 20-30 minute walk to cool down and help prevent the build-up of lactic acid in his muscles.  Take care of your horse as you would after a cross-country school. My general policy is to ice, poultice, and bandage my horse’s legs after any speed work.

            Some horses will find galloping at speed easier than others, and this is where the Thoroughbred will have an advantage.  If you are getting run away with, talk to your trainer about bitting alternatives.  Certain horses will get stronger on competition day so be prepared to change bits in the ten minute box before going out on the cross-country.

            You will find that most horses’ jumping shape will flatten out on steeplechase.  Don’t worry, as this is a natural tendency when jumping at speed.  It is, however, the opposite of the bascule (round shape) that your horse needs to jump cross-country and show jumping obstacles.  The horse/rider combination must learn how to do both, so it’s always important to have a jump school a few days after any speed work over fences.  You can remind your horse of the short bouncy stride that he needs for show jumping with gymnastic work.

            The ‘chase should be a positive, encouraging experience for your horse to take forward to the cross-country.  Hooking for strides is the biggest mistake possible, as at the best you will upset the horse’s rhythm and at worst you will cause a fall.  If you hook back for a stride or use “Go pony go!” kicks to get over the fence, you are taking the horse out of his rhythm and needlessly wasting his energy.  Watching top riders is always beneficial as they keep their horses in a smooth, rhythmic, energy efficient pace.

Walking the Course

            Walking the ‘chase course is just as important as walking the cross-country. Here are a few pointers:

• The pace for CCI* will be 640 mpm, lasting 3-3.5 minutes, over a distance of 1,920-2,240 meters.  There will be five to seven brush fences with maximum heights of 1.0 meter (3’ 37”) for the fixed portion of the fence and 1.4 meters (4’ 7”) for the brush portion.
• Walk the course alone the first time.  That is the only chance you will get to imagine what your horse’s first impressions will be.
• On the second walk, measure the course with a meter wheel and compare it with the official distance.  Often organizers will wheel a very tight line, in which case making the time could be difficult.  Take careful note of your minute markers and use fixed objects (e.g. trees)—not items that may be moved or obscured by crowds on the day of the competition.  Write this information down for future reference.
• Ask more experienced riders if you’re unsure of the approach to particular jumps.  Don’t be shy.  In my experience the “stars” of our sport are more than willing to give helpful advice.
• Imagine how the course is going to look on the day.  Visualize your perfect ride and don’t forget to imagine yourself successfully coping with any problems that might arise.

On the Day

            On the morning of the competition, I go out on the course to check the footing and try to watch other riders to see if the steeplechase time is difficult or easy to make.  Unlike the cross-country, there will be few spectators but use this to your advantage.  Try to calm your nerves and focus.  Once you start, it’s just you, your horse, a few brush fences and the chance to gallop at speed.

• Toward the end of Phase A Roads and Tracks, consider a short canter to get the horse thinking “forward” before the steeplechase.
• Arrive at the ‘chase about a minute before your start time.  It gives you a chance to check your girth and adjust your horse’s noseband.
• Get into a steady 640 mpm rhythm as soon as possible after the start.
• Look for the best footing.  If you are going later in the day in bad weather, you will find the take-off to jumps can get deep.  Fortunately, steeplechase fences are generally wide enough to allow for a comfortable jump on either side of the center line.
• Don’t panic if you are ten seconds down on the clock at the first minute marker.  You have started from a standstill, and this is normal.  You should be about five seconds down at the two-minute marker and on time at the three-minute marker.
• I always choose a marker 30 seconds back from the finish line, allowing me to gauge and adjust my pace, if necessary, at the end of my course.
• When you see a stride, make up your mind and stick with it! As I have found to my peril, indecision (particularly in the last few strides before take-off) will cause you real problems out on the course.
• Keep your horse balanced as you slow down gradually onto Phase C.

            There are no prizes for blasting around.  The more the horse runs in a comfortable, consistent rhythm and balance, the less energy he will waste and the more energy he will have for the other phases of the competition.  The aim is to finish just within the optimum time.  You will need plenty of horse left for the cross-country and show jumping, so anything more than five seconds under the optimum time is burning up your horse’s energy unnecessarily.

After the ‘chase—Phase C

            There will be a designated assistance area after Phase B, have a helper (armed with your horse’s spare shoes and studs, a sponge and water) check your horse’s shoes as you ride past.  If he has lost one and the event has a compulsory halt on Phase C (generally within half mile of the finish of Phase B), fit an easy boot to allow you to reach the farrier in the rest area.  If there is no compulsory halt, the farrier will be available just after Phase B and you can have your horse’s shoe replaced immediately.

            If your event has a compulsory halt on Phase C, you have the option to dismount, sponge and scrape the horse.

            After the exertions of the ‘chase, Phase C allows for a fair amount of walking.  The pace is slower at 160 mpm (25-40 minutes over 4,000-6,400 meters).  Once your horse has had time to recover, trot on again to get to the ten-minute box about two minutes before the required time.

            Two useful books that I recommend for reference are The USCTA Handbook of Eventing (Chapter 11 by Bruce Davidson) and Training the Event Horse by Ginny Leng.

            I hope that this article is helpful and goes some way toward easing the daunting prospect of a first three-day event.  This information should help the first timer get a taste of the preparation required in order to take on the steeplechase with confidence.  I welcome any feedback and can be contacted with any specific questions through my website at www.cindyrawsoneventteam.com.

            Good luck and happy eventing!