Day One

A  ‘classic’  three day event first involves a veterinary inspection of all horses and riders before the competition begins, known as the ‘jog’, where riders present their horses expertly groomed and braided.  They then perform a dressage test on the first day of competition.

Day Two

The second day is the essence of the competition, known as endurance day.  Day 2 starts with a short roads and tracks phase as a warm up to then jump a steeplechase brush course at speed, followed by a recovery  roads and tracks phase.

This finishes at the 10 minutes Box, a mandatory stop  where the horse’s physical condition is checked before allowing the rider to continue on the final cross country phase with up to 30 obstacles.  Needless to say this is an exciting action packed phase!

Day Three

The third day begins with a final veterinary inspection to see if horses are sound to continue into the final phase of competition. This is the Jumping Phase, where horses and riders jump over a course of colored fences in the ring to see if the horse has retained enough fitness and obedience to perform well.

All obstacles and distances are scaled down to Training Level, usually under 3'3" in height with speeds no faster than 520 meters per minute on the Chase phase. Keep in mind: the three-day event is not a competition to be taken lightly! Horse and rider must both be ready physically and mentally for the challenges presented here.

Throughout the competition, every horse must pass a series of veterinary inspections to monitor the horse's health, soundness, and ability to safely complete the competition.