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Cross-country is a part of the sport of equestrian, where riders riders are required to jump over 30 to 40 obstacles within a fixed time. Riders incur penalties for exceeding the allocated time, or if a horse refuses to clear an obstacle.

Cross-country equestrianism is a horse riding endurance test that forms one of the three parts of the sport of eventing (the others are Dressage and Show jumping). The sport tests the speed, endurance and jumping ability of the horse. The cross-country course is usually between 4.5 and 6 km long, comprising between 24 to 36 fixed and solid obstacles. The aim is to complete the course with as few penalties as possible. The lowest score wins.

Cross-Country equestrianism may also be held as a competition in its own right (also known as hunter trials), although these tend to be for lower level, local competitions.

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Similar Sports

• Eventing — riders compete in three types of races, dressage, cross-country and show jumping, in a single competition.
• Dressage — riders and horses perform from memory a series of predetermined events.
• Show Jumping — an equestrian event where riders on horseback attempt to jump cleanly through sets of obstacles within a specific time.
• TREC — a French equestrian sport in which the objective is to test both the horse and the rider in competitions consisting of three separate events.
• Steeplechase — a horse racing sport in which competitors on horsebacks race on a long-distance course that has several types of obstacles.

Related Pages

• Equestrian at the Olympics
• List of all sports involving horses
• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports