What are your thoughts about eventing?On the ethics, dangers, whatever of it?

l love to watch Eventing, it is just so much fun to see the horses go over the big jumps, but it scares me to death. l do not want to event. EVER. l do think that there r ways to make it safer & l am glad that people r thoroughly trying to do that. We went to Rolex Kentucky 2008 & watched the cross country stage & when the one rider had to be airlifted out, it scared me to death. One other horse also had to be put down but the rider was not as seriously injured as the other. l hope that safety measures r taken in the future.

Well l think lower level eventing is ok but when you get in the higher levels l think it can be brutal, because alot of the jumps are unforgiving and dangerous.but the lower levels like prilimb and novice can be so much fun, but any level that puts to much stress on your horse or has terribly challenging jumps isnt for me but other wise its fun, also if you like the idea of eventing but its not quite for you try fox hunting

l think eventing sounds fun but l hate dressage. l am a show jumper! I'd say cross country is the hardest part of eventing because there are no rails a horse can knock down. If they hit the jump they will most likely fall down.

l love watching it; it is very exhilarating! But, as the others said, it can be VERY dangerous at higher levels like the rolex and olympics. My dream has always been to make it that high, but l am starting to have second thoughts. l do not think l would want to put my horse in that kind of danger. l think l am going to stick to beginner novice! ;D

l think its a true test of rider ability & horse trust.

think some of the xc jumps r spectacular in size, width, objects.
ive seen horses jump giant statues of ducks! its crazyy.

Dressage: think a horse needs to be obedient, collected, supple, respponsive , acurate, & graceful.

XC: bravery, speed, stamina, power, trusting the rider,
the rider has to stay on!

stadium: pulling back from the xc, needs to slow it down, & go into new jumping, for height, speed.

eventing is the complete test for horse & rider,
and personally any one who can succesfully event in any level proves how they r a great rider.

because u need to be effective, accurate & look pretty.
it aint the hunter ring for sure!

personally l think it is the definition of english riding sport :D

l love it & think it is a great sport. if done properly it challenges horses & riders in ways different from any other sport

as far as ethics & dangers r concerned- people need to get over themselves & look at the bigger picture. obviously it is dangerous you're riding a creature with a mind of it is own toward obstacles that do not move & usually this is at a higher speed than in other horse sports(not to mention that the horse/rider combo must also preform well in dressage & showjumping which r sports of their own)--- of course it has a danger element- that is part of the reason not every rider or horse can do it.

look into the history of eventing. it is been going on for a while with few serious injuries or deaths of horses or riders. Which should to the question. so what happened? My beliefs r in line with those of Jimmy Wofford--- please google search Jim Woffard: Eventing Lives in the Balance

l can not explain it better other than copying it (which l will do if u ask) ^-^

l think the solution should be a combination of common sense from riders-and parents, trainers, & the USEA: perhaps some useful regulations & l am all for making the jumps themselves safer should something happen, but l think a majority of the problems could be solved with common sense & better training

again please search Jim Wofford: Eventing Lives in the Balance

l think it is a LOVELY sport. LOVELY!

But thats what l do, so l am biased.

But l think it is a perfectly nice sport. Yes, we get hurt. But usually it is at the higher levels (Above Training) & is due to human error, or horse error. The rider is too unexperienced for the level. The horse pulled a shoe at jump 5. The show officials misjudged the conditions. A gopher hole. A jump judge decided to open an umbrella. ( l have had that happen SO ANNOYING) That type of stuff. l think when u accept the sport, u accept the inherant risks.

l think it is great for riding- there is a reason the USPC has latched onto it so. It doesnt really let u latch onto one style- You have to be flexable. You have to have some degree of endurance. You have to do Dressage & Cross country one day, & Show Jumping the next- l think that is great. We r not some Dressage person who cannot jump a 2'9'' oxer to save their life. We r not some Hunter/Jumper who cannot do a shoulder in, leg yeild or haunches in. (Im not saying this as a stereotype- obviously not all Eventers can jump 2'9'' (BN is only up to 2'7'') & not all of them can do a leg yeild. And obviously Hunter Jumpers prolly can do some Dressage. Or atleast basic flatwork.) But the point l am making is we r balanced- we could go either way, if we choose. And hey, we have fun!




But l also like the shows. They r usually a bit more relaxed- Obviously not like Rolex ( l love that show! Not to go, but to watch!) , but the more local ones atleast. It seems like half of the Hunter/Jumper & Dressage people can be extremely stuck up (Ok Jumpers arnt as bad & Hunters.) but u dont see that as much in eventing. We do not judge on looks, what color ur horse is, how evenly he can plod about the arena. Besides, its hard to get high & mighty when u might get dumped at jump 6, off a bank & into the water. Then u have to come back wet & dirty. And, of course, the Photo groups there have like 8 shots of u going off. And if it was a spectacular fall? You will be on signs for that company, at that show, for YEARS.

l think to do this sport u have to have guts. You have to know what u r getting into. But if u do, hey, u will have fun!


EDIT: Hey, if l remember correctly, l think the USEA is introducing some new rules. They arnt all we need, but its a step up. It requires that u atleast FINISH crosscountry in ( l think) 2-3 shows at one level before moving onto the other. So that helps prevent the people with the Prelimb horse, but who cannot ride Novice to save their life, from going out & getting themselves killed because they dont have the skill or experience to handle a Prelimb course.

l think that the introduction of jog outs at the lower levels might be a step up.

l think it is dangerous (like racing) but extrmely fun to watch!

Well, 2008 was pretty brutal in the eventing world. There have been tons of articles on how everyone (USEF) is trying to improve safety. It first started out with Darren Chiacchia is fall, then Rolex where The Quiet Man & Frodo Baggins had to be put down ( l actually witnessed The Quiet Man is fall), and, of course, to top it off, Teddy O'Connor had to be put down (barn accident though). l personally think it is the horse is dressage training that has a lot to do with all the recent accidents (not necessarily the ones l stated though).

Many eventers have started to blame dressage for cross country tragedies. They think that since the horse will be LISTENING to you, it wo not follow it is ''instinct'' & just jump the fence. That is just ridiculous in my opinion! Honestly, eventers do not usually do their dressage very well. They just ignore it & want to go cross country (mind you, l am not saying all eventers r like this). l think if they spend more time on the flat practicing, it could help their jumping immensely (not to mention improve their scores). l think what many eventers forget is that they have to be on top of things all the time, whether it be dressage, cross country, or stadium. They can not rely on the horse to just ''jump the jumps'' if they r unorganized or something. If they are, then too bad. l beleive a horse should always be listening, even if l am on a course. If the horse stops at a fence because l am unorganized (something along those lines), it just shows how well my horses is listening & how well trained he is. Yes, dressage is important!

However, l enjoy watching eventing & go to Rolex when it comes around. There has been so much debate with it all. The list goes much farther than dressage as well, like qualifying, & how fast is too fast on cross country.

l looked up something that u might like to read: http://equisearch.com/equiwire_news/nancy_jaffer/eventing_safety_122608/

The only reason eventing is getting a bad rep is because the riders are getting sloppy and over-confident. If done correctly, eventing can be safe and fun. Even at the higher levels, almost every mishap can be avoided with proper preparation and training.

l love it!

The horses just r not what they were 15 or 20 years ago. Neither r the riders, for that matter.

It used to be that someone would find a phenomenally brave, confident & competent cross country horse, & train it to do show jumping & dressage. The hunting / XC was like an innate skill in these horses, & the riders left them alone to deal with the country; most of them hunted for a few seasons, & many also point-to-pointed so they knew what they were getting themselves into. The dressage (even at Badminton & Burghley etc) was a joke - a lot of them did not even stay within the white boards, but they gave it a go & some of them were very decent about it too.

Nowadays, a lot of eventers r dressage horses who can jump. The rider thinks, ''it does a good test & can leap over 3ft 6 no problem, so let is give it a go'' with no thought as to the physical & psychological demands of eventing. For the most part, horses do not have as much common sense as they did 20 years ago. Riders certainly don't. Riders r interfering with their horses & not allowing them to make their own decisions. They're not taking them hunting, or not allowing them to really go if they do. They're pigeon-holing their horses into a single career; showjumpers do not do dressage, dressage horses r scared to jump, nobody hacks out, nobody just chucks their horse in a field to live outside because they're so scared it will injure itself - & it probably will, because it has no common sense!

Another big gripe l have with riders is they often think that they or their horse is far more talented than reality says it is. (That is all too evident here.) Riders think they can have some lessons (or not!) & go & have a try at something that looks fun without giving it enough preparation. If they get on OK through sheer luck & chance they put it down to skill & want to progress higher, & nobody is saying, ''no, u r not good enough, & neither is ur horse.'' Look at Y!A on a normal day; how many sub-par horses r paraded around, & how many people say it is nice & can do any job u ask of it? The real world is just the same; people think their horse & themselves r capable, & refuse to listen to reason. But then, why should they listen to one party pooper if 20 people say ''you can do it!'' & they have last week is shabby & dangerous clear round to back them up?

Good question. Have a star.

l think it is something that l would have loved to have gotten into in my teen years, but that l no longer have the cojones for anymore. :)

l enjoy watching it & have always liked the idea of combining what is generally three separate events into one big test for a horse & rider. l do not feel l know enough about it to intelligently discourse on the current issues & controversies within the sport, but l know several people here on YA r qualified to do so & l have looked/am looking forward to seeing their !