You are a novice eventer, you have a horse with a huge amount of talent and you want to start moving up the grades. But as with all equestrian sports, there is homework to be done. You need to see yourself and your horse as athletes in training.

The amount of fitness in both horse and rider needs to be at optimum level once you start moving up in the eventing world. This means correct eating, exercising and of course spending as much time with your horse (on the ground and in the saddle). A successful event rider is one that knows every facet of the horse underneath her or him.

Some of the top riders argue that ­eventing is won and lost in the dressage phase. If more than one person goes clear in both cross-­country and show jumping, it will be the ­dressage score that determines the winner. A good dressage score also may give you the opportunity to have a few penalties in hand – meaning you may still be able to knock three poles in the jumping arena and win due to the dressage score you carry.
Flat work

A show jumping round may have obstacles, but 90% of your time is spent on the ground moving from jump to jump. As one moves up the grades, the cross-country phase becomes more technical. For example, when jumping into a combination or bounce, a horse needs to be extremely adjustable and supple.

In order to encourage suppleness and teach the horse to engage its hind (the “engine” and “powerhouse” of your stead) one should focus on getting the horse to move forward before asking him to take the bit and move in a round frame. Transitions then help to teach the horse to stay soft in front and work from behind: walk to trot; trot to walk; walk to canter, etc. All these transitions must be done with a forward action (even the downward ones) as this will keep the horse soft and forward into your hand.

More experienced horses can also ­benefit from lateral work such as leg yields and ­shoulder-ins as the horse will not only ­become more responsive to the rider’s leg, but also i­ncrease suppleness and strength. A rider who thoroughly enjoys jumping, may think this all sounds rather boring. The thought of flat work tends to turn a jumper pale, but all these ­exercises can be done out in the ­country ­between jumps while practicing or even on outrides along quiet roads.

Jump practice

Jumping also needs to be kept up. Constant practice over show jumping courses help to keep the horse and rider’s “eye”. It helps to practice jumps you may be finding difficult. Maybe your horse runs in related distances and gets long and flat to the final jump. The old adage “practice makes perfect” is, in this case, completely true.

When it comes to cross-country, it is ­normally the “funny” jumps that one has to practice. These include narrow fences, ­corners, bounces, banks and jumping into water. If you are at a show, it is always a good idea to walk the higher level courses. This will give you a basic idea about what is going to be expected of you and your horse.

When practicing the harder fences, it ­always helps to follow and watch a more ­experience horse and rider who can show you “how it’s done” or give you a lead to build confidence. Nothing trumps a recognised and qualified ­instructor who can watch from the ground and guide you accordingly.

Training for fitness

To increase a horse’s fitness, it is best to keep the work up and also differentiate it to alleviate boredom. Interval training is the most effective method to increase fitness.

For feeding requirements, it is best to chat to a vet and your feed distributor for the correct feed and volume for your horse. For the rider it is imperative to be as fit as you can ­possibly be. First you need to be riding fit (so riding once every two weeks is out), you also need to try get in something aerobic such as running, swimming or cycling. Pilates are also great for anyone who spends time on horse back, even if you never want to event, as it improves ­balance, muscle strength and suppleness.

It sounds tough … and it is! But to truly compete at the highest level, you need to put in the ground work. Most importantly though, it doesn’t matter if you compete at the novice level for the rest of your career, as long as you and your horse are enjoying it and having fun, that will bring you the most satisfaction.