Having the ability to school cross-country obstacles and questions at home is an invaluable resource, but designing a home course requires a lot more than just a few jumps scattered around the property. Safety should be your number one concern, no matter if you are building the course for your own benefit or to create a new opportunity in your community for open schooling. The USEA has several documents to help give you guidance when constructing a cross-country track at home such as the Create a Safe Cross-Country Schooling Course handout or the USEA Cross-Country Course Design Guidelines. Here are a few examples for you to take into consideration before you get to building:
Footing is Key
The following excerpt is taken directly from the Create a Safe Cross-Country Schooling Course handout: “Footing is probably the most important aspect to consider in maintaining your schooling course. The education and safety of the horse all starts with good footing.”
Things for consideration regarding footing:
Jump Safety
Logistics
Creating your own cross-country schooling course opens up unlimited opportunities for supplemental education before making your way to a show, but the key is creating a course that is safe, inviting, and allows you and your horse to benefit from.
Communication is defined as the imparting or exchanging of information or news. Life with event horses often requires a great deal of information to be exchanged. From basic care to facility announcements, lesson schedules, competition plans, coordination of appointments with veterinarians, farriers, and body work professionals, there’s no shortage of information flying around.
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) continues to monitor the outbreak of Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) in California. Currently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that there are three counties—San Diego, San Bernardino, and Riverside—where confirmed or suspected cases of VS have been identified.
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Eventing Association (USEA) are pleased to announce the dates and location of the 2023 USEF/USEA Eventing Developing Horse National Championships for 6- and 7-year-olds.
The Championships, which will include a CCI2*-S for 6-year-olds and a CCI3*-S for 7-year-olds, will take place at the Stable View Oktoberfest Horse Trials in Aiken, South Carolina, from Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2023.
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce updates to the 2023 Eventing Elite and Pre-Elite Program Lists. The programs are part of the U.S. Eventing Pathway, which is focused on developing combinations to deliver sustainable success in team competition at the championship level.