The Sport
Three-day eventing is an extreme test of all-round ability of both horse and rider, having been likened to an 'equine triathalon'. The sport evolved from the requirements for a top class military charger – steadiness and elegance on parade, the ability to gallop across country in battle, and then to continue with duties after a strenuous day. These requirements have transformed in to the three modern phases of the sport – Dressage, Cross-Country and Show Jumping.

Internationally, there are four levels of competition, rated by ‘stars’. Blair runs three levels of competition – CCI*, CCI** and CCI***. The CCI* caters for those, equine or human, entering their first three-day event at Novice level, the CCI** is for more experienced Intermediate combinations, and the CCI*** attracts the more advanced combinations who are competing at the top level of the sport and may go on to greater international success. Blair is the only event in Britain to run CCI*, CCI** and CCI*** competitions concurrently.

There are only six CCI**** level events in the world – Badminton and Burghley in Britain, Kentucky in the USA, Adelaide in Australia, Luhmuhlen in Germany and Pau in France. The number of CCI**** competitions in the international calendar is limited by the relatively small number of horses competing at that level.

Scoring
The most important thing to remember is that the scores you see are penalty points, and so the winners will be the horse and rider combination with the lowest score.

Dressage 
Competitors must ride the same set series of movements, known as the 'dressage test', between markers in a dressage arena measuring 20m x 60m. There are different tests, varying in difficulty, for different levels of competition, and it is up to the rider to ensure they have memorised the correct test and know which movements to perform in which order. This can be easier said than done, as the test may be 7 or 8 minutes long. Dressage is judged by the Ground Jury, of which there are 3 members at CCI*** and CCI**** level, and two members at CCI* and CCI** level. The Ground Jury are positioned around the arena, so they each see a different angle. Dressage usually takes place throughout Thursday and Friday, because of the time taken for each rider to complete their test.

Each movement of the test is scored out of 10, with the judges looking for accuracy, fluency, balance and suppleness. There are also 'collective marks' awarded, again out of 10, for the Paces, Impulsion, Submission, and for the Rider. The marks are all added together, any penalties deducted (for failing to perform movements or for going wrong in the test) and the average of the 3 judges is shown as a percentage 'good mark', before being converted to a penalty score. After dressage, the leader at CCI*** or CCI**** level will hope to be somewhere around a mark of 40, perhaps under if the standard is very high.

Example dressage results from the 2007 CCI***:

Cross Country
Cross country takes place on Saturday. The course is designed to test the speed, stamina, boldness, jumping ability, scope and agility of the horses, and to test the rider's knowledge of pace, ability to assess and tackle fences, and knowledge and trust of their horse. The CCI*** course at Blair is around 6km long, and in 2007 had 29 fences with 40 jumping efforts (some fences are combinations, requiring more than one jumping effort). An 'optimum time' is set for the course, calculated by measuring the course distance and working out the time based on a speed of 570m per minute (550m/min at CCI** level and 520m/min at CCI* level).

Time Penalties are added at a rate of 0.4 penalties for every second over the optimum time, and a time limit of twice the optimum time is set - exceeding the limit results in elimination, although this is a rare occurence. Jumping Penalties are awarded as follows:

Example cross country results from the 2007 CCI***:

Show Jumping
The final phase of a CCI, taking place on the Sunday. All horses remaining in the competition undergo a veterinary inspection, or 'trot up', on the Sunday morning to make sure they are sound and ready to show jump. Jumping takes place in the main arena, over a set course of knock-down fences. At CCI*** level, the fences reach a maximum height of 1.25m. Whilst this is much smaller than for 'pure' show jumping, it is important to remember that event horses, trained to gallop over fixed timber, often have little respect for knock-down poles and, combined with their tiredness from the cross-country the day before, this can make show jumping the most challenging and daunting phase for many event riders. Jumping takes place in reverse order of merit, meaning the rider in first place after cross country must hold their nerve and jump the final round of the competition to secure victory.

Time penalties are awarded at the rate of one per second over the time allowed. Jumping penalties are accrued as follows:

Example final results from the 2007 CCI***:

To see a list of past winners, click here