Cross country riding Film

Safe cross country riding

Riding across country is a very different technique and one that needs to be practiced before attempting your first event. Different skills are needed to that of show jumping or practicing cross country type fences in the arena or field at home, even though that is a great way to start.

To help you and your horse 'get your eye in' and build confidence over a variety of different types of fences that you may meet on A BE course, there is no substitute for trying the real thing.

Why not call up a BE Accredited Coach to help you in your first few sessions on a cross country schooling ground ? Many also run training sessions over the winter, where you can go along with your horse and learn with a group of other riders wanting to compete at a similar level to you.

As a commitment to its members and the sport of Eventing, BE has launched a cross country riding DVD as part of its Safety Manifesto to visually show how – and how not to, ride across country that you can watch below.

BE Chief Executive, Mike Etherington-Smith says: “We recognised there was a wish for a visual instructional aid accessible to any rider who wanted to start or improve their cross country riding technique.

“The short film highlights common rider faults that can be addressed with training, such as cross country riding speed, approach to fences and jumping techniques over a variety of fences.”

British Eventing’s Performance Manager, Yogi Breisner, and a member of BE’s Safety Committee, choreographed the training DVD which was shot at Aston-Le-Walls Eventing Centre.

(In case you are curious, you are watching 22 year old international event rider Angus Smales, riding Land Cruiser).