Minimizing Horse and Rider Risk Factors on Cross-Country

The Horse – The cross-country phase of eventing comes with risk, but new research aims to keep horses and riders safer.

Researchers now know that eventing riders are more likely to fall off during cross-country if they lack experience or they’ve had a poor dressage score at the same event. Risk also increases at higher levels or when riding longer courses. And a horse that’s fallen before is more likely to fall again.

In a recent study, researchers examined more than 200,000 eventing starts in Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competitions over 10 years. Their data could lead to the development of “risk profiles” for each horse/rider combination prior to entering an event, which could ultimately improve safety and welfare for participants, said Euan Bennet, MSci, PhD, of the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine, in Scotland.

“We’re not talking about massive changes,” Bennet said. “We’re just saying that the evidence that we’ve got here could inform the Minimum Eligibility Requirements (MERs, a series of checks that permit athletes to move up to higher star levels) to make sure people are competing at levels appropriate for them, to minimize the risks.”