Three-day eventing: Dressage Cross-country Jumping

The three-day event is, in fact, three different competitions, all performed on the same horse.

First comes the dressage, then the cross-country endurance test - the most dramatic part of the event - and finally the showjumping.

The endurance phase comprises four parts; the first is a flat 4.4km road and track course, with riders taking their horses over it at a brisk trot or slow canter. It must be completed in a set time.

The steeplechase follows, a 3,105m course featuring three brush fences that have to be jumped three times and, once again, it must be completed within a time limit.

This is followed by another road and track segment, longer than the first, however.

The final part is the cross-country, over a 7.41km course.

Horse and rider must clear up to 35 obstacles in a set time limit.

Some of the jumps are more than a metre high and include perilous jumps over water, ditches and banks, though there is usually an easier but longer route round.

The final event, should they make it, and many drop out before this stage, is the showjumping.

Over a course of 10 to 12 obstacles, it is easier than the actual showjumping event, but tough on a horse that has just completed the arduous cross-country section the day before.

Riders must perform a set of 20 moves and are marked by judges for each move, how they control the horse and the obedience, pace and control of the animal.

They are penalised for each error. All the points are converted into penalty points later to bring it into line with the rest of the competition

Cross-country - In the two road and track sections, one penalty point is awarded for every second over the time limit.

In the steeplechase and on the cross-country course, one penalty point is awarded for every second over the time limit, 40 points are awarded if the horse refuses to jump an obstacle.

A second refusal costs 80 points, a third refusal means disqualification, a fall costs 120 points and a second fall results in horse and rider being eliminated.

Knocking down a gate costs 5 penalty points, refusal costs 10 penalty points.

The three-day event is an individual and a team event, held separately. The winner is the rider or the team with least penalty points at the end of the competition.

A nation may enter four riders in a team but only the best three scores count. Riders may not, for the safety of the horse if nothing else, enter a horse in both the team and individual events.