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Jessica Ogilvy-Stuart

Flying changes, pirouettes and piaffes . . . it all makes perfect horse sense in our ?Bluffer?s Guide?

DRESSAGE

What is it?

The rider demonstrates he and his horse are in total harmony by executing a series of movements and transitions from different speeds. The movements have to be smooth, precise and the pace controlled. The first round of compulsory movements is known as the Grand Prix and only 25 of the potential 50 entrants qualify for the second round, which is more concentrated. From this, the top 15

competitors make it through to the freestyle test (known as the ?Kur?) in which the riders choose their

own movements and set them to music.

So horse ballet then?

If you can imagine dancing a ballet but having to use four legs attached to 1,000 pounds of horse, yes. Dressage is all about control and rhythm. When well executed, the movements have an effortless

grace. When executed badly, it appears the horse has more legs than it knows what to do with. Some

movements are balletic, like the pirouette when the horse turns on the spot. The piaffe is marching on

the spot and the extended trot could be compared to high kicks. The flying change movement, when the horse changes its lead leg during a canter was a problem for a lot of riders in Athens.

How is the event marked?

Five judges stationed around the arena give each movement marks out of 10. Marks are deducted for

poor movements and errors. The freestyle section has an additional score for artistic merit.

Where will it take place?

At Sha Tin, in a sand arena.

Is there any drama?

In Athens, Spain?s Rafael Soto and his horse, Invasor, followed a routine set to Flamenco music, including hand clapping and hat throwing. Other competitors chose Simon & Garfunkel and even music from the film Mary Poppins. The key is to match the music to the horse and the movements, but

competitors also look at national themes, so we can expect some innovation in Hong Kong.

What to say

?Oh dear, she won?t be happy with that flying change.?

What not to say

?Why is that horse going backwards??

SHOWJUMPING

Is it all about leaping over fences?

Indeed, it is. The horse and rider have to clear between 12 and 15 obstacles within a given time. There are individual and team prizes. If a country doesn?t have enough qualified riders to build a team, it can still enter individuals. Riders are given penalties for time faults and knocking over obstacles.

Where will it take place?

At Sha Tin. The arena will be sand, which will answer many of the complaints from Athens where competitors felt the ground under the grass was too hard, leading to horses suffering tendon problems.

Who decides what kind of fences are used?

The course designer works to Olympic and FEI guidelines. The course typically includes a water jump, and straight, double and triple combinations, but the style and layout of the jumps is down to the

skill of the designer. In Athens, Olaf Petersen used short distances between jumps, meaning riders had to be extremely precise and couldn?t use the ground to build up speed. The Hong Kong designer

hasn?t yet been announced.

Anything interesting in Athens?

Following the Greek theme, the triple combination was a series of Greek doors. The wind played havoc with the plank on the single fence and the top bar blew off at one point, giving Belgian Dirk Demeersman on Clinton an easier jump than he anticipated. The Greek Key design oxer fence flummoxed Ireland?s Marion Hughes, who ploughed straight into it.

How many rounds?

Five in total, the first is a qualifier in which all riders take part. The next two rounds decide the team prizes and also act as qualifiers for the final individual round. The top 45 riders take part in round A of the individual final and the top 20 go on to round B. The individual is decided on the combined score. If there is a tie for medal places (as happened in Athens), riders take part in a jump off.

What was that about drug testing results?

Cian O?Connor, the Athens individual winner, was stripped of his gold medal after his horse, Waterford Crystal, tested positive for banned substances.

Looks easy enough on television

Try looking at the fences from the ground up. The maximum height for Olympic obstacles is 1.6 metres

and most of them also include jumping a spread. Watching the competitors walking the course,

many can walk under the jumps (by far the safest way to deal with them).

What is the excitement all about?

Four years? training can come undone by a wrongly placed stride. The horse can refuse jumps or

knock a plank off with a flick of its hind legs. Horse and rider working in combination is spectacular ?

horse cantering off leaving the rider floundering in the water is the thing

to shatter dreams.

What to say

?The double combination is a killer; they?ll have to put an extra stride in to clear it.?

What not to say

?I really hope someone lands in the water.'

THREE-DAY EVENTING

Give it to me in a nutshell

This combines three disciplines: dressage, cross-country and showjumping. Each event takes place on a separate day, but riders must use the same horse. Eventing is designed to show how each discipline is related and the team with the fewest penalties wins.

Why is it so gripping?

Imagine having to train a horse and rider to excel in three areas. Riders have their specialities and the

whole competition can change on the last day. In Athens, the leading German team were eliminated from the competition following one rider?s mistake in the showjumping.

Where can we find a cross-country venue in Hong Kong?

The course will use a combination of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Beas River facility and a number of holes of the Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling. It will make for fantastic television as the world realises there is more to Hong Kong than tower blocks.

I know about dressage, what is cross-country?

Cross-country is a time and skill test. Riders cover a trail of about 5.7 kilometres and have to jump obstacles. Penalties are incurred for exceeding the time or knocking down obstacles. The obstacles can be normal fences, ditches, hills, water features or combinations of all of the above. The Athens course had 34 obstacles, all following a Greek theme, including a series of steps followed by a ferocious metre-high clay jug, a lake with two boats and a shepherd?s hut (minus the shepherd).

What will course designer Michael Etherington-Smith dream up for Fanling. A tea house perhaps?

How many in a team?

Five horse/rider combinations, but teams can choose the three best scores.

What to say

?I worry that the Irish are still weak in dressage.?

What not to say

?Isn?t that the same guy who was competing in cross-country yesterday??



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