Cross Country Horse Jumps
Eventing

From: Horse Jumps

See also: Show Jumps | Show Jump Manufacturers
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Cross Country Horse Jumps
Cross country fences can vary from natural jumps such as a fallen tree trunk or hedge to examples such as a hay cart or water trough. Cross country jumps are solid in design and do not fall down unless they are fitted with a special collapsing pin. What will make a cross country fence more challenging is the height and width of the fence along with where it is sited and how many jumps there are in any one combination along with considerations such as ground conditions, the type of fence that it is and whether it is being jumped from light into dark off a turn, into space or on the side of a hill.

Corner
This is a triangle in design and the horse is asked to jump the corner of it. This type of fence requires practice in order to hold the horse straight over it and prevent the horse from running out. The width of the corner will vary and the wider it is the more experienced you will need to be in holding your line. This fence becomes more of a challenge when two or three corners are to be jumped quite often on a curve for an added challenge.

Examples:

Tree Trunk
This inviting jump which horses seem to enjoy jumping is also known as a log fence. The height and width of the log fence along with the angle it is to be jumped at will add to the level of proficiency required.

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Angled Fence
 This is a post and rail fence which has to be jumped at an angle as opposed to straight on. The angle of the fence, the number of angle fences to be jumped and the number of strides in between each fence will determine the level of difficulty.

Examples:

Bounce
This is where you have two fences, one closely followed by the other with a bounce distance in between each, this means that as soon as the horse lands it must immediately take off again. Safety now suggests that making the second fence look different helps the horse to realize that it must take off immediately on landing, therefore helping to prevent rotational falls.

Examples:

Gate
A fixed wooden gate that is to be jumped over, The height and positioning will again determine the technical rating.

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Wall
A solid wall fence with a wooden top. The height, angle and position that it is to be jumped from will increase its difficulty rating.

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Coffin
This comprises of three elements a jump to start off with followed by a ditch and then another jump to finish. The height, width and depth of all three parts combined with the angle to be jumped at will determine the technicality of the fence.

Water
This can be a natural stream or a man made complex. The horse will be asked to either splash through or jump in or out and/or jump a fence while in the water.

Palisade
This is a fence on a slight 45 degree angle, which leans into the direction you are jumping it. This fence can easily be made more technical by the addition of a ditch in front, so that both the ditch and palisade have to be jumped in one go.

Examples:

Parallel
This is a wide fence which has two separate poles marking out the length and width to be jumped, depending on the height of the parallel there are two or three further poles added to fill in the spaces between the ground and top pole.

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Steps
These can be jumped going up hill or downhill. The height of the steps and the distance between each step will determine the difficulty, along with any other fences which may have been added either before and/or after the steps.

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Brush Fence
These are made of thick brush and often have thinner brush left sticking up for the horse to jump through.

Examples:

Tyre fence
 A group of tyres are linked together to form a jump. The height of the tyres, the position, type and number of fences will determine the difficulty of the fence.

Roll Top
This type of fence is often made of wood and has a gentle upward curve, making it very inviting to jump, where it is positioned and where in relation to other fences it is sited will determine the technicality of the fence.

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Table
Quite literally a flat top on four legs with the width, height and depth varying depending on the level it is designed for.

Examples:

Trakehner
This is a jump such as a log or rail placed over a ditch, the log or rail can either go straight across or at an angle and can both vary in size depending on the class of competition.

Arrow Head
This is a narrow fences in the shape of an upturned triangle with the point down at the bottom. This gives the horse no ground line to judge the fence and can therefore make it a quite a challenge.

Style
A narrow fence requiring concentration from both horse and rider. It is often designed to look like a style, but can also be the term used for any narrow fence.


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