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Upper level riders
compare strategies
By Craig Thompson
Times Community
Newspapers Special Writer
THE PLAINS — They did
not spring from the same athletic cradle, but there are many similarities between the sports of three-day eventing and steeplechasing.
In particular, timber racing — and its new sister off-shoot of natural steeplechasing such as in the “steeplethon” at Great Meadow — compares to eventing in that horses must not only be bold but fast and athletic.
A rider races against a preset time clock in eventing, but at the top levels, the speed is not unlike longer distance timber racing.
Being an event rider myself, I knew the ins and outs of three-day at all levels. But to compare to two sports as they get closer to one another, I recruited seasoned race rider Michelle Rouse to walk around both the steeplethon course at Great Meadow and the advanced cross-country course at Morven Park in Leesburg. We made notes of comparison and pointed out differences.
The steeplethon course will be used at the Oct. 17 International Gold Cup. Morven Park’s advanced course will be used Oct. 4 at a horse trials there.
From the very first fence on Morven Park’s advanced course we could see similarities and differences. The third jump on the steeplethon course is the same — a big, inviting log. Interchangeable at first glance, there is quite a difference between the two,
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