Horse Leaping a Country Fence coloring page

About this coloring page

A horse leaping a fence of logs in open country is the picture of cross-country riding, the boldest phase of eventing. This Olympic sport tests the same horse and rider in three very different challenges: dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

On the cross-country course, horse and rider gallop over a long outdoor route through fields and woods, facing obstacles that look like the countryside itself: log piles, hedges, ditches, banks, steps up and down, and splashy water jumps. Unlike the poles in a show ring, many of these fences are solid and don’t fall down.

The sport grew out of cavalry training, when officers needed horses that could cross any terrain quickly and safely. In the United States, one of the best-known events is the Kentucky Three-Day Event at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, which draws top riders from around the world.

Safety has improved a lot in recent decades. Riders wear helmets and protective vests, and many fences now use frangible pins that let a rail collapse if a horse hits it hard. Vets also check horses before and after the competition to make sure they are fit to keep going.

• horse jumping
• eventing
• countryside
• spring
• flowers