NAJYRC: Cross-Country Course Walk

I wandered my way around the Kentucky Horse Park lawn to bring you most of the cross-country fences that the one-star and two-star riders will face tomorrow.  The two-star course looks big, and both courses feature lots of combinations throughout.  As Jon Holling mentioned in his blog, the one-star does indeed pass through every water complex at the Park, and the two levels share much of the track together with jumps often side-by-side (or shared).  Both levels get an inviting pass through the water to a hanging log out, to let horses get their feet wet at the start of the course.  After that, things start to get serious.

The first question on the two-star course is the “pass-by-a-ditch” that Jon talked about; however, the ditch is barely visible now as course builders have covered it liberally with brush.  A horse may still give it a hairy eyeball, and so riders will still need to be on their line for 6b.  Nearby, the one-star has a straightforward A-B terrain question with a narrow skinny out.  From there, both courses make their way to the water at the top of the hill.  The two-star has a fairly serious log in, curving to a skinny in the water.  The one-star has a ramp landing on the water’s edge, straight to a skinny.

Both courses jump matching oxers (11, 9), built with narrow rails on a breakaway system.  Almost every vertical top rail on each course has a breakaway safety feature, that can also be easily re-set for the next competitor.  The two-star heads on to a set of angled ditch-and-brushes (12ab), one of which is shared by the one-star in a turning question (10ab).

Turning toward the old wishing well corners, the two star has a table four strides to a corner, with the option of left- or right-handed.  The one-star has a similar table, on a bending/angled six strides to a left corner.  Both courses cross the road and head downhill into the back field.  The one-star has a stout question at fence 15abc: a brush fence, one stride to a log-drop, three or four curving strides to a skinny.

The two-star goes off to do its own loop at the back of the course, not quite going out to the Hollow but making use of the old Rolex drop behind the polo field.  That drop always rides a little bigger than it walks, and riders will find two narrow chevron brushes at the bottom, about four strides apart.

At the Head of the Lake, the two-star drops in over a good-sized rolltop drop, curving to a Rolex duck.  The one-star has their own rolltop drop in, then they must circle back to jump another log back into the lake.

Both courses finish with a shared coffin near the end, with the two-star taking the right option (two strides to one stride) and the one-star on the left option (two strides to two strides).

There’s plenty to do on both courses, and enough questions that it’s hard to predict where trouble may occur.  The ground is a little bit firm, but there is a chance of rain later today; and for July in Kentucky, it could certainly be much worse!  Best of luck to all riders tomorrow, kick on and Go Eventing!