Morgan Booth and Cold Red Rum trot up for The Estates at TerraNova/Loughlin Tanner Group CCI3*-L. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
The Event at TerraNova officially began Wednesday afternoon at TerraNova Equestrian Center in Myakka City, Florida, as immaculately groomed horses and elegantly dressed riders gathered for the first horse inspection ahead of four days of international eventing competition.
The first horse inspection marked the start of competition preparations for the CCI4*-L and CCI3*-L divisions, with horses presented before veterinary officials and the ground jury for a final fitness assessment ahead of Thursday’s dressage phase.
With the opening inspection complete, competition gets underway with FEI dressage on Thursday, November 12.
Long-format competitors will then tackle cross-country on Saturday, November 14, with the 3* and 4* courses designed by Alec Lochore, who has also been selected to design the cross-country course for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Competitors will return Sunday morning for the final horse inspection and concluding show jumping phase.
Behind the Cross-Country Course: Balancing Safety and a Unique Design at TerraNova
While Alec Lochore designs the CCI4*-L and CCI3*-L cross-country courses, fellow course designer Mogie Bearden-Muller oversees the CCI2*-L, CCI1*-Intro, and national-level courses, from Preliminary down to Starter.
She offered insight into the extensive planning, creativity, and safety considerations behind TerraNova’s cross-country tracks.
Unlike venues that incorporate significant natural elevation changes, TerraNova’s predominantly flat terrain requires designers to find creative ways to challenge horses and riders.
Over the years, the venue has invested in an extensive inventory of fences and constructed terrain features, including mounds and the aptly named Mount Myakka, to introduce additional technical questions.
“TerraNova is traditionally not an easy cross-country course at any level,” Bearden-Muller says. “There’s not a lot of terrain, so we use more turns. We’ve done a lot of groundwork here, building mounds and a mountain to create new and unique questions for the horses and riders.”
The venue’s expansive layout also provides opportunities to continually develop new tracks. This year, Lochore is incorporating a lengthy loop of the property in both directions for the three- and four-star courses, while Bearden-Muller has continued to find creative ways to utilize the remaining terrain for the other divisions.
However, one of the venue’s most impressive features may be less obvious to spectators: its extensive use of frangible safety technology. Bearden-Muller believes TerraNova may have one of the largest inventories of frangible fences in the world—something that recently caught the attention of international officials.
[View all cross country maps on CrossCountry App here]
“I was walking the four-star course with the technical delegate, Christian Steiner, and two members of the ground jury from Europe, and they’d never seen courses with this many frangible safety fences,” Bearden-Muller says.
Beyond incorporating safety technology, Bearden-Muller emphasized the importance of designing courses that encourage horses and riders to think, build confidence, and maintain a natural rhythm throughout.
“I really want them to come away feeling more confident,” she says. “Something might look really scary and difficult, but because the flow is very good on the course, that helps the horses digest and understand the questions as they’re laid out. For me, designing flow into a course is super important.”
Yet some of the most important safety considerations involve details that spectators—and even experienced riders—might never notice. One particularly interesting example is Bearden-Muller’s work examining how horses perceive colors and contrasts, which has influenced the appearance of TerraNova’s ditches.
A glimpse at the cross country courses at TerraNova. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Because horses perceive colors differently than humans, a ditch that looks clearly visible to a rider may be much harder for a horse to distinguish.
Bearden-Muller has advocated painting ditches a nearly black shade of brown, allowing horses to better identify the edges and understand the obstacle ahead.
“I’ve been on a campaign to get ditches painted different colors at more and more venues,” she says. “I really started looking at it more from the perspective of what colors the horse is seeing and what it’s looking like to them. It’s a big safety consideration.”
The change has now been implemented throughout TerraNova, where the ditches are painted in the dark shade Bearden-Muller recommends.
“There was no pushback when I made the suggestion. They said, ‘You want those painted? No problem.’ And they went out and painted them right away. They are happy to make any changes that help ensure the horse and riders’ safety.”
Another consideration is how changing daylight conditions affect what horses see as they approach an obstacle. Bearden-Muller explained that she makes a point of evaluating fences at the same time of day competitors will encounter them—particularly in the fall, when the sun sits lower in the sky.
During a previous TerraNova competition, she even removed a Trakehner fence from the one-star course after determining that the afternoon sun and long shadows made it too difficult for horses to see clearly after efforts to improve the obstacle’s visibility with decorative elements.
“I really try to see each jump and the approach to each jump at the time of day that level is going to ride,” she says. “At this time of year, it’s really important to look at that late evening sun and the effect it has on visibility.”
Bearden-Muller also encourages competitors to communicate any concerns they notice while walking their courses.
“If riders are out there walking the course and they notice something, let us know,” she says. “Maybe they’re seeing something that we’re not, or maybe they’re out walking the course at a time of day that we’re not.”
Beyond the competition, The Event at TerraNova welcomes a variety of equestrian vendors and exhibitors throughout the week, offering riders and spectators opportunities to shop and explore products and services from businesses within the equestrian community.
This year’s on-site vendors offer an assortment of equestrian apparel, equipment, horse-related products and services, including:
- Gallors Boots
- SynNutra Equine
- Blackbird Equestrian
- Albion Saddlemakers (Vendor & Sponsor)
- I Love My Horse Eventing Boutique
- The Estates at TerraNova / Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty (Vendor & Sponsor)
Visitors can also connect with representatives from The Estates at TerraNova, Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty to learn more about real estate opportunities in the area. Both The Estates at TerraNova and Albion Saddlemakers are also supporting this year’s event as sponsors.
The Event at TerraNova (FL): [Website] [Entries/Times] [Scores] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [Empty Bowls Tickets] [Volunteer]
