What is cross country horse riding?

In horseriding, cross-country is one phase of three in the popular "eventing" discipline combining dressage, cross-country and showjumping over one, two or three days to give an overall score.

Cross-country is made up of long gallop stretches over open land, and different varieties of solid, natural jumps. It comprises not only the typical log or brush fences but also drops, water jumps, steps, banks, coffins, ditches, trakehners and many other types of jump.

Many see cross-country as the most dangerous of English riding disciplines as it is high-speed, with many risks throughout and many jumps are designed to scare horse and rider. It is, however, one of the most popular disciplines with spectators.