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Tetrathlon - Riding

Setting up a cross-country course for a few competitors, if you are not lucky enough to have an established cross-country course you can use, is both time-consuming and expensive. So adapt what you have. If you have a few cross-country jumps available augment them with some show jumps and make a course round one or two fields. If no cross-country fences are available then make a longish show jumping course (on the Hickstead pattern) spread around whatever ground you have available.

Tetrathlon Courses always include a gate to open and close mounted, and a slip rail at which the competitor dismounts, takes down the rail, leads his pony or horse through, replaces the rail and remounts. Since Tetrathlon courses should test the ability of the rider rather than that of the mount, it would be a pity to leave these two obstacles out. Perhaps you can use the gate into the field for the former. A small gate mounted on a post with a second post to latch it on to is always a useful item for a Branch to possess. A slip rail is not difficult to construct, requiring only two poles and two posts and a little simple carpentry.

British Eventing run a series of cross country builder and designer seminars supported by the Bill Thomson Bursary for further details please contact Sarah Hamlyn for more information.

Maximum Heights

Senior / Open - 3’6”
Juniors - 3’
Minimus - 2’6”

Judging and Scoring

In Tetrathlon, a competitor who completes the course without penalty within the time allowed scores 1400 points, those with penalties have them deducted from 1400; and no-one can score less than 0.

For a fun competition involving a few competitors (say 20) the judging and rules should be kept as simple as possible. If the course is round a single field have one judge, or better still two working together (one watching and one writing) in the middle of the field. If all the jumps cannot be seen from one point, more judges may be necessary.

To keep things simple, try ‘positive scoring’. As an example, for a course of 12 jumps you could have a scoring system as such:
Jump cleared at first attempt 100 points
Jump cleared at second attempt 60 points
Jump cleared at third attempt 30 points
After three attempts, pass on to next jump 0 points

For a course of more than 12 jumps, alter the jumping points for each fence so that they still add up to 1200, and the Total for the riding, including 100 each for gate and slip rail, comes to 1400. For example in a course with 15 jumps you could score 80 points for a clear, 50 one stop and 25 two stops.

The gate and slip rail could be scored similarly but on a time basis:
If accomplished within 15 seconds 100 points
If accomplished within 30 seconds 60 points
If accomplished within 60 seconds 30 points
If not accomplished within 60 seconds 0 points pass on to next obstacle

There would be no need to time the round other than for the gate and slip rail and a clear round would give 1400 points. Falls could either be ignored or scored as follows:
Rider falls off horse or pony 80 penalties
Fall of horse or pony and rider 20 penalties

These penalties would have to be deducted from the total points scored by the competitor at the completion of his round, provided that sufficient points have been scored. Nobody should score less than 0.

Number of Officals

Main Judge (assumes all fences are visible	1
Writer (can double up as a scorer)	1
Special fence judges	Gate & Slip Rail
Starter	1
Total	5