Table of contents for Practical Horseman Extra Volume 31 in Practical Horseman

A newly designed cross-country course, the ability to shop while being right next to the competition, three tailgating fields and a food festival. Those are just a few of the highlights that will greet visitors at the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in Elkton, Maryland, this fall. “We’ve got something special here in Maryland, and we hope that the Maryland 5 Star becomes a platform to showcase that.”— Jeff Newman To be held at the newly constructed Fair Hill Special Event Zone, the event will feature riders competing at the top of the sport to challenge the prestigious CCI5* event from October 14-17. “It’s going to be a breath of fresh air coming off a very difficult 2020,” said Jeff Newman, president and CEO of the Maryland 5…

Most cross-country courses these days ask us to take jumps off turns. A typical version of such a question, one you may encounter from Novice level on up, is a drop—where your horse has to jump down from one level to a lower one—followed by a fairly short, bending line to a narrow fence. This means you have only a few seconds after the drop to reestablish your position, focus your horse on where he’s going and make sure he keeps his energy forward through the turn. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps to ride such a combination successfully. Who Can Do It You want to be skilled at slipping your reins through your fingers so your horse can lower his head and neck off the drop.…