The Event-Rider's Notebook

Eventing and the training of three-day-event horses has always been one of Mary Rose's main interests, and in The Event-Rider's Notebook she passes on the accumulated experience of an acknowledged expert - not only to those who are already active in the sport and wish to advance, but more particularly to the great majority of riders, who have not yet enjoyed the thrill of riding in their first event. The book deals with all aspects of eventing, from selecting a suitable horse to actually competing in a three-day event. There is detailed information about the basic dressage movements and an explanation of the sequence of dressage training and riding. There is a section on the rider which is specifically designed to help those readers who must work without the help of an instructor for a large part of the time. The book also covers stable-management and gives a detailed programme for getting a horse fit, and a section on Interval Training, which can be a very useful aid in getting a horse ready for eventing. The emphasis in eventing is on the speed and endurance test, and this book covers the training of a horse in preparation for every type of fence to be met on cross-country, as well as information on how to walk the course, how to ride the course in competition, how to prepare for and ride the steeplechase phase, and how to ride the roads and tracks. There is a section on training the horse for show-jumping and a section dealing with the actual preparations leading up to competition, first of all in a one-day event and finally in a three-day event. --- Mary Rose is a Fellow of the British Horse Society and has been involved in three-day eventing as a teacher and competitor for twenty-five years. She is the author of The Horsemaster's Notebook, which has sold nearly 50,000 copies and is on the reading list for the British Horse Society Instructor's Examination.