Eventing: The Equestrian Triathlon

The competitors don reinforced skull helmets, body protection vests, leather gloves, and indestructible watches. They apply breathing strips to their noses, guards to their legs and ankles, and strap the required medical identification cards to their arms. Crowds pack the sidelines, eager to see once-in-a-lifetime performances and devastating crashes. The athletes step out onto the field at Morven Park. The spectators buzz with excitement.

The sport? Eventing: the equestrian triathlon, one of the most exciting and increasingly popular of the riding disciplines. Eventing consists of three distinct phases that test the horse and rider's athleticism, bravery and endurance. But as the sport has grown, it has been increasingly challenged because of its inherent danger to both horse and rider.

"It's definitely the most dangerous riding sport," said India McEvoy, one of the top riders in the U.S. who competes horses for three clients and recently rode at the World Cup Qualifiers. "You have to be a little crazy."

The first phase, called dressage, has been referred to as equine ballet. The horse and rider performs a series of complicated and graceful movements and are judged by their precision, form and the display of "oneness" between horse and rider. The second and most infamous phase is the cross-country. The pair gallops several miles across varying terrain and jumps challenging obstacles that may include heavy timber logs, overturned boats, hedges, and water. To score well horse and rider must come back faster than the allowed time and without any falls or refusals at the jumps. The final phase is the stadium jumping, a timed course of high fences in a closed, level arena. The winning pair completes the course the fastest with the fewest faults, which are acquired by the horse stopping or knocking down a fence.

Most injuries sustained in eventing occur during the cross-country phase, where the horse gallops at full tilt and the solid obstacles don't budge if hit, often sending horse and rider crashing into the ground.