The buzz here in the stable is that the 2008 Rolex Kentucky cross-country course is “slightly easier” than last year’s course. Ha! This course was designed by Mike Etherington-Smith and Mike E-S is without  a doubt the best cross-country designer in the world. I promise you he has been up to his tricks this year.

Mike has an unusual problem over the next couple of years because he must prepare the Kentucky Horse Park for 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games without giving this year’s competitors an unfair advantage. Still, I have been watching this boy for 20 years now, and he is clever. He will experiment with the questions that he asks of the horses in such a way that when he builds a new question in 2010, it will startle all of us, but when we look back over the past few years, we will have seen his thinking in some of the prior years’ courses.

From The Start Box
The course starts this year in its traditional location above old Fort Lexington. The first five fences are very straightforward and quite big. The Flower Box at No. 1 has a slight downhill approach, and riders at this level will not balance by taking back, but will use the downhill slope to help their horses gain speed. Horses will make nothing of this and will gallop across the track and into the infield.

There is a sweeping left-handed turn to an enormous Picnic Table at Fence 2. Mike has used this fence to show people that  “this is what the rulebook says is a maximum fence.” A fence with a height of 3’11” and 6’6” spread is a big jump in anybody’s book, but these horses will jump it at 600 meters per minute or more and land galloping.

After a slight uphill climb, there is a new fence at No. 3, the Rock Walls. These are beautifully built and decorated, but they are merely designed to get horses and riders warmed up and make sure they are focused on the task at hand.

Swinging back downhill right handed, the first of many related fences occurs at Fence 4, the Downhill Oxers. These are a pair of oxers, which are quite big, and they are set for a “going” four strides. Their size makes them not for the faint of heart, but I predict that there will be no problems here.

The fifth fence in the bottom of the infield is the last of the fly fences, however, there is a subtle variation in the ground a stride away from the takeoff. If riders do not rebalance and reconnect their horses they may get an unpleasant surprise here. Like most modern course designers, Mike E-S has been trying to slow down the overall speed of horses around the course. However, he slows the horses and riders in more subtle ways than most designers. For instance, the Flower Box at fence 5 is a simple obstacle, but the terrain in front of it will cause the intelligent cross-country rider to take a pull. They call this part of our sport “cross-country.” I am glad to see a designer use the terrain to pose a problem.

Immediately after the Flower Box is the first of many serious combinations on this course. No. 6, the Cedar Hop, is quite a tall brush hedge, set exactly at the top of a slope. Because the brush is 4’7” the horse does not realize that there is a steep slope behind followed one stride later by an open ditch at 7A. This combination is going to be influential. In one form or another, this fence has existed for quite a few years now.  In the past, Mike has used open rails, and the horses could see what was coming before they got to the drop.  This year, the obstacle requires a greater degree of courage and confidence. The horse will be in his take-off stride before he realizes what he has to do next.  This is going to cause some awkward jumps and several refusals. There is a long way around this complex which involves turning back against the course, jumping an arrowhead, turning back again, then jumping the ditch, followed two strides later by a narrow brush.  The last brush itself is not exactly narrow, but Mike has made skillful use of flower barrels and decorations to require accuracy from the riders.  Again, at 7b, there is a long way around and riders with a little trouble here should be able to extricate themselves with no further penalty.

Following the Cedar Hop, there is a long uphill pull out of the infield, followed by a right-handed turn to an old friend at Fence 8, the Hammock. Mike Etherington-Smith always refers to this as a “breather” fence, and my response is always that the very thought of jumping something 3’11” by 6’6” leaves me breathless. However, this year’s field of competitors will relax over the hammock, jump it in stride and continue down across the road and jump the imposing but straightforward ditch and rails (Ditch With A Red Oak Rail) at No. 9. If you are standing beyond No. 9, with a radar gun, you will clock riders galloping down the hill to ditch and rails at speeds approaching 20 mph.

Approaching The Sunken Road
Then you will see the reason we do all of this dressage, because within a few seconds, the horse must slow down, gather himself, make a sharp left-handed turn, and approach No. 10-11-12, the Sunken Road, at a collected canter. This obstacle has been jumped back and forth for years, and it always has the potential to create problems.

There is a lot going on at this complex. The rails at 10A are quite high, followed immediately by a bounce down into the Sunken Road. The distance across the road calls for two strides, then there is a big jump up the bank at 11B, followed again by a bounce distance to quite tall rails at 12.

The riders must be very athletic here. They should be in a strong, slightly defensive show jumping position at 10A. Upon landing, they must shift to a cross-country shape to jump down the drop. Within two strides, they must gather their reins, kick their horses forward, jump up the bank and immediately bounce over the rails at 12. If you are not fit and athletic, you are going to have trouble here, because your horse needs you to explain the way through the Sunken Road.

The most experienced riders will land after 12 and immediately turn 90 degrees to the right before accelerating away into a wide, right-handed turn leading to the Footbridge at 13. This is quite big, but horses and riders will jump it easily and land running. Then there is a long, uphill pull followed by a left-handed turn and a slight downhill approach to the Sheep Shelter at 14.

While riders will not check much for this fence at 14, they need to steady slightly because there is a sizeable drop behind the Sheep Shelter. If you jump this too fast, you risk stumbling in the landing. Horses should be going a good pace by now, and they should carry this pace up the hill before slowing for the left-handed approach to The Hollow at 15AB. These jumps are slightly narrow, and the log at 15A disguises quite a sizeable drop.

It seems to me, looking at the drop here at 15A and thinking back to the big hedge at the Cedar Hop at No. 6, that Mike is starting to examine the courage of the horse a little more intensely. In years past, he has asked these questions, but he allowed the horses to see what they were doing. This is a subtle but influential trend in his design and one we should keep an eye on over the next couple of years.  Following the drop at 15A, riders gallop on a straight line down the slope, across level ground in the bottom of the hollow and back up a steep slope on the other side to jump a narrow palisade at 15B.

Again, as at 15A, the landing is disguised from the horse until they are at their take-off point. If your horse has confidence issues, you may have problems here. As usual, with Mike’s complexes, there is a long route here. However it is very long indeed, and I predict that the majority of horses and riders will attempt the straight line through on their first attempt.

The Corners Will Be Influential
There is a long, downhill run from the hollow to a very big set of corners, the Double Diamonds at Fence 16ABCD. These corners are quite big, and for the first time in a very long time, they are built as “open” corners. This gives them a very airy appearance which may cause horses to drift or flinch. Mike always puts some form of accuracy question in this location, and whatever he builds here causes problems. The double corners can be jumped straight down the left-hand side, jumping two white-flagged corners 36 feet apart. Alternatively, they can be jumped next to the red flags over a slightly less attractive set of corners. If you do not like either side, there is an extremely long, complicated route whereby you may prevent jumping penalties, but they will have to leave the lights on for you to get home.

This set of corners is deceptively simple. They are obviously big, but the problem posed here is a problem that riders have answered successfully before. However, there is something about Rolex that makes smart riders act stupid. Riders who forget to put their horse’s stride back together again after a long, downhill run are going to get a free education from the cleverest course designer in the world. They say there is a dandelion for every broken heart in the Horse Park.  There will be a few more here Saturday afternoon.

Following the Double Diamonds, horses and riders are headed back to the main park. They swing uphill, make a sharp, right-handed turn, and then confront the two squirrels. Do not get lost in the creative beauty of the construction of these fences at 17-18. They are essentially two angled brushes 75 feet apart.

Because our angle of approach is right to left, Mike has tested the same thing. When we finish jumping the second squirrel at 18, we will have answered the same question four times in a row. That question is, “Is your horse dishonest to the left?” The fast route at the double corners is down the white flag side. The fast route through the squirrels is on a right-to-left angle. If your horse has a tendency to pop his left shoulder, you are way in trouble during this section of the course.

Following the squirrel at 18 riders will gallop down the hill toward the main park over the very large but attractive and inviting Stair-Step table. The course then swings left, crosses the dressage warm-up arenas and heads down toward the Creek Oxer at No. 20. Due to the size of this oxer, riders must go at a cracking pace to jump it well. They must then quickly slow down again, as they now approach the signature location at the Kentucky Horse Park, the Head of the Lake.  After a sharp right turn, they confront two very big brush fences leading to the drop into the water at the Head of the Lake (21ABCD-22AB). Once again, horses will not be able to measure their drop until they are in their takeoff stride in front of 21B. This is yet another variation on a theme that started at fence 6.

While the drop behind 21B is sizeable, the line to the lighthouse in the middle of the lake is straightforward. Horses jump the lighthouse from the grass and will land again on grass before stepping back into the water. They then gallop through the water to a very tall bank, jumping out of the lake, followed immediately by one very forward stride to an extremely narrow triple brush at 22B. This is a four-star water complex, and we will see a fair amount of drama here during the course of the day.

Out Of The Lake
The roar from the crowd will propel the horses and riders back up the hill behind the main arena towards the Dray at No. 23. At this point in the course, riders must remind themselves that their horses are not quite as fresh as they were 5 minutes ago. The Dray is a very simple fence, but riders need to make sure that their horse is balanced and engaged before attempting to jump it.

Following the Dray there is a downhill run through the infield to the Cigar Lane Sycamores at 24. These logs are enormous but should cause no trouble, and the horses and riders will land immediately focused on the Second Water, at 25ABC.

Fence 25A is a very tall but very simple Giant’s Chair followed three strides later by a slightly narrow obstacle, followed by a landing into the second water. There is a mild left bend in the water before jumping out over another narrow Sycamore Rails, 25C. I think that you will be able to tell how well your horse is going when you land out of the second water. It will take a fit, well-prepared horse to gallop up the hill out of the infield toward the Walnut Tables at 26 and the Offset Cabins at 27.

The final water complex, the Duck Marsh, features a downhill run toward quite a large carved duck. I think that riders must work to keep their concentration here. There is a tendency to worry about what is next rather than taking care of the business at hand. No. 28A is big; it has a downhill approach and a sizeable drop on landing. This segment of the course demands relentless mental intensity on the part of the rider.

Following the drop over 28A, there is a left-handed turn into water and angled approach to two more identical carved ducks in the water. Our line of approach is now left to right, and there is only one stride between 28B and 29A. I want you to notice a couple of things here. First of all, the ducks are numbered in this fashion so that it is possible to jump 28B off of a straight line then circle back and jump 29A straight on without penalty. It is slightly longer, for certain, but much safer. The next point I want to make here is that Mike Etherington-Smith is now testing the ability of the horse and rider to jump on a left-to-right angle. Think back to the Double Diamonds and the Squirrels. That was a test of honesty over the horse’s left shoulder, and now we are testing the other side of the horse. However, this test is harder because we are turning downhill to the left, which tends to make the horse get heavy over his right shoulder. It is a subtle influence, I agree, but Mike is nothing if not subtle. Jumping the straight line left to right from 28B to 29A is not the end of the story because horse and rider must make a 90-degree turn and jump a fourth carved duck in a row at 29B.

Riders gallop away from the third water complex and make a long, downhill run into the draft horse field. There is a left-handed turn before quite a big fence at No. 30, the Park Log. Riders will be in a hurry at this stage of the proceedings, but they must not forget that the landing behind No. 30 is a bit of a drop. By this stage of the proceedings, balance is more important than speed.

No. 31 and No. 32 are identical mushrooms (Mr. Mushroom and Ms. Mushroom). They are quite tall and set with a ditch in front. Because of the ditch in front of 31 and the right-handed turn to an identical ditch and mushroom at 32, the rider must remember to stay accurate. These are the last of the narrow “accuracy” questions on this course.

When you look back at the course, you will find that although Mike tests the accuracy of the horse and rider’s line, he does it in many ways rather than by posing an endless succession of narrows and corners and angles. The horse that comes storming up the last hill and turns back to jump an old friend at No. 33, the Rolex Arch, is a horse that has been well-prepared, and a rider should be extremely proud of his efforts. The Rolex Arch at 33 should cause no problems if the riders have gotten this far.

All in all, this is a typical Mike Etherington-Smith design, which is to say it is one of the best in the world. The rider who can show up this weekend and make this course look easy will also be one of the best in the world.