Saumur Complete

What is Saumur Complet?

The Concours International Saumur Complet, which takes place at the Verrie racecourse, is an internationally renowned equestrian event that attracts riders and spectators from all over the world. It is held annually and includes dressage, cross-country and show jumping events.

Saumur Complete...

The Eventing Horse Riding Competition is a discipline similar to the triathlon.

In fact, the discipline is made up of three events:

Dressage : The rider and his horse perform a series of around twenty figures imposed by a program called “retest” on a rectangular field measuring 60m by 20m. They will be evaluated by a jury who will rate each figure out of 10 based on the ease and fluidity of the movements performed.

The cross : This test is specific to eventing. This is a fixed and natural obstacle course in the countryside. The horse and rider will therefore have to jump obstacles of different profiles on varied terrain (water (called ford), plain, woods, etc.) over a long distance at a sustained pace. The combination of fixed obstacles and high speed guarantees a spectacular but difficult event involving risks for both the rider and the horse.

Show jumping : The couple must overcome a dozen moving obstacles without dropping any bars and without stopping in front of an obstacle. This last test is put in place to assess the freshness of the horse after the cross (a tired horse will be more easily led to make mistakes or refuse an obstacle).

The horses in this discipline must therefore be attentive, frank and enduring in order to be able to perform well during the three events.

The final ranking is given by the total points obtained following these three tests: the dressage score added to the number of penalty points obtained during the cross (horse's refusal to face the obstacle, exceeding the maximum time allowed) and show jumping (fall of a bar, refusal, exceeding the maximum time allowed). If the rider falls during one of the events, he is eliminated and will not be able to participate in the other events. The couple with the lowest total points wins.

During international competitions, the events take place over several days. Given the difficulty required of the couples during the tests, two veterinary visits are carried out during the competition: the first before the first test (dressage) in order to ensure that the horse's general condition allows it to compete at such a level. , and a second after the cross to ensure that the horse is not injured and is not too tired to perform the third and final test (show jumping).

CCE : Eventing Horse Riding Competition
CCI : International Eventing
1*, 2*, 3*, 4* : The number of stars indicates the level of the international event (1* being the lowest at the international level and 5* being the highest level)
S and L : S means short and L means long, this is an indication of the distance of the cross-country event. A short CCI therefore has a shorter cross than a long CCI. Also, in so-called “short” events, Cross Country and Show Jumping can be run on the same day.

Pratical information