The Red Hills Horse Trials is held in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and is one of the

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

world's top events. It is an annual major

eventing Eventing (also known as three day eventing or horse trials) is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. Thi ...

competition held by the

United States Eventing Association The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is the organization responsible for organizing, promoting and adjudicating equestrian eventing in the United States. Formerly known as the United States Combined Training Association, the USEA is a 501(c ...

, Area III and the 16th event held in Area III consisting of

Dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

Cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

, and

Show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

History

Begun in 1998 under organizers Sallie Ausley (wife of DuBose Ausley) and Sylvia Ochs, it is named for the sloping

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

and rich red earth known as the

Red Hills Region The Red Hills or Tallahassee Hills is a region of gently rolling hills in the southeastern United States. It is a geomorphic region and an ecoregion. Location The Red Hills physiographic region of northern Florida was defined in 1914 as most of ...

of north Florida and south Georgia. The RHHT, held in early March, draws over 40,000 spectators and visitors to view over 200 riders and their horses.

Non-profit affiliations

Non-profit organizations that benefit from this event are Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park owned by the Northwest Florida Water Management District and managed by the city of Tallahassee,

Tall Timbers Research Station Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy is a research and learning facility located in northern Leon County, Florida, just off County Road 12 on the north side of Lake Iamonia. Tall Timbers researches the areas of fire ecology, resource ...

to sustain science research, land conservation and educational initiatives, Tallahassee Friends of Our Parks Foundation and Red Hills Horse Camp for children.

Venue

The RHHT is located on {{convert, 120, acre, km2 of native wooded land in northwest Tallahassee.

Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park is an open natural park located in northern Tallahassee, Florida, United States and operated by the City Of Tallahassee. The property is owned by Northwest Florida Water Management District. History The land was original ...

hosts the Dressage and Stadium Jumping events, while adjoining Ayavalla Plantation, owned by Tallahassee

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and horse enthusiast Colin Phipps, hosts the cross-country event. The cross-country course was designed by Captain

Mark Phillips Captain Mark Anthony Peter Phillips (born 22 September 1948) is an English Olympic gold medal-winning horseman for Great Britain and the first husband of Anne, Princess Royal, with whom he has two children. He remains a leading figure in Britis ...

, Chef d'Equipe and Technical Advisor for the

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

and a former member of the Great Britain Olympic team. The cross-country course was built by Scotland's Hugh Lochore. It features a variety of formidable obstacles, including water, banks and ditches, which wind through Phipps'

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. There are four dressage rings, the stadium course, and stabling facilities.

Divisions

CIC-W *** and CIC**; Advanced, Intermediate, and Preliminary divisions. Entries automatically are entered in the USEA Gold Cup Series.

Events

Dressage

"Dressage" (pronounced like massage) is derived from a French word that means "training." It is a prescribed set of movements has its roots in the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

when the European riders developed a sequential training system considered to be the basis of modern dressage. Judges look for a supple, balanced and lively ride that showcases the horse's natural athletic ability. Judges evaluate each movement on a zero to 10 scale.

Cross country

This second challenge has horse and rider maneuvering through fence obstacles. Competitors must negotiate the course at the correct angle, height and speed to clear fences. The rider may inspect the course beforehand, but the horse leaves the starting box not knowing what lies ahead, demanding absolute trust between horse and rider.

Stadium jumping

The final phase has horse and rider jump a series of painted fences in an enclosed

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

. If a horse falls,

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball Ru ...

s or knocks down any portion of an obstacle, a penalty point, or fault, is added to the score. Stadium jumping tests the obedience and suppleness of the horse and demonstrates that sufficient stamina and fitness still remain after the cross-country event.

Visitors

The "Red Hills Avenue of Shops" provides visitors and patrons a variety of vendors including English tack and riding apparel, horse jumping equipment, a food court, specialty feeds, artwork, jewelry, real estate, USEA books, women's apparel, and sculpture.

2008

The 2008 Red Hills Horse Trials was very somber. Olympian Darren Chiacchia was seriously injured on the preliminary course riding Baron Verdi, who flipped rotationally. The horse is uninjured. Jonathan Holling's horse, Direct Merger died instantly while galloping after fence 8 on the CIC***W course. Missy Miller's horse Leprechauns Rowdy Boy died instantly after a rotational fall at the water on the advanced course. Holling and Miller were unharmed.

External links

Red Hills Horse TrialsUSEA Area IIIUnited States Eventing Association
Eventing Culture of Tallahassee, Florida Sports in Tallahassee, Florida Equestrian sports competitions in the United States Tourist attractions in Tallahassee, Florida