Whether you’re competing in Beginner Novice or at the top of the sport in a five-star event, the cross-country phase consists of similar elements and questions. You will always see water jumps, ditches and accuracy fences like corners and skinnies with gallop fences (straightforward fences such as benches, tables and hedges) in between. 

Every cross-country course also tends to progress in a similar way. I would consider Fences 1, 2 and 3 to be gallop fences, but they’re also lead-up fences. You want to use these fences to solidify your rhythm and ensure you and your horse are confident before tackling your first real question—a challenging obstacle or combination of obstacles. Typically, you can expect Fence 4 to be your first question on course, followed by more gallop fences that allow you to regroup and regain your rhythm before another question. 

How you introduce your horse to these questions in schooling sessions directly impacts your partnership. The goal of every cross-country schooling session should be to build confidence and make the session totally bulletproof. To do this, you need to work your horse through a progression to develop his confidence so he’s able to execute the questions. This way, at competitions he’ll come out of the start box, jump the lead-up fences and be ready to tackle the first real question on course. 

In this article, I’ll first explain how to boost your horse’s confidence with two questions—a water jump and a ditch. Then, I’ll teach you how to build on that foundation by introducing him to accuracy fences. I’ll also share my tips on how to best prepare your horse for tackling these questions on course. You may not be able to get through all these questions in one schooling session, as every horse is a unique individual and will progress at his own pace. If your horse understands the questions quickly and easily, you can move on to another question but pay careful attention to your horse. If he seems physically or mentally taxed, revisit it another day.  

Cross-Country Schooling Versus Competition

It’s important to note that schooling and competition are two different scenarios. A student once asked me why she shouldn’t immediately jump her horse into water during a schooling session, rationalizing that she’d have to do this at competitions. I don’t think the two situations relate. If you run your horse at a question he’s not confident about when you’re schooling, you can create a moment of doubt or hesitation, which is more detrimental and will ultimately catch up to you at the competition. You never want to put your horse in a position where he doesn’t understand or trust what you’re asking him to do. If he starts to doubt you, it’s going to take a lot of work and time to rebuild that trust again. 

When introducing your horse to a new obstacle like water or a ditch, always walk alongside it as opposed to walking him straight at it. Think about the way your horse reacts when you catch him in the field. If you walk straight up to his head, he’s probably going to step back and be hesitant. But if you walk toward his side, he will be more receptive. Follow that same logic when introducing him to cross-country jumps. Always ask him to walk next to the obstacle and yield him toward it. Then, walk him around to the landing side so he gets the whole picture. If you introduce him to the fence this way, he’ll be quick to realize it’s not as scary as he might have thought and will be more willing to accept the concept.

The Water 

When introducing your horse to water, walk him back and forth alongside it instead of walking him straight toward it. It’s crucial that you keep him walking so he doesn’t stop or step back. Walk him back and forth, trying to get him closer in, keep walking him back and forth until he does so without hesitation. Then, try it at the trot. 

Whether you’re working with a 4-year-old on his first cross-country experience or a seasoned five-star horse going out for a routine schooling session, always walk through the water before asking him to jump into it—even if he’s jumped it before. Your goal is to always create confidence in your horse and the question you’re asking him, and there’s no harm in walking or trotting through first. This allows him to get a sense of the water’s depth and the footing. If your horse is more experienced, you can build on this and eventually canter him down a drop or jump a rail into the water.

Tackle the Water on Course

Beginner Novice: By the time you’re going Beginner Novice, your horse should be walking, trotting and cantering through water without hesitation. At this level, you’ll be asked to go through water on course without any jumping elements, but you may have a jump and then several strides away, a turn to the water. Your job is to help avoid the element of surprise. Instead of following the mowed path from the jump to the water, it may be wiser to jump the fence a little away from the water and then turn wide to give your horse an extra moment to think about it, instead of facing him with a jump, turn, surprise—water! 

Novice/Training: At Novice, you will have a single fence like a rolltop, and then two to four strides to the water’s edge. At Training, you may have a drop into the water on its own or a rolltop with three strides to the drop. Even if your horse has successfully jumped a rolltop many times, he might hesitate because he can see the water on the landing side. Think about making your turn wide enough so your horse has time to process the question to avoid a stop at the rolltop. 

Preliminary: At this level, you could see a fence with one stride to a drop into the water or a fence with three strides to a one-stride to a drop into the water. Apply the same theory as the Novice/Training fence before the water, but keep in mind that this combination isn’t as forgiving so it’s important to give your horse time to process the question. Your goal is to be balanced and accurate at the first fence so you have the momentum to give him confidence to drop down into the water. If you’re canter is weak at the first fence, he’ll land weak, which will lessen the chances of him dropping into the water with a potential refusal.  

Ditches 

In an ideal schooling setting, there will two or three different-sized ditches next to each other. Introduce your horse to ditches the same way you introduced him to water. Walk him alongside the ditches, turning him back and forth to give him the opportunity to see them out of both eyes and from either side. Notice how your horse reacts every time you turn him. He will essentially tell you when he’s ready, as he begins to be more accepting of the ditches. 

When your horse feels ready, walk or trot him over the smallest ditch. Try to create a soft connection with his mouth, keep your body behind his motion and support him with your leg. More than any other question, ditches require riders to stay behind their horses’ motion. This is crucial because your horse might jump it in an exaggerated way, especially if he’s new to ditches. If you anticipate the jump and lean at it, he might hesitate on takeoff. By staying behind your horse’s motion, you’ll also be more balanced and in a position to easily recover if he stops or overjumps the ditch.

Once your horse has jumped the ditch, ask him to go over it in the same direction two or three more times until he’s relaxed and jumping it quietly and confidently. Then, reverse and jump it in the other direction. When you reverse, be prepared that your horse might jump the ditch like it’s a completely different question. Next, canter the ditch in both directions. If this is your first time introducing him to a ditch, there’s no need to jump the bigger ones. If, however, your horse is more experienced jumping ditches, you can practice the medium ditch until he’s jumping it confidently in both directions. Then, you can progress to large ditch if it’s appropriate for your level. 

Conquer the Ditch on Course

Beginner Novice: The ditch will be on its own. Much like the water question, if you can provide your horse with an extra moment to read the question and get organized—by making a wide turn to it—always take it. This is beneficial even if it means risking some time on course—you can always make it up elsewhere.

Novice/Training: At Novice, expect an element either in front of or behind the ditch. At Training, there will be an element in front of and behind the ditch. Just as you did when first introducing your horse to ditches, support him with your position and stay behind the motion. If you get ahead of the motion, you’ll likely create hesitation on takeoff, leading to either a stop at the ditch or a stop at the element after the ditch. 

Preliminary: Like Training level, you can expect an element in front of and behind the ditch, but at this level, the elements and ditch will be larger. You might also face an accuracy question at the “C” element behind the ditch. As you approach the ditch, think about bringing your horse’s ears up. This will help create a balance where he’s more on his hind legs and light in the bridle. Stay in a three-point position (with your legs and seat in contact with the saddle) with a defensive upper-body balance so you can navigate any hesitation from your horse.

Accuracy Fences

Once your horse is confidently jumping water and ditches, you can introduce accuracy questions, such as corner or skinny fences. But before attempting these questions on cross country, introduce your horse to them in a ring at home to help boost his confidence.

Skinny setup: To build a small skinny fence, put a simple barrel on its side, using rails as wings on either side. The wings act as a tunnel and make it obvious what you’re asking your horse to do. 

Corner setup: To build a small corner, lay a barrel on its side. About 10 feet from it, place two standards close together with cups facing the barrel. Rest one end of a
12-foot rail on the barrel and put the other in the cup. Repeat this with the second rail and standard. Place ground poles at the base of each vertical. To create a wing to make your intention clearer to your horse, put one end of another rail on the front of the barrel. Place the other end on the ground, angled to the outside of the jump at approximately 100-110 degrees. 

Start by trotting both fences to give your horse an extra moment to process what you’re asking him. Hold your reins a bit wider than you normally would to help tunnel your horse’s shoulders evenly between them. Sit back and support your horse with your leg and the connection of the reins. This will give him confidence to leave the ground on the path you’re asking. Once he has the idea at the trot, approach it in the canter.

Once your horse understands these questions and is jumping them successfully in the ring, introduce him to the fences on cross country. Especially if your horse is new to these questions, incorporate the wing rails you used in the arena to give your horse confidence and guidance when he first tackles them in the field. Start at the canter and ride the fences the same way you did in the ring. Once your horse is jumping these questions confidently and consistently, remove the wings and jump them again.

When you’re comfortable jumping the accuracy questions on their own, you can work them into your cross-country schooling session. I typically warm up over straightforward gallop fences, then jump a corner and then go back to simple gallop fences before jumping a skinny. It’s important to include straightforward jumps between the accuracy questions so you don’t overface your horse by jumping several accuracy questions in a row. 

Remember to always introduce your horse to cross-country questions in a systematic way, giving him the opportunity to do what you’re asking by allowing him to process the question, supporting with your position and building on a progression. This will set you both up for success—in your schooling sessions and in competition. 

Master Accuracy Fences on Course

Beginner Novice/Novice: At the lower levels, accuracy questions are usually introduced in a soft way. There might be fences that look or feel like genuine corners or skinnies, but they jump a bit more like a regular fence. For example, the course could include a jump that’s slightly narrower than a regular gallop fence so you have to set up your horse a bit more, or a corner with a larger margin of error.  

Training: The accuracy questions will have a smaller margin of error than Beginner Novice or Novice, and you’re more likely to see both corners and skinnies on course. Be sure to set up your horse and create a powerful, collected gallop stride—you don’t want a big, open stride. The goal is to get a more organized, medium distance to the takeoff to ensure your horse has accurately read the question and is going to jump through the flags.

Preliminary: Corners and skinnies are even more technical because they’re in related distances to other fences. Therefore, it’s even more important that you create a powerful, organized stride to ensure your horse understands the question.

For More:

• To read more about Ryan Wood’s methods for introducing your horse to corner jumps, click here.
• For more of our coverage on the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, click here.
• From short training tips to how-to videos and insider-access to private clinics and lessons, learn more from top eventing experts on EQUESTRIAN+.

Thanks to Kent Nutrition Group and Blue Seal for our coverage of the 2025 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, including lead-up events, rider interviews, competition reports, horse spotlights, photos, videos and more!

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Practical Horseman.

About Ryan Wood

Australian native Ryan Wood competed successfully throughout Australia, completing his first five-star at age 19 at Adelaide. He trained with Australian eventer Guy Wallace, Olympic dressage trainer Norbert van Laak and champion show jumpers Ludger Beerbaum and Ernst Hofschröer. In 2008, Wood moved to the U.S. and worked for Phillip Dutton before starting his own business, Woodstock Eventing, which is now based out of his and wife Lillian Heard Wood’s Lanefield Farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Wood has become one of top eventers in the U.S. and is known for his successful cross-country record.