The show jumping course: course walk, obstacles and combinations

Before you even jump, a show jumping course is "played" on foot: in the course walk. And there are precise rules on how it is built — combinations, ditches, banks — that decide what a course designer can ask. Here we explain, with the FISE National Regulation, how a course works and how you tackle it.

In short

• The course walk is done on foot, in starting order, accompanied by an instructor, coach or owner.
• After the salute the Ground Jury rings the bell: from then you have 45 seconds to cross the start line.
• Combinations have elements 7 to 12 metres apart, jumped one after another.
• The water ditch is at most 200 cm wide; banks/talus are level changes treated as combinations.
• Source: FISE National Show Jumping Regulation (2025 edition).

The course walk: the course is studied on foot

Riders in the starting order enter the arena on foot to study the track: distances between obstacles, lines, canter strides. They may be accompanied by an instructor, coach, the horse's owner or other FISE members (in suitable attire). This is when you "count" the course — how many strides between fences — and decide your strategy.

The commentary. The course walk is half the competition: reading the distances well means meeting the fences on the right spot. It is not a stroll, it is planning.

The start: the salute, the bell and the 45 seconds

Called into the arena, the pair salutes the Ground Jury (unless exempted). Then the Jury rings the bell: from that moment a 45-second countdown starts, within which the pair must cross the start line. If something goes wrong — a broken piece of tack, a lost shoe, the horse's physiological needs — the rider can raise an arm: the Jury, if it agrees, suspends the count with a bell, and restarts it with a second bell.

How the course is built

Combinations. A combination is made of two, three or more jumps 7 to 12 metres apart (measured between inner faces). They are jumped separately and consecutively (in Table C classes and for fixed obstacles the distance may be under 7 metres). Note: if the horse commits a disobedience inside a combination, the rider must re-jump all the elements, on pain of elimination (except closed obstacles).

The water ditch. At most 200 cm wide, with or without water; it can never be placed after the jump and is built to precise rules.

Banks and talus. Obstacles with level changes (up/down): treated as combinations when the elements are no more than 12 metres apart, except obstacles considered completely closed.

The commentary. The 7-12 m distance between elements is not a technicality: it sets how many strides fit and therefore the difficulty. That is why, on the walk, you measure your steps carefully.

Related deep-dives

See time and speed, penalties and the causes of elimination. Back to the rules guide.

Source and disclaimer

Content verified against the FISE National Show Jumping Regulation (2025 edition), Arts. 136-137 (course walk, start), 153-155 (ditch, banks, combinations). Verified on 13/09/2026. Independent, informational guide, unofficial and not affiliated with FISE: in competition the regulation in force prevails, and it updates by season.