HomeExpert AdviceArticleWhat are the differences between point-to-point racing and steeplechasing?

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What are the differences between point-to-point racing and steeplechasing?

Posted in Riding Schooling and Training

Q: Is point-to-point racing the same as steeplechasing?

Horse&Rider answers:
The two are very closely linked… Steeplechasing started when men would race their hunters across the countryside from one church steeple to the next, or from ‘point-to-point’, as they galloped through the villages.

 

The first recorded steeplechase took place in 1752 between two riders, Cornelius O’Callaghan and Edmund Blake, taking them over a course of natural obstacles such as stone walls, ditches and hedges, and 4½ miles. These days, however, races are mainly run over three miles over steeplechase fences of about 4ft 3in (1.30m).

 

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