UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Compiled by the Sun staff

Tuesday, April 17, 2007 | 7:06 a.m.

Compiled by the Sun staff

IF YOU GO

What: 29th annual FEI World Cup Jumping Final and 22nd annual FEI World Cup Dressage Final

When: Wednesday-Sunday

Where: Thomas & Mack Center

Tickets: $150-$1,000. Good for all sessions; individual session tickets begin at $30

On the Web: www.worldcuplasvegas.com, unlvtickets.com

Rolex FEI World Cup Finals

Jumping at a glance: The FEI World Cup Jumping Final features the world's best jumping horses and riders. A field of 45 riders, including past and future Olympians, qualifies from 13 leagues around the world. The United States has won the FEI World Cup Finals seven times, more than any other nation.

Dressage at a glance: This will mark just the second time the FEI World Cup Dressage final has been held in the United States, following the 1995 event in Los Angeles. Germany and the Netherlands have dominated the competition, combining for 13 titles.

Did you know? The U.S. won its first dressage world title in 2003 when Debbie McDonald of Hailey, Idaho, and the mare Brentina, owned by Parry and Peggy Thomas of Las Vegas, emerged as champions. Thomas' name is on the front of the building - he's the Thomas in Thomas & Mack Center.

SCHEDULE

Wednesday

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Warm-Up Class I, 9:30 a.m.

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Warm-Up Class II, 11:45 a.m.

Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage Warm-Up Class, 1:30 p.m.

Thursday

Rolex FEI World Cup Grand Prix Dressage, 12:30 p.m.

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final I, 7 p.m.

Friday

Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage B Final & Open Class, 1 p.m.

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final II, 7 p.m.

Saturday

Las Vegas Grand Prix, 1 p.m.

Rolex FEI World Cup Dressage Final, 7 p.m.

Sunday

Rolex FEI World Cup Jumping Final III, noon

Show jumping 101

What is show jumping?

Show jumping is easy to understand. The challenge is simple and straightforward : Jump a course of approximately 15 obstacles up to 5 feet high and 6 feet wide with no penalties. Penalties or faults are incurred if a horse knocks down an obstacle, refuses to jump or falls at an obstacle or jump. Each course has a "time allowed." In addition to jumping faults, penalties can accumulate if riders fail to complete the course at a certain speed or in the time allowed.

Riders and horses must negotiate the course at the correct angle, height and speed to clear the fences without incurring faults. Riders must mind the ever-ticking clock. The rider who races too fast may grow careless and knock down a fence; an overly cautious rider may incur time faults. The starting order is determined by a draw before the event so each rider has an equal chance of attaining a favorable position. Riders near the end of the starting order have the advantage of seeing how the first riders complete the course.

Walking the course

Riders preview the course by walking it on foot before the competition. This is the only chance the rider has to study the course up close. Each rider knows the length of his horse's stride and walks the course accordingly, pacing off the distance between fences and determining how to adjust the horse's strides. Riders also take note of the different types of fences offered, their relationship to one another, the footing and any other potential problem areas. They also try to find where a tighter line can save vital time when jumping against the clock.

Scoring

All jumper classes are subject to the same scoring systems. Horse and rider must take the course in a designated sequence. All obstacles are numbered. Each rider's goal is to cover the course with no faults in the allotted time . Style is not considered and doesn't affect the scoring in jumper competition.

The first time a refusal occurs, the penalty is three faults; six faults are given for the second and the third constitutes elimination. A penalty of four faults is incurred each time a fence is knocked down and the penalty for the horse touching the water at a water jump is also four faults. Penalties can also be incurred for exceeding the time allowed to complete the course.

The winner is the horse and rider combination with the fewest jumping and time penalties. Frequently, several horses complete the course without penalty and advance to a jump-off over a shortened course. In the jump-off, the same scoring rules apply, except that in the case of equal faults, the horse with the fastest time is declared the winner.

Dressage 101

What is dressage?

The word dressage sounds like massage and comes from the French word dresser, to train. To the untrained eye it looks easy, but like many equestrian sports, it serves the needs of a diverse range of horse lovers. It's an Olympic equestrian sport , yet a basic training discipline for the back yard horse.

Dressage teaches a horse to be obedient, willing, supple and responsive. The horse freely submits to the rider's body signals while remaining balanced and energetic. The object of dressage is the harmonious development of the horse in mind and body, and every horse, regardless of its type or use, can benefit from this training.

Dressage principles are a logical, step-by-step progression from simple to increasingly complex movements. More and more is asked of the horse as it becomes mentally and physically ready to respond to these demands.

The graceful movements performed in competition may look effortless, but are the result of years of training. A squeeze of the calf, a closing of the fingers, a shifting of the rider's weight in the saddle should be all that is necessary to tell the horse what is required.

Dressage requires the horse and rider to combine the strength and agility of gymnastics with the elegance and beauty of ballet. The result is truly the best blend of sport and art. The highlight of a dressage competition is the Musical Freestyle, in which the rider creates and choreographs to music an original ride of compulsory figures and movements.

Judging

The judges look for accuracy of the transitions (changes of gait), obedience, suppleness of the horse, quality of the gaits, and the rider's use of aids, or body movements.

All movements and certain transitions from one gait to another are numbered on the judge's sheet. They are marked from zero to 10. A flawless performance of each movement is seldom achieved. When this happens judges are excited because they rarely give a 10.

After the test, the rider's individual movement scores are added and a final score is calculated as a percentage of the possible score that the rider could achieve for that particular test. The highest percentage wins the class.

The movements

Horses and riders are judged on how well they perform certain movements in tests that match each horse's level of training. These are:

Watching dressage

The key to enjoying dressage is to watch the rides and try to see how they differ and why one person's score is better than another's. It takes many years of training and great concentration of both horse and rider to perform well. You should expect to see calm, obedient, smooth rides with the horse's ears forward or turned toward the rider, and clearly "listening" to the rider's instructions, although no actual words will be spoken during a test. The horse should look happy.

Celebrity equestrians

Princess Anne: champion equestrian and member of the 1976 British Olympic team.

Prince Charles: avid polo player.

Douglas Fairbanks and Spencer Tracy: Used to play in weekly polo matches at Will Rogers' ranch home in the hills above Santa Monica, Calif.

Carson Kressley: Champion clothes horse from "Queer Eye" was a member of the U.S. World Cup Equestrian Team.

William Shatner: Latest Enterprise: founding the Hollywood Charity Horseshow.

Mickey Dolenz: The former Monkee has played in celebrity polo matches.

Madonna: Recently broke her collarbone in a riding spill.

Michael Owen: The English soccer star likes to saddle up when he's not scoring goals for the national side.

Christopher Reeve: The actor who played "Superman" was paralyzed and later died as a result of a riding accident.

Shania Twain: The country-pop singing star owns five show horses.

Bruce Springsteen: The rock icon rides horses with his daughter; attends most of her competitions.