Course designers have a number of tools at their disposal when building a course.

They play with the types of jumps and the elements they’re built with. They tweak the distance between lines and factor in the approach, angle, and placement of the fences in the ring. There’s the grade of the landscape to consider, not to mention the time allowed. All of which contribute to the degree of difficulty of a particular course.

Here Olympic course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) pulls back the curtain on one of those details: the construction of a fence and how course designers use it to increase the difficulty of a jump without increasing its dimensions.

Take note! (Or, you know, actual notes.)

1. Light airy jumps

Tebbel Rene (UKR) and Zipper at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. ©Hippo Foto - Dirk Caremans

Tebbel Rene (UKR) and Zipper at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. ©FEI/Hippo Foto – Dirk Caremans

“Normally, the more solid the jump is the easier it is to jump,” says Jorge. “With experienced horses, if you build a fence with too many elements—too many poles, poles and gates, a wall—it gets easier and easier to be jumped. So one of the things we can do to make it harder is to use fewer elements, to make it light in construction.”

The exception to the rule: spooky horses. “If you have a very spooky horse, then he would prefer a more lightly built jump,” he says.

2. The color of the poles

Michaels-Beerbaum Meredith (GER) and Fibonacci 17 at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio ©Hippo Foto - Dirk Caremans

Michaels-Beerbaum Meredith (GER) and Fibonacci 17 at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio ©FEI/Hippo Foto – Dirk Caremans

“Solid colors on the pole and planks are more delicate. They draw less attention from the horses,” continues Jorge. “So whenever you use a solid color pole versus a striped pole, the solid color pole will be a more difficult jump.”

Some course designers believe yellow, white, and blue are more difficult for a horse to judge. Jorge isn’t convinced that one is more difficult than the other. He does think pinstripes can be problematic.

“When you paint horizontal pin stripe on the rails that plays a little bit with the horse’s depth perception and increases the degree of difficulty,” he says.

3. Verticals with a plank

Sheik Ali bin Khaled Al Thani (QAT) and First Devision in the Olympic individual Jumping final. ©FEI/Arnd Bronkhorst

Sheik Ali bin Khaled Al Thani (QAT) and First Devision in the Olympic individual Jumping final. ©FEI/Arnd Bronkhorst

“A vertical with a plank on top is always a careful jump,” notes the Brazilian designer, “particularly narrow planks, which are very lightweight.”

4. Planks under the fence

©Guilherme Jorge

©Guilherme Jorge

“If you put a plank or design feature under a fence that can draw the horse’s attention to the bottom of the jump and take away a bit of their concentration sometimes. That will make the jump a little bit harder than just four or five poles,” says Jorge.

5. Liverpools

fall Pan Am

Liverpools, in general, make the fence more challenging, he continues. “A permanent liverpool or plastic one tests the horse’s boldness to jump over the water and also its focus.”

Placing a liverpool behind a vertical flush with the pole adds to the difficulty, he continues.

“There’s a lot of distraction for the horse behind the vertical and less reference for the take off point,” explains Jorge. “So the rider has to be very accurate on the distance and the horse has to pay attention and not get distracted by the liverpool.”

Phew. Now that you’ve got the fences figured, there’s just the other million details to take into account…