For course designer, Francesco Finocchiaro, next Saturday is an important day as he will learn just how successful he has been in the creation of his track for the 2013 FEI European Pony Championships for Eventing at Arezzo Equestrian Centre (Italy). It is always a big challenge to present fences and distances that will allow the best ponies and riders to demonstrate their skills while ensuring that the less experienced partnerships also stay safe, and return with a sense of achievement. Some of the riders, and some of their ponies, will be familiar with the tension, stress and excitement of the big occasion, but for others it is their very first time to take part in a competition of this calibre and it is essential that they are not overwhelmed by it all.

Finocchiaro has had the added challenge of creating a course from scratch, because Arezzo Equestrian Centre has never catered for Eventing competition before. The layout of the site means that he has had to link new ground at one end of the equestrian complex with the final group of fences that run through the Boccaccio arena, which is named after the famous Italian poet and author Giovanni Boccaccio.

Talking about his approach to the task, Finocchiaro said today “course designing for pony competition is just the same as for a normal cross-country. It is about striking a balance while also testing the competitors”. He said that all fences on the new course at Arezzo are built at the maximum height of 1.05m, with the exception of the first fence. “There are six combination fences and the most technical are fences 15 and 16. The Bank to the Skinny at 22 and 23 may also be difficult for some - these two fences have to ridden accurately”. And he also believes the water at Boccaccio’s Lake, fence 19 in the main arena, may be influential because of the bending line to the following fence 20.

In order to connect the first group of 17 fences with the remaining part of the track, there is a sand surface that runs almost the full length of the Arezzo site with just a single jump located along this stretch, the Wheelbarrow at Fence 18. Finocchiaro is acutely aware of the need to ensure that the ponies and riders don’t go too fast, “so I have designed the course so that they will have to slow down in places, and all the fences have a safe profile”. That doesn’t mean the obstacles will be small or easy however. “I use a lot of brush fences which are safer but are more impressive to the ponies. They stand taller, but if the pony makes a mistake it won’t be a big problem”. He doesn’t expect that time will be a big factor. “The optimum time is 7 minutes 9 seconds and I don’t expect too many time faults” he pointed out. There are 24 obstacles with 30 jumping efforts on the course which is 3,718 metres in length with a speed of 520 metres per minute.

Finocchiaro has been designing cross-country tracks for more than 20 years and has been working as a trainer with both horses and ponies for 30 years. Based in Rome, and sometimes in Perugia which is about 80 kilometres from Arezzo, he regularly creates courses up to 3-Star level for events all across Italy. “My aim here” said the 55-year-old course-design maestro today, “is to ensure we have a nice, balanced course that will be good for the experienced combinations and not too difficult for the rest”.

The FEI European Pony Eventing Championship begins tomorrow (Thursday) when the first group of riders do their Dressage test.