23. may - 8. june 2025
On the first weekend, dressage riders will have the opportunity to compete both internationally and nationally.
The highlight of the first weekend will be our league’s World Cup stage, along with various other international and national classes.
During the second and third weeks, five days of competitions will be offered for show jumpers, carriage drivers, and eventers. Show jumpers, in particular, will have the chance to earn world ranking points in the 145 cm Grand Prix on the Sunday of the second week. The third week will conclude with another World Cup stage.
According to international equestrian terminology, the following competitions will be held at Maria Farm:
23.-25. may, 2025 CDI2*-W, CDI1*, CDICh, CDIP, CDIJ, CDIY, CDIU25, CDIAm, CDIYH
28. may-1. june, 2025 CAI3*-H1/P1/H2/P2, CAI2*-H1/P1/H2/P2
28. may-1. june, 2025 CSI2*, CSI1*, CSIYH1
3.-8. june, 2025 CSI2*-W, CSI1*, CSIYH1, CSI2*-W
3.-8. june, 2025 CCI2*-S, CCN100, CCN80
CHI – Concour Hippique Internationale – refers in international equestrian sport to a competition where international events in different equestrian disciplines are held simultaneously at the same location.
We have translated this into Estonian as "equestrian sports festival."
The most well-known event of this kind is CHIO Aachen, where over the course of one and a half weeks, show jumpers, dressage riders, eventers, carriage drivers, and vaulters all compete.
CHI Pärnu – What does such an event entail?
Around the world, several equestrian festivals have gained significant popularity. The largest and most well-known of these is CHIO Aachen in Germany, near the Belgian border. By the way, the “O” in CHIO stands for an official team competition. In Aachen, competitions are traditionally held in show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, and vaulting. Other notable examples include CHIO Rotterdam and CHI Geneva.
Usually, each equestrian discipline holds its competitions separately, but several organizers worldwide have found ways to create synergy between disciplines and organize equestrian festivals. Equestrian sport has a long-standing French-language background, and it is from this linguistic base that international competition terminology originates.
The CHI taking place at Maria Farm uses the official term of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to denote a competition where events from multiple disciplines take place simultaneously — essentially an equestrian sports festival (also referred to as “games”). The acronym comes from the French phrase Concours Hippique Internationale.
The general public is likely familiar with the term equestrian sport, but those less involved may not know that it actually comprises several distinct disciplines. The Olympic program includes show jumping, dressage, and eventing. Other disciplines include driving, endurance riding, vaulting, and western riding.
What are the disciplines in equestrian sport?
Show Jumping is an equestrian discipline where the horse and rider aim to clear a course of obstacles (a jumping course) without faults and as quickly as possible.
Faults are penalized as follows:
Knocking down an obstacle: 4 penalty points
Refusal to jump an obstacle:
First refusal: 4 penalty points
Second refusal: Elimination from the competition
Exceeding the allotted time: 1 penalty point for every 4 seconds started
Obstacles are built so that at least their top part is displaceable. Depending on difficulty, the course includes 8–14 obstacles, some of which may be combinations (groups of 2, 3, or rarely 4 jumps with 1–2 gallop strides in between).
Dressage is a discipline in which the rider performs a prescribed sequence of movements in a 20 x 60 meter arena, using three gaits: walk, trot, and canter.
The sequence is called a test or pattern. The points where movements are executed are marked with letters along the arena’s perimeter. Judges score each movement on a scale from 0 to 10, and also provide collective marks for the horse’s quality of movement and the rider’s seat and use of aids.
Tests are grouped into different levels based on difficulty. In Estonia, these levels are denoted by letters: A, L, M, and R.
Internationally, the highest level is Grand Prix, which includes complex classical dressage movements such as passage, piaffe, pirouettes, and flying changes every 2 or 1 stride.
Eventing combines dressage, show jumping, and a thrilling cross-country phase over solid natural obstacles.
The name "eventing" reflects the fact that results are based on the combined score from all three phases.
Both the rider and horse need solid foundational skills in all three areas, much like a triathlon in athletics — which has also brought Estonia fame.
Driving is a rapidly growing and exciting discipline in Estonia.
Similar to eventing, driving competitions have three parts: dressage, marathon, and cones (precision driving).
The driver sits in a carriage pulled by one, two, or four horses or ponies. The final result is determined by the total penalty points from all three phases.
The driver is assisted by a groom, who helps with all necessary tasks and balances the carriage during the marathon by hanging off the back in turns and curves.
Endurance Riding tests the stamina of both horse and rider.
It involves covering long distances, with national competitions starting at 30 km and international championships reaching up to 160 km.
Distances are not ridden in one go — mandatory rest stops are held at intervals to ensure horse welfare, with veterinarians checking the horse’s recovery.
The winner is the one who completes the course in the shortest time.
Vaulting is essentially gymnastics on horseback.
While the horse trots in a circle on a lunge line, the vaulter performs gymnastic exercises on its back, varying in difficulty.
Training often includes traditional gymnastics routines, with some sessions practiced directly on the horse.
Vaulting is the only equestrian discipline with separate categories for men and women.
Western Riding (Reining) is a discipline originating from America (cowboys, Wild West), and remains most popular there.
It features ranch-type horses and demonstrates their speed, agility, and maneuverability.
In the arena, riders perform movements such as 360-degree spins, sliding stops, and quickly executed patterns at high speed.
More information about the CHI Pärnu competitions can be found here.