Elkton, Md.—Oct. 14
Dressage gets underway today at the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, but what everybody is most excited to see is the cross-country. Longtime attendees of the venue’s previous four-star long won’t recognize much on Ian Stark’s course. It’s an entirely new route in a new location, running from Fair Hill’s steeplechase track out to the Sawmill Road Field, where cross-country is held for national-level horse trials, before looping back to finish at the steeplechase course.
Stark has said he likes to build horse-friendly courses with “rider frightener” fences, and there are plenty of those to be found on the 11-minute track.
We took a walk around the course to give you a first glimpse at what’s in store for riders on Saturday:

Fence 3AB: The Paul Bunyan Tables. The first combination on course, riders will jump this then turn left to jump another table of similar dimensions.

Fence 6: Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area Covered Bridge, a shout-out to an iconic covered bridge on the historic property.
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Fence 15ABCDEF: The Maryland Crab Water presented by Mars. There’s a gap before and a big drop after this larger-than-life depiction of one of Maryland’s famous blue crabs, which greets riders to the main water complex.

Riders taking the long route will jump a smaller 15A crab fence that is also on the CCI3*-L course then come to this, one of several single fences offering an easier path but more individual efforts.

But those going the direct route will jump out this way, over 15CDE which includes a ditch in front of the up bank.

There’s lots to look at around this complex, including this depiction of a crabbing boat. It’s not a flagged obstacle, but it looks built to be jumped in some future year.

Fence 17: The Fair Hill Flyer. An open corner with a ditch in front, reminiscent of the Vicarage Vee at Badminton (England).

Fence 18ABC: Roller Coaster and Fair Hill International Drop, a nod to Rebecca Farm (Mont.), where Ian Stark also designs the course and incorporates a rollercoaster.

Fences 19 and 20: Camden Yard Houses. These cabins are numbered separately, but if you are a five-star rider, there’s a direct line in there!

Fence 25AB: Owl Corners. There’s a pair of these artistic brush corners, one left-handed and one right-handed, for the riders to negotiate.
Get a bird’s eye view of the course via Fair Hill’s cross-country app.
Want more from the Maryland 5 Star? Follow the Chronicle’s online coverage here. You can get loads more news, analysis and photos in the Nov. 8 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse magazine. What are you missing if you don’t subscribe?