The birth of modern equestrian sport in the 1870s saw the advent of tournaments in which high jump and long jump were featured events. The first National Horse Show took place in Madison Square Garden, New York, in 1883, and by the turn of the century, tournaments were being held regularly, especially throughout the major European cities. One of the fathers of showjumping, Lieutenant Federico Caprilli, an Italian cavalry officer, became well-known for his progressive style – a light, forward seat that other competitors eventually adopted. Around 1900 in Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, new ideas and initiatives included obstacles such as the triple bar, a ridden water, the open ditch (Trakehner), and the Irish bank. An analysis of course design during the early part of the last century saw simple lines with many obstacles borrowed from countryside features.
Tracks for the more important jumping classes were long, some having more than 20 jumps, and changes of rein were minimal. In fact, Arno Gego, for many years the resident course designer at Aachen, said that the 1925 Aachen Grand Prix included no change of rein, despite a ‘bold loop’ in the second half of the course. Also, “In 1937, the CHIO Aachen had 39 judges and other members of the ground jury (predominantly aristocracy and military), and there was only one man (retired equerry Wilhelm Morgen) responsible for the obstacles.” Gego remarked that, at that time, course design was not a traditional responsibility in equestrian sport and that it was referred to simply as obstacle building – a manual task.
Several key people were instrumental in progressing course design in the early 1950s: General Lombardi of Italy, who won the Aachen Grand Prix in 1930, Colonel Brinckmann from Germany, Dr. Bertelan de Némethy from the United States, Frenchman Colonel Hamon, Colonel Anselm from Great Britain (all former members of prestigious military riding schools), and the lone horsewoman, Pamela Carruthers, also from Great Britain.