Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge

Summary
Train for and compete in dressage, cross country and show jumping events, with a little horse care in between - not unlike the "Riding Star" series. Features licensed locations and riders.

Game Design
3D, going for a realistic look. Some things are surprisingly realistic(different saddles for different disciplines), others less so. The horse, for example, sweats after a ride - a nice detail, but instead of the real "sweat patterns" or foam that form on a horse, they went with a human-style trickle from the hairline down the face, which makes the horse look oddly naked. The rider animations are very elaborated, like getting visibly frustrated after a bad try and only praising the horse after a win - very questionable! There are many different rider models, both male and female, and the horses colour, pattern and markings can be customized.

Gameplay
There are four major events, each in three difficulties. After completing training courses, the new competition gets unlocked. Winning competitions gives your horse distributable skill points and unlocks new items (clothing, saddles, food, etc).

Lucinda Green comments on the performance between rides.

Local multi-player mode for up to 4 players.

Riding Mechanics
Dressage competitions are just video sequences, where you have to press the arrow keys when highlighted. In the other events you control your horse with WASD and jump with space (auto-jumping in easy mode). In cross-country, the horse can also be "spurred" with the shift key for a speed boost, if it has enough hearts (hearts are refilled after successful jumps; the amount of hearts depends on the horse's trust points).

Horse Care Mechanics
Between events the horse can and should be cared for, which is quickly done via mouse. For hunger feed hay and carrots, apples also work against thirst. Patting the horse, spraying fly repellent and feeding sugar makes the horse happy, brushing and sponging improves the appearance.

System Requirements & Compatibility
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP/Vista Processor: Pentium III 1.4 GHz Memory: 256 MB RAM Storage: 1.5 GB hard drive space Graphics: 32 MB video card + DirectX 9.0c