Arvet från Rosemond Hill

Summary
One day Annie’s dream comes true - she inherits a horse! She gets a stall and new friends at the glorious Rosemond Hill Estate. As Annie you take care of your horses, train and compete in preparation for the big challenge - Kingswood Championships.

Game Design
The game is simplistic in its 3D but the world is quite detailed non the less.

Gameplay
You train and compete in eventing also known as horse trials, which includes show jumping, steeplechase and cross-country. Normally it would be dressage instead of steeplechase but they opted out of dressage for the game. The steeplechase is much like the cross-country but a shorter course.

Riding Mechanics
The speed of the horse increases while the forward arrow key is held. If you press it continuously your horse will go faster until it fills the first bar, which is the max speed. If you keep pressing after the first bar is full, the second bar gets filled and the horse starts to get exhausted. If you let go of the arrow key the speed gets slower but the exhaustion will drain.

It's a fine line to thread trying to reach max speed with least exhaustion.

If your horse is too exhausted during a competition you might be eliminated for not caring about your horse's well-being.

Care
When you are close to a horse its needs show at the bottom of a screen. If one of the icon blinks it means you need to take care of that need.



Training
At Rosemond Hill there are three tracks to train at, a show jumping course, a terrain ride and a steeplechase. You can train at them whenever you want, but sometimes you need to do it because of the horse's needs. Before each new competition you unlock the ability to train for them through the main menu. Training for the courses through the main menu does not affect your saves in any way.

Competitions
Before you can compete you have to finish all the important events in each chapter. When you are ready the mailbox icon will start to blink. To start the competition you simply open the mailbox and read the invitation.

Before the competition starts you get a short video clip with an introduction to the area and courses. After that you are thrown into the show jumping course and after that the steeplechase. Before the terrain ride your horse undergoes a health check to see if they are in a fit state to continue after the steeplechase. If you pushed your horse too hard in the previous competition you might not be able to continue and you get disqualified.

After each part you get to see your position on the scoreboard. The scores get added up after each competition, so if you don’t win all three you still have a chance to take the cup, or at least a placement.

After the horse trials are finished and you’ve secured a top 3 finish you get to pick a new horse to add to your stable. A higher placement gives more horses to choose from.