Hickstead's Famous Fences Explained: The Derby Bank, Devil's Dyke and More

Every summer, British show jumping's attention swings to the All England Jumping Course at Hickstead — the Derby meeting in June, then the Royal International in late July. And every summer, a new generation of riders watches a horse tip carefully over the edge of the Derby Bank and asks the same question: why would anyone build that? The answer is a lesson in course design thinking that applies far below Derby level.

The Derby Bank

The most famous obstacle in British jumping: a steep grass bank standing around 10ft 6in (3.2m) high. Horses climb up one side, balance across the top, and descend the near-vertical face before meeting a rail just strides after landing. It isn't a jump so much as a test of trust — the horse cannot see the landing until it's committed, so the fence examines training, bravery and the partnership itself.

The design lesson: a question doesn't need height to be hard. The bank's rail at the bottom is small. What makes the line difficult is the state the horse arrives in — off balance, downhill, adrenaline up. When you design at home, think about what each fence does to the canter, because that's what the next fence will inherit.

The Devil's Dyke

A combination through a hollow: rails in, a fence over the ditch at the bottom, rails out — with the ground falling and rising through the middle. Striding that walks conventionally rides completely differently because the terrain changes the horse's balance and stride length mid-combination.

The design lesson: going and gradient change distances. Even on a flat arena, deep or holding surface shortens strides and makes a textbook line ride long — our distances guide covers the adjustments, and it's why the YardForge stride model lets you set going and slope rather than trusting the tape alone.

The open water

Hickstead's water jump is wide, inviting a genuine gallop — and yet it catches horses out every year, usually behind rather than in front. Horses that back off drop a toe in the tape; riders who chase flat lose the balance they need two fences later.

The design lesson: wide beats high for testing rhythm. A water tray or Liverpool at any level asks the same question in miniature — see our Liverpool riding and training guide for the progression that stops water being spooky in the first place.

Why Derby-style fences mostly vanished — and what survived

Permanent obstacles like banks, dykes and big open water largely disappeared from everyday show jumping as arenas standardised: they're expensive, they need land, and modern sport favours technical rail fences. But their DNA survived. The bending line that tempts an inside track, the fence placed just after a rein change, the distance that rides forward off a downhill turn — all are polite descendants of Derby questions: they test what state horse and rider are in when they arrive.

Steal the thinking, not the bank

You can't dig a Devil's Dyke into a hired arena, but you can design its logic into any track:

  • Place one fence where the previous line disturbs the canter — after the tight turn, not before it.
  • Use spread and shape instead of height to change how a fence rides.
  • Build one line every course that tempts a faster track but rewards the balanced one — the jump-off design principles apply to first rounds too.

Sketch a Derby-inspired track for your own level in the course designer — keep the heights honest for your class, and let the validator check the distances while you concentrate on the questions. The bank stays at Hickstead; the thinking travels anywhere.