Lucinda Green's Equestrian Challenge (Sony PlayStation 2, 2006)

I became interested in "horsey" type games after playing Shadow of The Colossus and have several different programs/games for PS2 and PC. I bought Lucinda Greens Equestrian Challenge from a US seller after searching for horse related games and I can honestly say that it was money well-spent! The postage cost more than the game but it was worth it. The graphics are fantastic for a start, and you can actually create a male or female rider from numerous options and even design your own horse, ie colour, size, gender, markings, breed etc. As with most of these games it's simply a case of improving your dressage, show jumping and cross country skills in order to take part in main events. Difficulty ranges from easy to hard, and on easy the horse will jump automatically. You can also watch replays after each event has finished, which is good for dressage because you have to push various buttons as a marker passes over them and you don't get time to see what your horse is doing!
The more you train your horse the more points you earn to increase various attributes, stamina, trust, agility, jumping and speed. You get 5 points for easy options and 7 for hard. Each attribute has a maximum of 100 and if you want a perfect horse before you begin that's a lot of training to do. You also have to feed, water and treat your horse sometimes too. You start with water and hay and a hand for patting, and can unlock carrots, sugar lumps, a brush, a sponge, fly repellant, apples and probably something else I can't remember. The sound effects of the horse eating are extremely realistic. As you progress you can also unlock good tack, saddles and outfits, and in later stages you can unlock excellent tack and outfits, all of which can be customised.
You'll need an NTSC PS2 to play this game or a Swap Magic gadget that allows you to play imported games because I don't think there's a PAL version released in the UK just yet, which is a shame because it's a perfect riding game and one I'm very pleased to have in my collection. If you're thinking about buying one, do.

I've been playign horse games for years and I'm always searching for new games to play. So far, this game tops my charts. The graphics are great and I've had no problems with the graphics slowing at any point in the game. The realistic movements are also great to find as I've played a few where I wanted to stab the creators for not knowing how a horse moves.

As for taking care of the horse, unlike some games it doesn't take forever just to clean it, meaning more time to ride. And isnt that the whole point of anyone buying this game?

Also unlike most games, this game has 3 levels of play. In easy the jumping is automatic and the dressage is much more leniant. On normal the jumping becomes manual but sometimes th egame gives you help by putting the horse on 'slow-mo' and reminding you to hit the jump button. And on Hard you get no help jumping, but it's really not too hard even then. You can also change a LOT about your character (boy/girl, hair color, eyes, nationality, general face shape) and of course on your horse (3 different breeds, tons of coat combinations, even height!). You are also able to have more than one horse at a time once you earn it, and you can also retire horses. And if you're like me, you'll love the idea of the buttons used being displayed on the side of the screen in case you happen to forget.

The only thing this games lacks is a story line, but I know that many of us would rather just ride anyway, rather fool with having to go on 'quests'.

So as the rating says, this game really is one of the best, if not THE best horse game right now. So if you have the cash to spend and love horse games, then pick this up!

I'm an eventer and this game is very accurate in both jumping and cross crountry. Almost feels like you are really riding. The dressage is ok, not as realistic. Good mental game when preparing for eventing. I would recomend this game to anyone.

I have every horse game know to man even ones that aren't sold in the US . This game is almost as good as equestriad . I wish they would come out with a new version for that but I guess I have to test everything else . This game could be long but it is very goos to teach some rideing skills . I love the graphics very real looking horses movements are very exact and correct . The only thing is that the horse is on the wrong lea most of the time. I don't like that . Everything else is great . The hard mode is hard but fun I would suggest don't in all three modes it give the game a little length . The horse are Beautiful and big anll different colors and markings . Love this game can't wait for the computer verison to come out.

I bought the Equestrian Challenge for Playstation about three weeks ago and I was impressed. There were awesome graphics and the competitions weren't too hard but weren't too easy. I would highly recommend this game for all the horse lovers out there.