Steeplechase is a type of horse racing popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland (where it’s known as National Hunt racing), as well as in France, Australia, and in the United States, particularly the mid-Atlantic region. Named for early races in which races began at one church steeple and ended at another, steeplechase horse racing is based on the concept of the countryside’s natural and man-made features providing an obstacle course. Horses and their riders must negotiate an unpredictable terrain, jumping over fences and ditches, rather than racing on a flat, controlled course.