A First Hand Report of The IDHSNA/USEA FEH Competition at Serra Valley Farms

Updated: 2009-10-13

By Victoria Carson

Sunday morning was rainy and misty for the IDHSNA/USEA Future Event Horse Competition held September 27 at Serra Valley Farms in Mount Airy, Maryland. The indoor at Serra Valley was bright and well-lit.  Some of the "regular" competitors were there, but this FEH included a number of first-time presenters as well.  

(Left: DeLiza, winner of the two-year-old division earned an impressive 79.9 the highest score of the day. Lynn Hoffman Photo.)

The competition was judged by Suzanne Quarles who I have great respect for as a breeder and judge of young stock, so I was eager to hear her opinion of how two-year-old DeLiza (bred by me, owned by Brett Schrack, trained and handled by my daughter Domenique, a.k.a. Nicki) is shaping up.  Suzanne did her usual thorough job of evaluating each horse and conversing with each handler about the horse's strengths and weaknesses.  She also spent some time giving novice handlers tips about how to present their horses in front of the judge and on the triangle. 

Serra Valley opted to have a young horse championship this time, which was a nice touch.  Most of the horses were relaxed and well behaved.  The FEH had an early morning start, and a few folks had travel troubles due to the weather.  Show management was very accommodating and everyone got a chance to their horses.  An advantage of the early start was the rest of the combined test hadn't got rolling, so the area was quiet and there were few distractions for the young horses.  As you'd expect at an event, the competitors were friendly and sociable.  

(Above Right: Winner of the three-year-old division, Royal Tribute. The Oldenburg gelding was handled by his owner, Kristen Burgers. Below Left: Summer Reign reigned supreme in the yearling division beating out her two competitors. Lynn Hoffman Photos.)

We breeders appreciate that the USEA includes FEH competitions during horse trials.  This gives us a chance to show off our youngsters to event competitors, not just other breeders.  Serra Valley's indoor has a spacious gallery and I noticed that a number of competitors stopped in to watch for awhile. 

Hopefully the rain and the mud didn't dampen too many spirits!  For those who stayed for the day, the rain blew away by early afternoon and the weather for the remainder of the day was glorious!

Victoria Carson has been involved with the IDHSNA/USEA Future Event Horse Series since its inception in 2007. Although she doesn’t event she loves the sport and supporting her family, friends, and clients who do event. Carson was the scorer at the Serra Valley Farms FEH competition held September 27 in Mount Airy, Maryland. Her daughter, Domenique Carson, also handled a filly that was bred by Carson for one of her clients in the two-year-old class.

FEH Results

Yearlings

Two-Year-Olds

Three-Year-Olds

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