United States Eventing Association

2022 USEA FEH and YEH Championship Judges Announced

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) proudly offers three regional Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships and two regional Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships annually. Together, the FEH and YEH programs have created a pipeline for young horses to showcase their talent, while judges identify horses that will be successful at the four-star and five-star levels of eventing.

The USEA Future Event Horse Championships

The 2022 USEA Future Event Horse Championships offer classes for yearlings, two-year-old, three-year-old and four-year-old horses. Yearlings and two-year-old horses will compete in-hand around the triangle formation, while three- and four-year-old horses will also be required to free jump through the jump chute. The USEA recently announced format changes for the three-year-old division, which can be found here.

USEA FEH Championships will once again be offered in three regions: east coast, west coast, and central. The USEA FEH East Coast Championships will take place at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland September 17-18, 2022. The judges will be Katie Rocco and Wayne Quarles.

The USEA FEH Central Championships will take place at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas on October 9, 2022. The Central Championships judges will be Christel Carlson and Karen Winn.

The USEA FEH West Coast Championships will take place at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California October 28-29, 2022, which will also run in conjunction with the USEA YEH West Coast Championships. The judges for the FEH West Coast Championships will be Katie Rocco and Marilyn Payne.

All three FEH Championship venues will offer a last chance qualifier the day before their respective championships. Horses must earn a 72 percent or higher at any FEH qualifier event to be eligible for the Championships, and horses may only compete in one championship.

The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse Championships

The 2022 Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse Championships offer classes for four-year-old and five-year-old horses, who compete in three sections: dressage, conformation, jumping/galloping. The program offers one championship on the east coast and one championship on the west coast, which are both judged by the same judges in order to offer overall national awards and recognition. The Holekamp/Turner Grant is given to highest scorer of the USEA Young Event Horse 5-year-old Championships, both East and West Coast Championships combined, with cash that enables them to travel to the FEI World Young Horse Championships at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France for the 7-year-old three-star Championships. The Dutta Corp. awards one round trip flight to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient, for the horse to compete at La Mondial du Lion.

The Dutta Corp. USEA East Coast Championships will take place at Fair Hill in Elkton, Maryland alongside the Maryland 5 Star, October 13-14, 2022. The West Coast Championships will take place at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, October 28-29, 2022.

The judges for the 2022 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast and West Coast Championships will be Marilyn Payne (USA) and Martin Plewa (GER). Payne is a young horse expert who is the Chair of the USEA Young Event Horse Committee, and Plewa is one of Germany’s leading experts in training riders, coaches and horses, who has an exceptional expertise in young horses.

Additionally, due to anticipated large entry numbers, the Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast Championships will bring on four domestic judges to judge the 4-year-old Championship. Debbie Rodriguez will judge the 4-year-old dressage phase on the east coast while Anne Moss judges the 4-year-old conformation phase. Karen Winn and Phyllis Dawson will judge the jumping and galloping phase together.

To qualify for the 2022 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast Championships, horses must earn a score of 75 percent or higher at any YEH qualifying event. To qualify for the 2021 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championships, horses must earn a score of 70 percent or higher at any YEH qualifying event. Horses may only compete at one championship. Four-year-old horses may also qualify for both FEH and YEH Championships, but may only compete at one program championship.

For more information regarding the FEH Program or YEH Program, contact Kate Lokey at [email protected] or (703) 779-9897.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program
The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee Premium Products, Saratoga Horseworks, Capital Square, Kerrits, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program
The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four and five, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Premium Products, Parker Equine Insurance, Saratoga Horseworks, Capital Square, Kerrits, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championship