United States Eventing Association

Over 211 Thoroughbreds traveled to the Kentucky Horse Park to compete at the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds on August 31 – September 5. There were four T.I.P. registered horses competing in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final, four in the Intermediate Championship, 20 in the Bates Preliminary divisions, 11 in the Vetoquinol Modified Championship, 51 in the Training divisions, 64 in the Novice divisions, and 57 in the Beginner Novice divisions.

The USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) were a huge success this year, garnering a record-breaking 58 ATC teams at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds. The ATC provides USEA Adult Rider program members with the chance to compete as a team and represent their Area in a friendly and fun environment at the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, and Preliminary levels.

Following his impressive performance which resulted in Team Gold and Individual Silver medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Great Britain's Tom McEwen shared some of his top tips to keep in mind when walking your cross-country courses.

Perhaps one of the best reasons to be a member of USEA is the opportunity to qualify for and participate in the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. This year there was a record 1,178 entries and a waitlist of over 150. There were 1,009 pinnies handed out and 939 horses started the competition. All combined it made for the largest horse trials in USEA history. Competitions ran in all USEA divisions and additional prizes were given for teams, incentive programs, amateur, and young rider divisions.

“Hey, quick question,” Jane Mortensen asked the USEA team at the media tent of the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. “Do you happen to know how old the oldest horse competing here this week is?”

Nicole is joined by Boyd Martin and Gerlinde Beckers to relive the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds! Nicole and Boyd talk about On Cue and their experience in the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final, while she and Gerlinde chat about her fairytale finish in the Beginner Novice Master Amateur division.

The championships will take place over the Labor Day weekend and the tourist season in Montana will still be in full swing. As a result, it is essential that riders make hotel and car rental reservations immediately. This year, due to a massive influx of visitors, hotels were fully booked months ahead and there was not a car to be rented within a hundred-mile radius. You can always cancel in the event you are unable to travel to Montana next year, but we want to alert you to the need to make your reservations early to avoid disappointment and stress.

Volunteering is an essential part of the sport of eventing. With fences to be judged, scores to be tallied, rings to be stewarded and countless more tasks to be accomplished throughout each day, event organizers rely on the invaluable help of event volunteers to keep events running smoothly. These efforts are monumental at any regular horse trial but are magnified exponentially when it comes to the production of the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds (AEC).

On the final day of competition for the Preliminary Rider division at the 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds, Sallie Johnson and her Irish Sport Horse gelding, Fernhill DiCaprio (Finnanloon Flight x Finnan Scarlet) were named the reserve champion combination after an intense three-day event period in which the pair managed to come in only 0.3 points behind the winner. In March of 2021, Johnson was making an impossible decision – whether or not it was in his best interest to put the gelding to sleep.

The vast majority of riders who compete at the lower levels of eventing are amateurs and most of them have “proper” jobs. After all, horses and eventing need paying for! Often, this means these riders work at a desk and are what strength and conditioning coach Tony Sandoval refers to as “desk jockeys.”