United States Eventing Association

Just over a year ago, Arielle Aharoni’s world came crashing down when her long-time partner Dutch Times suffered an injury on cross-country at the MARS Maryland 5 Star within sight of the finish flags. Now, with “Dutch” safely on the mend, she has her sights set on a bright future with his full brother, Notorious, and other up-and-comers.

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is excited to announce a request for expressions of interest to host the first standalone USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships in 2026 and 2027. With the success of the inaugural joint championships in 2024, the USEA is confident that the progression of these programs lends to a standalone event for these hardworking students in 5^th through 12^th grade and undergraduate college programs.

If you attended the USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships this year at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, you would have been hard pressed to look anywhere on grounds without seeing Randolph-Macon College’s signature yellow and black school colors buzzing around. The college fielded a personal record-breaking five teams made up of 18 students at this year’s championship and brought a substantial entourage of grooms, supporters, and fans along for the ride as well.

What do a cultural anthropologist and an equestrian have in common? One answer would be Dr. Aubrey Graham. Aubrey went from specializing in humanitarian aid in the Congo to mastering the art of re-training off-the-track Thoroughbreds (OTTBs) to be the best that they can be.

Breathtaking beaches, sparkling water, tropical flowers and Haleakalā National Park: When most people think of Maui, that’s what comes to mind. That’s not the case for Gaby Ruane. For Gaby, Maui is the place where she realized she wanted to become an equestrian professional.

Kate Homan’s eventing schedule keeps her pretty busy. Between campaigning horses and teaching a small string of clients across northern New Hampshire, she spends her spring and summer seasons focused on her horses while her fiance works their 100-head dairy cattle operation. And as if that wasn’t enough to have to juggle, once the weather starts to cool down just north of the White Mountains, Homan turns her attention to her other passion—sled dog racing.

Last fall while competing at the Virginia Horse Center Eventing Fall Horse Trials, Mandolin Whitten and her Virginia Tech teammates won the intercollegiate challenge and started to get some exciting ideas. It had been nearly three years since the school had fielded a team at the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship, and this time, they had enough riders to form a team and a half.

After record-breaking participation at this year’s event, the United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is proud to remind program members that the second annual USEA Intercollegiate and Interscholastic Eventing Championships will take place at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, in 2025. The Stable View Local Charities H.T. on May 3-4 will serve as the host event for both championships, yet again offering a year-end goal for students to strive towards that fosters a pipeline for participation in the sport from grade school through college and beyond.

The USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships wrapped up at the Maryland International with an exciting show jumping finale today. In the end, three mares topped the individual podiums at the one-, two-, and three-star levels, and in the team competition, clear rounds were not easy to come by over Chris Barnard’s courses, making for a nail-biting finish.

It was 1987 in southern Illinois when an eventing superstar was born. Lauren Nicholson’s parents were accustomed to seeing horses throughout their neighborhood, but they knew nothing about equestrian sport at the elite level. When Lauren was 6 years old, they helped her pursue lessons at a local stable in southern Illinois, but they had no idea how far those lessons would eventually take her. A passion was ignited that was so strong, it would drive her to help the United States claim the team gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, and go on to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.