United States Eventing Association

As the curtains close on the 2024 competition season, the USEA is looking back at an incredibly busy fall season. With the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, two Dutta. Corp USEA Young Event Horse Championships, Area Championships in all 10 sections of the country, and more, there was no shortage of excitement, but the rise in IEL Team Challenges was certainly a highlight of the year for the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL). Since we last reported in October, 13 additional IEL Team Challenges were hosted at events across Areas II, III, IV, VI, and VIII, to bring the grand total for the year to 44 challenges.

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.

The U.S. Eventing Association’s (USEA) Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) has grown in leaps and bounds in 2024, with the inaugural IEL Championship held alongside the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship this spring at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina.

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.

Sixteen-year-old Izzy Lenk (Clarksburg, Maryland) loves eventing and absorbs any opportunity she can that allows her to be further involved in the sport. She recently just wrapped up a month-long working student stint with her trainer Woods Baughman in Lexington, Kentucky, and participated in the Young Rider Mentorship Program at the Young Rider Eventing Championships. She is especially proud, however, of her ongoing efforts of supporting the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) Club that she founded, the East Coast Eventers.

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.

Cross-country day always comes with a sense of anticipation, maybe some nerves or maybe excitement, but when you have a team counting on your score, those nerves usually kick into overdrive.

More than 100 horses danced between the boards at Loch Moy Farm despite the heat on the opening day of the Maryland International and USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships.