United States Eventing Association

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.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds (AEC) is the annual national championship for every level of the Olympic equestrian sport of eventing. The USEA is officially accepting bids for the following service providers at the 2025 USEA AEC which takes place Aug. 26-31, at Galway Downs in Temecula, California.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. He is quite the athlete!” Such comments are fairly common for Jennifer Skinner to hear about her American Quarter Horse stallion Bullys Legacy (“Diggy”). Eleven years ago Skinner, a professional barrel racing and young horse trainer in Bryan, Texas, welcomed the bay colt into the world—he’d been the culmination of dream bloodlines, bred for a career in her industry.

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce that That’s Me Z, owned by Tommy Greengard and Andrea M. Pfeiffer, is the likely recipient of the 2024 Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corp. prize. That’s Me Z (Take A Chance On Me Z x Venetia) is a 7-year-old Zangersheide gelding ridden by Greengard and was bred by Simons Roeland. The pair aims to represent the U.S. at the 2024 FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in the 7-year-old CCIYH3*-L championship. The championship will take place at La Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France, from Oct. 17-20.

Cora’s four-star win with James Alliston in the mare’s first event at the level, along with Tamie Smith’s victories with her veterans Mai Baum at Intermediate and Kynan in the three-star, were highlights of the 2024 Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California. Also, Get Wild and Gabriella Ringer won the CCI2*-S after capturing the CCI2*-L at this year’s Twin Rivers Spring International. Lauren Burnell returned to FEI competition with a victory in the CCI1*-S aboard Freedom Hill after what she described as “a pretty intense hip surgery last October.” And, in the USEA’s Young Event Horse (YEH) qualifiers, Andrea Baxter and MBF Dig Deep won the 4-year-old division, and Amber Birtcil was one-two in the 5-year-old division with Zippity Doodah and Orpheus.

U.S. Olympic eventing team Will Coleman and Diabolo, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Diarado x Roulett M) owned by the Diabolo Group, jumped around clear and in the time to maintain their lead in the Plantation Field International Three-Day Event $40,000 Brooke USA CCI4*-S.

U.S. Olympic eventing team member William Coleman and Diabolo, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Diarado x Roulett M) owned by the Diabolo Group, took the early lead in the Plantation Field International $40,000 Brooke USA CCI4*-S with a steady and accurate dressage test (23.9). Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF, a 17-year-old Trakehner gelding (Windfall 2 x Thabana) owned by the Turner family, are second (27.9) and Michael Nolan and Carrabeg Hulla Balou, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Balou Du Rouet x Vella Flavour) owned by Balou Sport Horses, are third (28.2). A total of 37 horses headed down the centerline in this division.

The Classic Three-Day Event Series, which features seven competitions each year, is a beloved program of the USEA that gives Beginner Novice to Preliminary level competitors the chance to experience the unforgettable rush of the classic long-format three-day event. At each event, competitors are immersed in an educational weekend that revives all the elements that we know and love from the old school competition format - roads and tracks, steeplechase, and cross-country on "endurance day," as well as horse inspections and more!

This month’s VIP Volunteers are a mother and daughter duo who have a unique tradition that started over four decades ago: volunteering at the Kentucky Horse Park together. While both Marjorie “Marji” Hines and her daughter, Robinson Regen, have a pleasure riding background, and Hines used to work cattle with her father on the family farm, they knew very little about eventing when they first started volunteering.

As I walk down the ramp into the Rolex Arena to compete in the 2024 $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds, I ask myself, “What am I doing here?” I look around in the warmup area, and everyone is a big-name rider—several are past Olympians—and here I am, a rider no one has heard of.