The USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) 2021 Team Challenge calendar is now available! This new program was announced in October 2020 and so far there have been over 60 teams register and 18 team challenges added to the 2021 calendar.
This is the first year of running the IEL and team challenges will follow a similar format to the intercollegiate team challenges. IEL members should contact the show organizer to sign up for a team challenge.
Please keep in mind the calendar below is a tentative list of events hosting IEL Team Challenges and may be updated regularly. If you would like your event included on this schedule, please email Claire Kelley at [email protected].
Check out the 2021 calendar of IEL team challenges.
Event |
Date |
Ocala Winter I H.T. (Area III) |
Feb. 11-14, 2021 |
Sporting Days II H.T. (Area III) |
March 6-7, 2021 |
Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (Area V) |
March 26-28, 2021 |
Poplar Place H.T. (Area III) |
March 27-28, 2021 |
Poplar Place H.T. (Area III) |
May 8-9, 2021 |
Waredaca H.T. (Area II) | May 1-2, 2021 |
Mill Creek Pony Club H.T. (Area IV) | May 15-16, 2021 |
Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (Area V) |
May 15-16, 2021 |
VHT International & H.T. (Area II) |
May 27-28, 2021 |
Poplar Place H.T. (Area III) |
June 5-6, 2021 |
The Maryland H.T. at Loch Moy Farm (Area II) |
July 2-4, 2021 |
Cobblestone Farms I H.T. (Area VIII) |
July 3-4, 2021 |
Full Moon Farm H.T. (Area II) |
July 18, 2021 |
Cobblestone Farms II H.T. (Area VIII) |
August 6-9, 2021 |
Waredaca H.T. (Area II) | August 14-15, 2021 |
Five Points H.T. (Area II) |
August 28-29, 2021 |
Flying Cross Farm H.T. (Area VIII) |
September 18-19, 2021 |
Poplar Place H.T. (Area III) |
Oct. 9-10, 2021 |
Waredaca Classic Three-Day Event and H.T. (Area II) | Oct. 22-24, 2021 |
VHT International & H.T. (Area II) |
Oct. 28-30, 2021 |
Texas Rose Horse Park H.T. (Area V) |
November 6-7, 2021 |
Full Moon Farm H.T. (Area II) |
November 7, 2021 |
*At this time, there is no championship for the IEL program.
*Please contact [email protected] if you wish to host a team challenge.
A scoring template for team challenges can be found here. For team challenge results to be published on the USEA website, please send to Claire Kelley at [email protected].
The USEA looks forward to seeing the IEL members out competing this year!
In August 2020, the USEA Board of Governors approved the creation of the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) as an official program of the USEA. The mission of IEL is to bring together junior riders who are in the 7-12th grade and provide a supportive community through which students can continue to pursue their riding interests. A group of junior members in the 7th-12th grade who share a common bond (same barn, same school, same Pony Club, etc.) register with the USEA as an interscholastic team. For more information on the IEL program, please visit the IEL homepage.
We’ve all been there—on the horse who pokes his way around the warm-up ring, needs leg, leg, leg coming into the combination, or brings up the rear on every trail ride. None of us wants each and every ride to be a lower-body squeezefest, nor do we wish to do anything with our crop except maybe wave it at that annoying deerfly. In this excerpt from his book The Sport Horse Problem Solver, former international eventer Eric Smiley explains the essential quality of forwardness and how to prepare the horse to expect you to look for it in all that you do together.
The inaugural USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) Championships may have been the pinnacle for program members of the IEL last year, but that’s not the only exciting achievement that occurred in 2024. A total of 41 events offered IEL Team Challenges for over 360 program members, and in the end, a year-end leaderboard champion was named at every level from Starter through Intermediate. The following IEL members worked tirelessly with their clubs and on their own competitive journeys in 2024 to earn the title of Interscholastic Rider of the Year at their respective level. Join us in congratulating these up-and-coming eventers on their success!
Veterinary pathologist Susan Hart has been trapped in an “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” loop on the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) Volunteer Leaderboard since 2022. After two years of chipping away at the leaderboard, 2024 was finally her year to proverbially walk down the aisle. With a total of 691 and a half hours, Hart topped the leaderboard to become the 2024 USEA Volunteer of the Year, sponsored by Mrs. Pastures, and win the first gold medal in USEA VIP history, which is awarded for achieving over 2,000 lifetime volunteer hours.
Day 3 of the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) Symposium at Galway Downs was all about correct cross-country position after an informative discussion from sports psychologist Natalie Hummel.