United States Eventing Association

Announcing the New Format for the 2022 USEA FEH 3-year-old Championships

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce a new format has been approved for the 2022 USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships 3-year-old division. This new format will remove the triangle presentation for 3-year-olds but instead will have the full presentation take place in the jump chute arena at all three Championship venues.

The FEH East Coast Championships will be held on Sept. 17-18, 2022, at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland. The FEH Central Championships will be held on October 9, 2022, at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas. The FEH West Coast Championships will be held on Oct. 28-29, 2022, at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California.

To qualify for the USEA FEH Championships, FEH horses must earn a minimum qualifying score of 72 percent at any qualifier to be eligible. Horses may qualify in any part of the country but may only compete in one Championship. The 4-year-old horses may also qualify for both the FEH and USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships but may only choose one program Championship to compete in, as they may not compete in both the FEH and YEH Championships in the same year.

The FEH Committee and the USEA Board of Governors approved this format change to the 3-year-old division for the championships only. During Championships, 3-year-olds will not be presented in-hand around the triangle but will instead be presented in-hand and at liberty in the jump chute enclosed arena. The horse will enter the jump chute arena with the handler and will first be judged in-hand on conformation and walking movements. Then, the reins will be detached and the FEH horse will be let loose, guided by a professional handling team, for the trot and canter evaluation. After the canter evaluation, the horse will end the presentation with the jumping evaluation in the jump chute. This format change is for the Championships only, and 3-year-olds will continue to be judged in-hand in the triangle format for all FEH qualifiers.

A triangle will continue to be used to judge the movement for yearlings and 2-year-olds, and the 4-year-olds will continue to be judged on movement under saddle.

“This new format change is a step in the right direction,” said Susan Graham White, FEH Committee Co-Chair. “This change will help ensure the safety of FEH Championship participants, it will reduce the cost of handling fees, and the judges will be able to better assess the quality of trot for 3-year-olds. In future years, we would like to eventually have the yearlings and 2-year-olds evaluated in the jump chute arena as well.”

Click here to view the updated FEH Rules.

Start planning the FEH season by viewing the 2022 FEH Calendar.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee Premium Western Forage, Saratoga Horseworks, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.