The USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) were a huge success this year, garnering a record-breaking 58 ATC teams at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds. The ATC provides USEA Adult Rider program members with the chance to compete as a team and represent their Area in a friendly and fun environment at the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, and Preliminary levels.
For the 2021 ATC at AEC, SmartPak challenged ATC teams to an additional quest- a photo scavenger hunt across the iconic Kentucky Horse Park! To participate in this year’s SmartPak Scavenger Hunt, ATC teams were asked to take photos at these designated locations: at the Rolex Stadium, the Head of the Lake, the Bruce Davidson statue, the Thursday night USEA Adult Riders party, and with a SmartPak sign anywhere on grounds. Bonus points if they could find SmartPak’s rider representative Allison Springer and take a photo with her.
SmartPak staff and rider representative Allison Springer co-judged the contest by awarding the champion prizes to the team who submitted the most creative and fun photos. After many great submissions, SmartPak chose Area 1’s Novice ATC team, “Uncalled 4” as this year’s SmartPak ATC Scavenger Hunt Champions, who submitted a “where’s waldo” themed photo submission.
“How many Waldos can you find? We may be called Uncalled 4, but we are a vibrant Area 1 Novice team of 3 and we added our own spin to the #SmartPakATCScavengerHunt by turning the tables and making it a scavenger hunt to find all the waldos in the pictures,” explained the Uncalled 4 team. “We even had time to party with a fellow Area 1 Team (5 O’Clock Somewhere) at the Adult Rider party and we also got to meet Allison Springer!” The Uncalled 4 Team was comprised of Alyssa Birt, Jannah Matzan, and Emily Scott.
Each member of the winning team will receive large prize packs from SmartPak filled with all of your favorite equestrian essentials and will be placed in the mail to the winning team riders this week. Additionally, SmartPak is sending gift certificates to three other teams who put in a great effort with their submissions.
The USEA would like to thank SmartPak for their support of the AEC, the ATC, and for sponsoring this fun ATC scavenger hunt at the AEC!
About the Adult Team Championships
The USEA Adult Team Challenges have been generously sponsored by The Chronicle of the Horse for more than 20 years. The Challenges have given adult riders a chance to compete in a friendly team competition. For many years, the Challenges were held annually in different locations (Eastern, Central, and Western) around the United States, but in an effort to re-energize the program, the membership of the USEA voted to change the overall model of the program. Starting in 2014, every Area was encouraged to hold Adult Team Challenges to offer adult riders the opportunity to compete in team competitions leading up to the USEA Adult Team Championships held at the USEA American Eventing Championships. As a result, Adult Team Challenges were no longer isolated to the three challenges around the country. Instead, there may be as many as 10 opportunities to compete in a Challenge, with a final occurring at the Adult Team Championships at the AEC!
About the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds
The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport for the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Beginner Novice to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of horses and riders from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. With over 1,000 entries the 2021 AEC was the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2022 AEC will take place August 30-September 4, 2022 at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.
The 2021 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds would not have been possible without our wonderful sponsors! The USEA would like to thank the following sponsors for their support: Presenting Sponsor: Nutrena Feeds; Advanced Final Title Sponsor: Adequan; Platinum Level Sponsor: Bates Saddles, Vetoquinol; Gold Level Sponsors: Parker Equine Insurance, ShowConnect, Smartpak, Standlee Hay; Silver Level Sponsors: Auburn Labs, Park Equine, Mountain Horse, The Jockey Club; Saratoga Horseworks; Bronze Level Sponsors: 70 Degrees, Athletux, Black Petticoat, The Chronicle of the Horse, Devoucoux, Dubarry of Ireland, Equilume, FITS Riding, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, LandSafe Equestrian, Parks Tax & Consulting, Retired Racehorse Project, D.G. Stackhouse & Ellis Contributing Level Sponsors: Big Ass Fans, CrossCountry App, FarmVet, GLC Direct, Haygain, John Deere, L.V. Harkness, Santa Cruz Animal Health; Prize Level Sponsors: American Saddlebred Horse Association, Astrid’s Oil, Bluegrass Animal Products, Dressage TestPro, EQuine AMerica Magazine, Flexible Fit Equestrian, Achieve Equine/FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Great British Equinery, Horse & Country, Hound & Hare, I Love My Horse, Lexmark, Mare Modern Goods, Romitelli Riding Boots, Strides for Equality Equestrians, Tack of the Town, VetBlue, The Equine Network, and Horse&Country
The Southern Arizona Eventing Association (SAzEA) Fall Horse Trials in Tuscon, Arizona, was the host to the final USEA Area Championship of the 2024 season. The Area X Championship offered four divisions at the Training, Novice, Beginner Novice, and Starter levels. Get to know each of the horse and rider pairs who rose to the challenge in Arizona this year below!
With the end of the year just a few weeks away, the dream team of USEA Podcast Host Nicole Brown, USEA CEO Rob Burk, USEA President Lou Leslie, and Equiratings' Diarm Byrne, all got together to look back on the ups and the downs of the 2024 U.S. eventing season. This is an episode you won't want to miss as we gear up for what is to come in 2025!
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