United States Eventing Association

The Bert Wood Novice Stakes will bring FEI-level prize money and a big-event atmosphere to eventing’s Novice level, as well as honor the extensive contributions that cross-country builder and designer Bert Wood has made on the sport, at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials from Aug. 9-11.

The Horse Park at Woodside created a five-star atmosphere for the inaugural Laughing Monk Modified Match that took place at the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials. The goal of the Modified Match was to spotlight the Modified level that was introduced to competition at The Horse Park in 2023 and has made a significant impact on the progression of eventing’s rising stars since the level was introduced to the sport in 2017.

After the first competition at Modified was held at The Horse Park at Woodside in California in 2023, the level will be under an even bigger spotlight with the Modified Match that will be offered at the 2024 Woodside Spring Horse Trials that will take place from May 24-26.

Veterans and young riders shined at the Twin Rivers Spring International in Paso Robles, California, during the event from April 11-14. The weekend's competition featured the largest field for the international levels of eventing in the history of Twin Rivers with a total of 70 FEI level entries.

The 2024 Twin Rivers Winter Horse Trials in Paso Robles, California, showed how much there is to be excited about for the future of West Coast eventing.

Tommy Greengard said he was “a little excited, a little nervous” before competing in both his and his horse Joshuay MBF’s first four-star at the Twin Rivers Fall International in September. They finished third, and that experience set them up for what would then be their first four-star victory as one of the West’s top up-and-coming eventing pairs two weeks later in the Woodside Fall International.

Karma is developing into one of the fastest and most-reliable cross-country horses in the West. The 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare and James Alliston won their third-straight blue ribbon together at either the four-star or Advanced level in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, with the only double-clear cross-country round on Saturday.

Fresh off winning the first-ever international gold medal in eventing for Puerto Rico at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador, Lauren Billys Shady and Can Be Sweet returned to their home base of California to win the Intermediate level at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials.

The 2023 Twin Rivers Summer H.T. was highlighted by performances of young horses. From the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Young Event Horse competition that kicked off the event on Thursday to the win by Karma ridden by James Alliston as the youngest horse at the Advanced level on Sunday, the future of the sport of eventing on the West Coast looked bright on a hot weekend in Paso Robles, California.

The cross-country phase is what makes eventing stand out among equestrian sports. There’s an adrenaline rush riders experience when out on cross-country that is unmatched in eventing’s other phases. The cross-country course also gives each show and venue its unique flavor. Nonetheless, while each course may be different, the rule below from the USEF Rules for Eventing governs what riders and horses can expect to see during the cross-country phase of an event.