Last fall, The Commonwealth Dressage and Combined Training Association (CDCTA) announced that after 10 years at Locust Hill Farm, the event would be relocating. The CDCTA Horse Trials is very excited to announce that they found a new perfect home at Nelson Farm, located on Kimble Road in Berryville, Virginia! With the new venue sitting on private property, the courses will not be open to the public unless it is during an organized event, which promises the highest quality footing for the competitors. Organizer Mike Mendell describes that the new property is an upgrade from its most recent venue and he is very excited for the competition's future in its new location in the hub of Area II eventing.
Mark Your Calendars!
CDCTA's 2016 competition dates are set for Sundays, April 10th and September 11th. There will be open divisions offered on both weekends with cross-country courses guaranteed to be suitable for each level.
Spring CDCTA Horse Trials Omnibus Listing
Fall CDCTA Horse Trials Omnibus Listing
CDCTA Open House - Sunday, March 20th!
Prospective competitors can catch a first look of CDCTA's new facility on Sunday, March 20th from noon to 2pm. Visitors can take a tour of the farm while enjoying a champagne toast on our sponsor's behalf! We will be celebrating CDCTA's 29th year of hosting horse trials and would love nothing more than for our past and future competitors to join us. Although courses won't be quite complete, visitors will have the opportunity to get the lay of the land and begin to see the questions that course designer Jon Wells will be asking.
To learn more, please visit the CDCTA website at www.cdcta.com.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is proud to announce the first class of USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Judges have completed their certifications through the YEH New Judge Education Program, which was led by YEH faculty member, Marilyn Payne.
Nazila Hejazi and her 20-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare, Tessa, may have made for an unconventional pair at the USEA Area VI Championships, held in October at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) but they didn’t let that hold them back. It’s uncommon to see a horse in their twenties still competing in eventing, and even more rare for a gaited horse to compete in a jumping sport.
Today, we pause to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the powerful moment in 1963 when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his vision for a better future. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech was more than just words; it was a call to action that transcended time, culture, and boundaries—a beacon of hope that continues to inspire.
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.