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.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.