United States Eventing Association

The race for the 2009 Adequan USEA Gold Cup continues this weekend at the next event in this prestigious series, Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Georgia.

The CIC2* will serve as the designated "Gold Cup division" and riders will compete for $500 in cash, a trailer-full of prizes, and points on the Gold Cup leaderboard. At the end of the year, the top horse and rider will be crowned Gold Cup champions and take home a check for $10,000 as well as other exciting prizes!

The breath-taking Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials is a new venue on the Gold Cup calendar this year, and joins seven other paramount events across the country as part of the year-long series.

Owned by Belgian Olympic three-day rider Carl Bouckaert, this 8,000 acre equestrian paradise features well-established rolling pastures, pristine lakes, and picturesque woodlands that run 12 miles along the Chattahoochee River.

"The USEA is proud to welcome Chattahoochee Hills to the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series," said USEA CEO Jo Whitehouse. "Having recently visited the facility, I have seen for myself what a beautiful site Chattahoochee Hills is for eventing. This event is a going to be a major destination event for all USEA members in the years ahead. As it continues to grow and fulfill the vision that Carl has planned, it will surely be one of the premier competition sites in the country."

(Right: Chattahoochee Hills Farm owner Carl Bouckaert and Rampant Lion at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*. Photo courtesy of Chatthillseventing.com)

Chattahoochee Hills offers several events throughout the year at the state-of-the-art facility, which is conveniently located mere 15 miles away from the Atlanta Airport. "Chat Hills" as it's known to its fans, kicked off their first events last year, offering divisions from Novice through Intermediate. This year, they've included FEI divisions and the CIC2* will the official "Gold Cup" division.

In addition to taking part in the Series, Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials also plays host to the USEA Area III championships, presented by Bouckaert Properties.

What is the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series?

Quite simply, the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is a group of eight destination events from coast to coast, where the top horses and riders in the country compete for cash, prizes, and points on the leaderboard. Horses and riders (as a team) accumulate points on the overall leaderboard, including bonus points for clear jumping rounds, and the year-end winner takes home a check for $10,000 and a multitude of prizes at the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention held in Reston, Virginia this December.

(Right: Adequan representative Jason Staples presents the Gold Cup trophy to Fleeceworks Mystere du Val and Leslie Law at the 2008 American Eventing Championships. Emily Daily photo.)

2009 marks the fifth year of this impressive series, and past champions include last year's individual silver medalist at the Olympic Games, Gina Miles aboard MacKinlaigh. Other top winners in the Gold Cup series include Olympians Phillip Dutton and Becky Holder, and young rising star Tory Smith.

Want to learn more about the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series? Check out the Gold Cup web page!

The USEA will be on-site at Chatt Hills all weekend to bring you all the action - be sure to check the website for daily photo, video, and news updates!

Who's Leading the Series?

Check out the latest standings on the leaderboard!

Gold Cup winners at the individual events receive 200 points, second place gets 175, third gets 160, fourth gets 150, and so forth. If there are large divisions, those who scored 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th also receive points as well.

Gold Cup competitors who gain points are also in the running for "bonus points" for double-clear show jumping rounds (40 points) and cross-country trips (50 points). They must first, however, earn the base points.

The two winners from the first two Gold Cup events of the season are currently tied for first place on the leaderboard.

Amy Tryon, aboard Elisabeth Nicholson's Leyland, took home top honors in the first event of the Gold Cup season--the Galway Downs International Horse Trials in Temecula, California. Tryon, a seasoned international rider, and the promising nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding rose to the challenge, and added only a few time faults to their dressage score. In addition to their prizes and money, they took home 200 points for their win and 40 points for their double-clear show jumping round. This talented combo had a fantastic finish at the gelding's first four-star event at Rolex Kentucky CCI4* at the end of April.

At the second leg of the 2009 Gold Cup Series held at The Fork Horse Trials in Norwood, North Carolina, it was Buck Davidson and Carl & Cassandra Segal's My Boy Bobby who clinched the win in the CIC3*. The pair jumped up from fifth to first after cross-country day, and also performed a beautiful double-clear round on Sunday to hang onto their lead. They, too, took home 200 points for their first place finish and also 40 points for a double-clear show jumping round. Just last month, this talented pair took home a third place finish in the highly competitive Rolex Kentucky CCI4*!

Check out all the great video coverage of Galway Downs and The Fork!

Event Details

Chattahoochee Hills kicks off its big weekend on Friday morning at 8:00AM with the CIC2* dressage. The first rides in the CIC2* will take place Saturday morning at 9:00AM, and show jumping will finish up for the division on Sunday afternoon.

Fourteen riders will be competing in the CIC2* this weekend, including top Canadian riders Olympian Mike Winter and international rider Kelli Temple, WEG silver medalist Dorothy Crowell, and many more talented horse and rider combinations.

For competitors' ride times, check out the Rides Times link on the Chatt Hills website.

Need directions? Check out the Chattahoochee Hills Omnibus listing for complete details on the event.

What's Next for the Gold Cup Series?

The Gold Cup Series takes a brief break during June, but then picks up for a busy summer. On July 16-19, the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials in Victor, New York will host the Series for their CIC2*. The following weekend, the Gold Cup Series heads west to Rebecca Farms in Kalispell, Montana for the CIC3*-W, the only World Cup qualifier in the US. On August 20-23, Richland Park in Kalamazoo, Michigan will run their CIC3* as the designated Gold Cup event, and for the second year in a row, the Advanced division at the Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships in Wayne, Illinois will also be a Gold Cup division. The Gold Cup Series wraps up out west at the Twin Rivers Horse Trials in Paso Robles, California with their CIC3*.

Check out the Gold Cup page for information on the upcoming events.

Outstanding Sponsorship

Winners of the designated Gold Cup divisions receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, an E.A. Mattes Couture Pad, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers take home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place receives a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title: Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and World Equestrian Brands; Contributing: Cover-All; and Patron: Back on Track, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Mountain Horse, and Succeed.

Adequan is proud to be the official joint therapy treatment of the USEA.

Interested in sponsoring the Adequan/USEA Gold Cup series or another USEA program? Contact us at the USEA! [email protected] or call 703-779-0440.