United States Eventing Association

The Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials, presented by SmartPak, has quite a weekend ahead of them as they gear up for their 20th Anniversary in Victor, New York, and the fifth straight running of an Adequan/USEA Gold Cup event. USEA will be on-site to cover all the action - be sure to check back each night for daily wrap-up videos, interviews, and photo galleries! Plus, you'll find more in-depth coverage in the next issue of the USEA's new online magazine, Eventing USA 2.0, which will be published in August!

The spectator-friendly event welcomes horses and riders from Junior Novice through the CIC2* level. Check out last year's interactive course walk, and all the action from the 2008 event.

Nearly 20 horses will be competing in the CIC2* this year, which serves as the Adequan/USEA Gold Cup division. Top horses and riders in this division receive $500 in cash from the USEA as well as a slew of prizes from the Gold Cup sponsors in addition to the $7,500 purse offered in the CIC2* division at the Stuart Horse Trials. Visitors can cheer on such big names as Karen O'Connor, Sharon White, Will Coleman, Cathy Wieschhoff, Ashley Adams, and many other top riders.

Last year, it was Boyd Martin and Baileywick who took home the Gold Cup trophy, with Ronald Zabala-Goetchsle and Che Mr. Wiseguy in close second, and Kendal Lehari and Understudy rounding out the top three. Who will be this year's Keeper of the Cup?

Check out the Stuart website for all complete information on the event. Also, Startbox will be in attendance, providing live scoring for all divisions!

Reflections from a Founder and Organizer

One of the founders and organizers of the Stuart Horse Trials, and past President of the USEA, Kyra Stuart shares her thoughts and memories of this wonderful event:

From the very beginning, Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials & CIC** has strived to bring the best possible equestrian competition to our area. To educate our spectators to the joys of the sport of eventing. To see first hand the marvelous teamwork of equine and human, the harmony, brilliance, and courage that make our sport of Eventing so special. Also, to continue the education of our riders and their horses by presenting the best in competition courses, and by hiring the best officials to oversee our competitions. To this end we have been so honored to have been selected in 2004 as one of the first USEA Gold Cup Series competition, and honor we still cherish today on our 20th anniversary!

We have been blessed with one of the largest, and most loyal volunteer bases imaginable, many with us the entire 20 years. To Dru Malavase, David and Melissa Crystal who were with me from the start and became co-organizers and secretary, there was no way a single person could have accomplished what this mini team did over the years (yes we all volunteered 365 days a year to accomplish this), we each had a role to play, a day of the competition to take care of, and it worked brilliantly…and we still see each other every weekend, friendships certainly cemented in our years of working together! Our landowners, sponsors, and patrons have proven over and over again that they believe in us and have supported our efforts. I am humbled by their generosity.

To Tony Wells, media guru extraordinaire, who opened so many doors for us and put our name before the public, generating crowds up to 15,000.

Over the first 15 years I was organizer before becoming USEA president, I was fortunate to have some of the finest mentors in our sport. Vita and Dick Thompson never failed to answer every single ”How do I do it?” question, the same for Janie Atkinson, and Roger Haller was patient beyond words when we started to plan for this competition 23 years ago. It has been a great personal satisfaction to see our competition grow, and Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials become an integral part of the summer activities for the Greater Rochester area and those adjoining towns in the Finger Lakes. We have brought the best of our sport to our area and it is with great pride that I note, in doing so we have been able to give back to our community over $100,000 to make a difference in the lives of those who need help.

Pride in a job well done, love of our sport and all those involved with it, have made the years fly by and now with the organizing reins in Wezo Pierson’s hands, we continue the tradition. I remain president of the Stuart Horse Trials Board of Directors, and stay close to this 20-year-old creation of love.

Also, I am so proud of Scott and Jen Weber of Solius.com for their creation of Start Box Live Scoring, now used at over 80 competitions in the country. They started from scratch with SHT and have now gone nationwide with their complete, up to the minute Live Scoring that keeps parents, grandparents, sponsors and event junkies everywhere instantly informed of riders progress!

What's Next for the Gold Cup Series?

After the Stuart Horse Trials, a few USEA staff members will head out to cover one of the top events in the country - the Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana, which will showcase the US's lone CIC3*-W, a long-format Preliminary (CCI1*), Young Event Horse classes, and every level offered from Advanced through Novice.

In August, we'll bring you all the action from the Midwest at the Richland Park Horse Trials, which offers a CIC3*, CIC2*, Advanced through Novice divisions, and also YEH classes.

Early September brings with it one of the most anticipated events in the country--the 2009 Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships. Fourteen divisions of riders from Beginner Novice to Advanced will battle it out for cash and prizes. For the second year in a row, the Advanced division will also serve as the designated Gold Cup division.

The final event in the Gold Cup series is held out west at the Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California. This is the last chance for top contenders in the series to try and gain a few more points on the leaderboard!

Gold Cup Sponsorship & Prizes

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.