The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds are just two months away. The AEC moves to the mountains this year, taking place at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana across a long Labor Day weekend.
Entries will open on Tuesday, July 19 and the USEA strongly advises competitors to enter early, and entries will close on August 16, 2022.
The 2022 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will play host to Championship divisions from Beginner Novice through Advanced, featuring the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final. The USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) will also return to the AEC, with Adult Rider program members making up teams within their Areas at the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training and Preliminary levels. Adult Team Championship competitors must submit their letter of intent to the USEA before August 1 to participate in the ATC.
In addition to the AEC, Rebecca Farm will be offering ‘festival classes’ for Beginner Novice through Preliminary levels, allowing horses or riders who did not qualify for the Championship divisions to compete at Rebecca Farm the same weekend, alongside the AEC atmosphere.
The AEC organizing team has just released the tentative schedule for the AEC, estimating the start date of the competition to now be Wednesday, August 31, running through Sunday, September 4, 2022.
Tentative 2022 USEA AEC schedule:
Tuesday, August 30
All cross-country courses open at 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 31
Dressage: Advanced, Intermediate, Preliminary, Modified
Thursday, September 1
Dressage: Training, Novice
Cross-country: Advanced, Intermediate, Preliminary, Modified
Friday, September 2
Dressage: Beginner Novice
Cross-country: Training, Novice
Show jumping: Advanced, Intermediate, Preliminary, Modified
Saturday, September 3
Cross-country: Beginner Novice
Show jumping: Training, Novice
Sunday, September 4
Show jumping: Beginner Novice
Additionally, Rebecca Farm and the USEA will be hosting a welcome reception on the evening of Wednesday, August 31, where one ticket per horse will be included with Championship and Festival entries. On Thursday, September 1, the USEA Adult Rider and Young Rider program parties will be hosted by USEA Area VII and supported by many Area programs. The prestigious AEC competitors’ party will take place on Friday, September 2, and one ticket per horse will be included with Championship and Festival entries. Additional tickets may be purchased on-site, and hospitality packages may be purchased in advance by visiting www.rebeccafarm.org/usea-aec/ or by contacting Marcia at 406-321-1377.
The Rebecca Farm organizing team has posted additional competition information on the USEA AEC omnibus page.
Are you qualified? The 2022 AEC qualification period is May 24, 2021, through August 22, 2022. Visit the list of Qualified Riders and Qualified Horses. Please note that both horse and rider must be qualified at the level they wish to compete at the AEC. Please visit the AEC qualification page for more information.
Follow along with AEC updates by joining the AEC Facebook page. For general questions about the AEC, contact Kate Lokey. For questions regarding AEC qualifications, contact Sharon Gallagher.
About the USEA American Eventing Championships
The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds is the pinnacle of the sport at the national levels. Held annually, the best junior, adult amateur, and professional competitors gather to vie for national championship titles at every level from Beginner Novice to Advanced. This ultimate test of horse and rider draws hundreds of horses and riders from around the country to compete for fabulous prizes, a piece of the substantial prize money, and the chance to be named the National Champion at their respective levels. In fact, the 2021 AEC garnered over 1,000 entries and now stands as the largest eventing competition in North American history. The 2022 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds will be held August 31 – September 4 at the beautiful Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana. Click here to learn more about the USEA American Eventing Championships.
The USEA would like to thank presenting sponsor Nutrena Feeds, Advanced Final Title sponsor, Adequan, Platinum level sponsor Bates Saddles, Gold level sponsors Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee, Capital Square, Silver level sponsors Auburn Laboratories, Mountain Horse, Kerrits and The Jockey Club. The USEA would like to thank all other sponsors supporting the 2022 AEC as well.
The U.S. Equestrian Federation announces the appointment of long-term US Equestrian employee Hallye Griffin as Director of FEI Sport. Griffin will assume the duties of former Director of FEI/High-Performance Sport, Graeme Thom, who has chosen to step away from his role to attend to personal matters.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce that Sidelines Magazine will not only be returning as a “Media Partner of U.S. Eventing,” but they will also be supporting the Association as a “Contributing Level Sponsor of the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 Program” and a “Prize Level Sponsor of the USEA American Eventing Championships.” Sidelines Magazine will give the USEA additional promotion and exposure through their printed and digital media products, while also providing prizes for participants at the AEC and EA21 clinics.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
When super groom Max Corcoran mentioned in 2005 that it would be fun to participate in a USEA Classic Series event, her employer and eventing legend Karen O’Connor took that to heart. “I did a lot of grooming for the classic format when Kentucky and all those other competitions were proper long format,” Corcoran shared. “When Gretchen [Butts] started offering the Classic Series at Waredaca [Gaithersburg, Maryland,] she asked if I would come up and do some lectures to help people understand what the 10-minute box was and how to pack for it. I did that a few times and said to Karen, ‘Man, it would be so fun to do one of these.’ And so Karen's like, 'You want to do one? Yeah, you're gonna do one next year.'”