It was a hot and humid first day at the U.S. Eventing Mandatory Olympic Training Session at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. A total of 12 athlete-and-horse combinations went down the jog strip, with 11 of those combinations representing the U.S. and one combination representing Canada, Colleen Loach on Qorry Blue d’Argouges. After this evening’s horse inspection, all 12 combinations will move forward to tomorrow’s cross-country.
The event schedule was updated to avoid tomorrow’s expected thunderstorms. Instead of the Thursday morning dressage rides, there were dressage test rides that ran today from 12:00 p.m. - 1:40 p.m. with judges Mark Weissbecker and Debbie Adams. These test rides were not included in the scoring but, cross-country and show jumping will have live scores available through The CourseWalk App. Cross-country will run tomorrow morning and will be the only phase running tomorrow. The schedule for Friday will remain the same.
Designed by Ian Stark, tomorrow’s cross-country course is a CCI4* level track with a total of 34 efforts. The first rider out of the start box will be Boyd Martin riding On Cue at 10:00 a.m. The last rider out of the box will also be Boyd Martin riding Tsetserleg TSF at 11:06 a.m.
Updated Event Schedule:
Wednesday, June 30
Thursday, July 1
Friday, July 2
Due to the nature of the competition being an Olympic training session, there will be no award ceremonies or presentations on Friday after show jumping.
This event will not be open to public spectators and will not be live-streamed, but make sure to follow the USEA social media for live updates and coverage of the event.
Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Helpful links:
Did you know that the USEA Foundation awards over 150 grants each year to deserving individuals who are involved in the sport of eventing? With grants that assist riders with accomplishing their competition goals, grants geared toward licensed officials, grants that are specific to continuing education for coaches, grants that assist competitions with obtaining frangible technology, and so much more, there really is a grant opportunity available to almost anyone!
With the start of the New Year just days away, now is the time to consider how your actions can have a positive impact on the sport of eventing in 2025. Each and every member of the eventing community has an important role to play in ensuring the sport continues to grow and thrive. From fostering educational opportunities to supporting grassroots initiatives and participating at all levels of the sport, there are so many ways to get involved.
Ride iQ’s popular “Ask An Expert” series features professional advice and tips from all areas of the horse industry. One of the most-downloaded episodes is an expert session with Peter Gray, an accomplished dressage judge and Olympic eventer. He has recently judged at events like the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and he served on the ground jury at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni, Italy. His background as a competitor in the Olympic Games riding for Bermuda and as a coach and selector for the Canadian eventing team adds depth to his understanding of the sport.
With a total of 382 volunteer hours in 2024, Catherine “Cathy” Hale not only topped the USEA Area III VIP Volunteer leaderboard, but she also ranked fourth out of all eventing volunteers across the country. Hale (The Villages, Florida) has worked as a travel agent for over 30 years, a career that suits her love of travel nicely. At the time of being interviewed for this article, Hale was passing the equator on a cruise to Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia.