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.
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Helpful links:
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.
Since the mid-’80s, lifelong horsewoman and professional artist Debra Sue Waters has devoted countless hours to the sport of eventing, and last year topped the rankings of the USEA Volunteer Incentive Program in Area V. Assisting behind the scenes at an event just comes naturally to the Millsap, Texas, resident.
Have you thanked your competition management team lately? Here’s your spring season reminder to do just that! Whether you’ll be debuting in the Starter division or cruising around at Advanced, competition management has a lot of moving parts to manage that will ensure a great experience for you and your horse. Keep your competition management team happy and help support the future of eventing with these quick tips from STRIDER.
The MARS Bromont Rising U25 scholarship program, administered by the USEA Foundation, is pleased to announce that up to 10 grants of up to $2,500 each will once again be available for talented young riders aged 25 and under, who are aiming to compete in the MARS Bromont (Quebec, Canada) U25CCI divisions in June, 2024. Highlighting this year’s program is the return of three-time German Olympic team member Bettina Hoy, as a guest coach for 2024.