The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is happy to announce the dates, locations, and judges for the USEA Future Event Horse Championships in 2021. The Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships offer classes for yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds to evaluate their potential for becoming successful upper-level event horses. While yearlings and 2-year-olds will strictly be judged in-hand on their conformation and movement, the 3-year-old and 4-year-old classes will also have a free-jump division. Additionally, the 4-year-olds will be judged under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter.
The USEA Future Event Horse Championships will once again offer three Championships: East Coast, West Coast, and Central. Horses must earn at least one score of 72 percent or higher at any FEH qualifier to be eligible for the USEA FEH Championships. Horses may qualify in any part of the country, but may only compete in one Championship. The 4-year-old horses may also qualify for both the FEH and YEH Championships, but may only choose one program Championship to compete in, as they may not compete in both the FEH and YEH Championships in the same year.
The 2021 USEA FEH East Coast Championships will be held at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland across Saturday-Sunday, September 25-26, 2021. The East Coast Championships will be judged by Robin Walker and Lori Hoos.
The 2021 USEA FEH Central Championships will once again be at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas, and will occur on the weekend of October 9-10, 2021. The Central Championships will be judged by Lori Hoos and Katie Rocco.
The 2021 USEA FEH West Coast Championships will run concurrently with the USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California. The West Coast Championships will take place Friday-Saturday, October 29-30, 2021 and the FEH Championship judges will be Chris Ryan and Robin Walker.
All three Championship venues will provide a professional jump chute crew to safely guide the 3- and 4-year-olds through the jump chute division. All three venues also plan to have a last chance qualifier the day before their respective Championships.
Helpful Links for FEH Championships
For questions about the FEH program or the FEH Championships, please contact Kate Lokey at [email protected].
The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump division. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.
The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.
With 2025 just days away, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the top moments for the USEA across the 2024 season. Take a trip down memory lane with us and relive these high-performing moments from our online news, the USEA Podcast, and our Instagram account!
Eventers who are new to the sport may feel a little overwhelmed by the often-misunderstood world of saddle fitting. Riders are often bombarded with information from peers online or self-described experts, putting them at risk of following bad advice related to equipment that impacts horse welfare perhaps more than any other piece of tack. Finding a qualified expert to answer these questions is crucial. Who better to turn to than both a qualified Master Saddle Fitter and a fourth-generation saddle designer to answer some of these questions?
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.