United States Eventing Association

Details of the 2021 Dutta Corp. USEA YEH Championships

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to announce the dates, locations, and judges for The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse Championships in 2021. The Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships offer classes for 4-year-old and 5-year-old horses which includes a dressage test, conformation evaluation, and a jumping/gallop test.

The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships continue its long history at Fair Hill and in 2021 shall be featured as an integral part of the very exciting inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in Cecil County, Maryland on Thursday, October 14 and Friday, October 15, 2021. The Maryland 5 Star, an affiliate of the Sport & Entertainment Corporation of Maryland (The Sport Corp.), has committed to accepting up to 40 horses in the 4-year-old division and 55 horses in the 5-year-old division. The event management will accept the first 40 entries received that are qualified in the 4-year-old division and the first 55 qualified entries received in the 5-year-old division. If the caps are reached, then event management reserves the right to put horses on a waitlist, and in the event of any openings, horses will be taken off the waitlists in order of the horses’ highest qualifying score. The 4-year-old division will complete all phases on Thursday, October 14, while the 5-year-old division will perform dressage and conformation on Thursday and the jumping/galloping test on Friday, October 15.

The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH West Coast Championships will return to Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California and will take place Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30, 2021. The West Coast Championships will also run concurrently with the USEA Future Event Horse West Coast Championships, creating a weekend full of opportunity for young horses. The West Coast Championships were a great success in 2020, boasting record numbers across the FEH and YEH Championships, so the USEA looks forward to offering the same format to West Coast participants in 2021. Event management looks forward to strong entry numbers this year, and both YEH divisions will compete across two days.

Both the East Coast and West Coast Championships will be judged by Chris Ryan (IRL) and Debbie Adams (USA). Ryan and Adams will judge all YEH horses on the West Coast, and the 5-year-old division on the East Coast. Up to four additional judges may be brought on to judge the 4-year-old division at the East Coast Championships to ensure the division is completed in one day.

Horses must earn at least one score of 75% or higher at any YEH qualifier to be eligible for the East Coast Championships, while horses must earn one score of 70% or higher at any YEH qualifier to be eligible for the West Coast Championships.

The Holekamp/Turner YEH Lion d'Angers Grant will be awarded in the 5-year-old division, which grants significant cash to allow them to travel and compete at the Mondial du Lion in France at the FEI World Young Horse Championships as a 7-year-old. Winners who are North American-bred will be awarded $17,500 to aid in travel and competition costs associated with Mondial du Lion, and if the winner is an imported horse, he will be awarded $8,000.

In addition, The Dutta Corporation has extended their support to the YEH Championships as Title Sponsor again this year, offering a prize of a round trip flight to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient to travel to Mondial du Lion. With the support of The Dutta Corporation, the travel for the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient will be much more seamless, and should now fully cover the cost of the endeavor overseas.

Helpful Links for YEH Championships

• YEH Calendar
• YEH General Page
• YEH Championship Information
• YEH Rules and Guidelines
• YEH Jumping Standards
• Championship Dressage Test: 4-year-old
• Championship Dressage Test: 5-year-old

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four and five, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, Parker Equine Insurance, and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.