United States Eventing Association

October is all about the young horses with both the East and West Coast Young Event Horse (YEH) and Future Event Horse Championships (FEH) scheduled to take place. Qualifiers are still available, but time is running short so get your future star prepped and ready to take on the best young stock in the country!

YEH/FEH Championships Schedule

Young Event Horse (4-year-olds and 5-year-olds)

• East Coast: Fair Hill International – October 15-16
• West Coast: Galway Downs International Event – October 28-29

Future Event Horse (Yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds) presented by Priefert

• East Coast: Loch Moy Farm – October 8
• West Coast: Woodside International – October 1

Enter the YEH Championships using the YEH Entry Form and the FEH Championships using the FEH Entry Form.

To qualify for the YEH Championships, horses must earn a score of 70 percent or higher at two qualifiers or a score of 75 percent or higher at one qualifier to qualify for the championships. Horses are only allowed to participate in one championship (either the East or the West). If your horse isn’t qualified check out the YEH calendar for qualifying events still to be held. To learn about the jumping criteria and what is expected of young horses in the Championships, please visit the YEH Jumping Standards Document.

Fabulous prizes are returning for the YEH Championships, including the Holekamp/Turner YEH Lion d’Angers Grant, which will award the highest scorer of the 5-year-old Championship with a cash prize that enables them to travel to the FEI World Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers in France for the 7-year old two-star Championships (dependent on qualification). To learn more about the Le Lion d’Angers grant, go here.

Horses must earn a minimum qualifying score of 68% to be eligible to compete in the FEH Championships. If your horse isn’t qualified check out the FEH calendar for qualifying events still to be held. The 2015 East Coast Championship at Loch Moy Farm will also be holding an optional jump-chute class which will be scored and pinned separately from the Championship division. To read the articles about the addition of the jump-chute at the Championships, go here and here. Loch Moy Will also be hosting a qualifying event the day before the Championship (Oct. 7), with a jump chute demo as well.

Judges

Judges for both the East and West Coast YEH Championships will include: internationally-renowned Event rider and course designer, Ian Stark; world-class rider and judge, Bea di Grazia; and highly-respected sport horse breed inspector and USEF Dressage and Eventing judge, Cathy Tucker-Slaterbeck.

Judges for the FEH Championships will be: Advanced level event rider, USEF Eventing Judge, Technical Delegate and FEH Committee member Samantha Allan has been confirmed as a judge for both the East and West Coast FEH Championships. On the West Coast, Allan will be accompanied by the prestigious Sport Horse Breeding Judge, KWPN-North American founding member and FEH Committee member, Faith Fessenden. Three-time Olympic Event rider and former Canadian Eventing Coach Peter Gray, alongside upper level rider, ICP 4 instructor, and FEH and YEH Committee Advisor Robin Walker, will join Allan on the judge's panel for the East Coast Championship.

For information on the Young Event Horse program, go here. For information on the Future Event Horse program, go here. For further questions on the either program or the Championships, please contact Kate Lokey, 703-779-9897.

The USEA would like to thank all of the generous YEH Sponsors, who make the Series and the Championships possible: Fleeceworks, Event Clinics, Standlee Hay, Merck Animal Health, SmartPak, Pyranha Fly and Insect Control, and Professional’s Choice.

The USEA would also like to thank all of the generous FEH Sponsors: Presenting Sponsor: Priefert; Standlee Hay, Merck Animal Health, SmartPak, Pyranha Fly and Insect Control, and Professional’s Choice.