United States Eventing Association

Eventing 101: Understanding Your Entry Form

You have put in the practice at home, you and your horse feel confident, and your trainer has said, “It’s time!” All that is left to do at that point is to submit your entry for the horse trial in which you want to compete. Submitting an entry is easy. Most competitions offer a way to submit your entry form digitally, but paper copies are available under the Forms + Resources page on www.useventing.com as well.

Here are some important things to consider each time you submit your entry, whether by mail or online!

Level: Make sure you meet the qualifications necessary to compete in the level that you are entering. You can find the qualifications outlined for you in the USEF Rules for Eventing.

Eligible Section: Similarly to level, you might need to meet certain specifications to participate in certain “sections,” if the competition offers those. For example, the USEF Rules for Eventing outlines a Junior as follows in Appendix 2: For competing in national Horse Trials, Athletes may compete as Juniors through the end of the calendar year of their 18th birthday.

It is important to note that not every Section listed on the entry form has to be offered by each competition. It will depend on how many entries per Level a Horse Trial receives. When you list out your Eligible Sections on the entry, you should mark them first, second, or third in the priority order in which you wish to be considered for entry. For example, if you are an amateur who prefers to be in an Amateur section, you might list that one as your first choice, with Rider or Open as your second choice.

Horse: Limited registration for your horse can be maintained through the Training level, but if you are competing beyond Training level, you will need to update your horse to Full Registration. As you update your own registration yearly, it is a great opportunity to also verify that all of your horse’s registration information is still correct. This is a great opportunity to assess if any missing information needs to be added, incorrect information needs to be adjusted, or if an owner change needs to take place.

It is important to note that at all levels other than Starter, Horse and Rider USEA membership is required. At the Starter level, membership with the USEA is optional for the rider and horse, but USEA membership is required if the horse and rider wish to accumulate year-end award points on the USEA leaderboard.

Trainer: As per the USEF Rulebook, your trainer is defined as follows:

GR148 Trainer

1. Any adult, or adults who has the responsibility for the care, training, custody, or performance of a horse.

2. Said person must sign the entry blank of any Licensed Competition whether said person be an owner, rider, agent and/or coach as well as trainer.

3. Where a minor exhibitor has no trainer, a parent or guardian must sign and assume responsibility of trainer.

4. The name of the trainer must be designated as such on the entry blank. See also GR404.

It is important to note line item 3 when completing your entry. If a minor exhibitor is competing without a trainer, the parent or guardian who will be responsible for this exhibitor during said competition should be listed as the trainer.

Federation and Association Entry Agreement: In addition to your USEA entry, each exhibitor must fill out the Federation and Association Entry agreement as well. Most digital entry platforms have the ability for you to complete or upload this form online into their database.

USEF Participant Waiver and Release Form with State Waiver: Your final form to complete is the USEF Participant Waiver and Release Form with State Waiver which can be found here. If you submit your entry online via USEA Xentry, you will not need to fill out this form as it is populated in that Xentry.

As always, if you ever have any questions about an entry, your local Event Secretary will be more than happy to assist you! You can find the details for who the Event Secretary is on the USEA Omnibus listing for the event you are entering under the Entry Information section.