May 11, 2021

Eyes on the Prize at the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships

By Kate Lokey - USEA Staff
Smile! USC Aiken. USEA/Kate Lokey photo.

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships will take place later this month at the Virginia Horse Trials (VHT) in Lexington, Va. across May 27-30. Following the USEF COVID-19 Action Plan, the USEA is working with VHT organizer Andy Bowles to ensure the Championships are still a destination competition for all Intercollegiate event riders, packed full with an opening ceremony, the traditional “college town” area, the prestigious spirit award, and an abundance of prizes.

In addition to the traditional USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships with the undergraduate division, the USEA is now also offering a graduate division for students, and the Championships will include levels at the Beginner Novice through Intermediate, and the CCI*-L, CCI2*-S, CCI2*-L, and CCI3*-S levels.

Katie Wilkins' Bright Prince is the perfect color for representing the University of Findlay. USEA/Kate Lokey Photo

The USEA will be providing ribbons in the undergraduate division for the top six teams, and ribbons for the top four teams in the graduate division. Every team member on the Champion and Reserve Champion winning teams in both divisions will also receive trophy plates for keepsake. New this year, the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Committee is providing senior gifts to all departing seniors. This also includes the 2020 seniors who missed out on the championships due to COVID-19 last year, who are also planning to come back and compete this year in the graduate division.

In the undergraduate division, which is the primary division at the USEA Intercollegiate Championships, the teams who come out on top as Champions, Reserve Champions, and in third place will all receive very special prizes thanks to the USEA sponsors. Bates Saddles will be providing prizes such as large show bags, grooming bags, polo wraps, jump saddle cloths, dressage saddle cloths, baseball caps, pins, and keyrings. FITS Riding will be providing $100 gift certificates for all members in the top three teams. RevitaVet will be providing one RevitaVet system to the Championship winning team, and the Championship winning team will also walk away with a very generous prize from R&J Equine Unlimited LLC, with two spots to attend a one-month hydrotherapy service at the facility in Steeles Tavern, Va. World Equestrian Brands will be providing Amerigo leather care kits for the Champions, and gift certificates for the second and third-place teams. Kerrits will be awarding gift bags, and EQuine AMerica Magazine will be providing some branded prizes as well. US Equestrian will also be providing saddle pads featuring the USEA Intercollegiate logo for the top four teams in the undergraduate division. Saratoga Horseworks will also be providing beautiful, embroidered show coolers for all team members on the Championship winning team.

The University of Kentucky were a close second for the spirit award, but still went home with the Reserve Champion and Third Place teams in 2019. USEA/Kate Lokey Photo

In the graduate division, prize bags will be given to the Champion team, which will include bags and goodies from Bates Saddles, US Equestrian embroidered saddle pads, EQuine AMerica Magazine prizes, Kerrits apparel, and gift bags, gift certificates to ShopUSEA, and more miscellaneous items. Saratoga Horseworks will also be providing custom embroidered show coolers to the Champion team.

The USEA looks forward to cheering on all the Intercollegiate riders later this month!

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Saratoga Horseworks, Bates Saddles, FITS, World Equestrian Brands, EQuine AMerica Magazine, Revitavet, Kerrits, R&J Equine Equine Unlimited, LLC, and US Equestrian for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

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Beware of Phishing Attempts and Other Types of Fraud

Please always remain vigilant when it comes to sending any personal communications via email or text. Every year we receive reports of members and leaders of our sport receiving phishing attempts both online and by phone. These are often communications disguised as being sent from USEA staff or other leaders. As the years go on, the phishing attempts appear to be more directed and tailored.

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