United States Eventing Association

Fast Facts: 2019 USEA Future Event Horse Central Championships

The USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships take place over the span of two weeks at the end of September. The Central Championships will take place at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas tomorrow, Thursday, September 26. The West Coast Championships were held at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California on Thursday, September 19 and the East Coast Championships will be held this coming Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29 at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland.

• A total of 18 horses will be competing at the Central Championships.
• This is the second year for the Central Championships. Last year, the first-ever USEA FEH Central Championships was held at Texas Rose Horse Park. This year, the Central Championships has a new venue, Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Texas.
• The 2018 Central 3-year-old Champion Diamond Davinity (Diamond Domini x Hyperboreas), the Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by Jayne Lloyd, is returning this year to compete in the 4-year-old division.
• The 2018 Central Yearling Champion Deanfield Ice Queen (Braveheart x Glenlord’s Laralei), an Irish Sport Horse filly owned by Christine McCarter, is returning this year to compete in the 2-year-old division.
• A total of five horses from last year’s championships are returning to compete this year: Diamond Davinity (Diamond Domini x Hyperboreas), Deanfield Ice Queen (Braveheart x Glenlord’s Laralei), Falconwood’s Glacier (Florianus II x Fire N Ice), Flagmount’s Keen Ice (Flagmount Freedom x Fire N Ice), and Like Magic WTW (Mighty Magic x Westbound).
• Fire N Ice is the most popular dam in the Central Championships with two offspring competing: Falconwood’s Glacier (Florianus II x Fire N Ice) and Flagmount’s Keen Ice (Flagmount Freedom x Fire N Ice).
• The sire Braveheart has two offspring competing: Deanfield Just Breathe (Braveheart x Jaddabreathe) and Deanfield Ice Queen (Braveheart x Glenlord’s Laralei).
• The sire Diamond Domini also has two offspring competing: Diamond Follie (Diamond Domini x Gouverner’s Pardon) and Diamond Davinity (Diamond Domini x Hyperboreas).
• The Irish Sport Horse is the most common breed of Central Championships with three horses entered: Flagmount’s Keen Ice, Deanfield Ice Queen, and Deanfield Just Breathe.
• The age group that has the most entries are the 3-year-olds with four total entries: Falconwood’s Glacier, Wt Isla, Diamond Follie, and Deanfield Just Breathe.
• Championships divisions for yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds will be offered at all three championships.

• Yearlings, 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds will be judged in-hand on their conformation, and 4-year-olds will be judged under saddle before being stripped of their tack for the conformation portion.
• Both 3- and 4-year-olds will then also be judged at the canter and over fences in the jump chute.
• All three championships are being judged by Peter Gray (CAN) and Chris Ryan (IRL) who have each served as judges in the past, separately.
• Because safety is of paramount importance to the USEA, jump chute handling teams will be provided at all three Championships. Owners may bring their own handlers if they’d like, but the USEA is providing teams in the jump chute for safety and efficiency.
• Jump chute clinics and last-minute qualifiers are once again being offered the day before each championship at each of the respective venues.
• Once the East Coast, West Coast, and Central Championships have all taken place, the overall National Champions will be announced and awarded prizes for the highest scoring Yearling, 2-year-old, 3-year-old and 4-year-old in the country. Special thanks to Guardian Horse Bedding for sponsoring the FEH National Awards this year! They will award $500 in prize money to each FEH National Champion, along with an engraved trophy.

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

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, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, C4 Belts, and Guardian Horse Bedding for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.