Great Meadow, a 374-acre equestrian event park in The Plains, Va., opened in 1984 as the venue for the prestigious Virginia Gold Cup steeplechase races and would go on to host hundreds of events from polo to fireworks. In 2014 Great Meadow held a prep trial for the World Equestrian Games and the following year had its first CIC3* (now CCI4*-S). From 2016-2018 Great Meadow International was a leg of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup, and in 2019 the event moved to an August date and started offering a full schedule of FEI classes. This year the MARS Great Meadow International (GMI) will be held from August 19-22 with four levels: CCI4*-S, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-S, and Preliminary. Learn more about GMI in their Events A-Z.
The Field
How to Follow Along
The Facts
The Competition Schedule
Thursday, August 19
Friday, August 20
Saturday, August 21
Sunday, August 22
Helpful Links
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What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.