United States Eventing Association

Fast Facts: 2022 FEH East Coast Championships

The 2022 USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships will take place at three different regional competitions. The first of the three to kick off the FEH Championship season is the FEH East Coast Championships which will start on Saturday, September 17, and run through Sunday, September 18 at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland. The 2022 USEA FEH Central and West Coast Championships will take place in October.

The Field:

• A total of 139 horses across the country have qualified to compete in the FEH Championships, however, additional horses are able to qualify at the FEH Last Chance Qualifier hosted at each venue the day before the Championship.
• There are a total of 31 complete entries in the FEH East Coast Championships. Of those 31 entries, eight are entered in the Yearling division, ten in the 2-year-old division, eight in the 3-year-old division, and five in the 4-year-old division.
• 17 entries are slated to compete in the FEH Last Chance Qualifier today in hopes of obtaining their qualification.
• Thirteen of this year’s entries have previously competed in an FEH Championship. Marlene Leuenberger’s Warmblood mare N’Chantress (Toronto x Gremlin n Gold) will be giving the FEH Championships her third and final go this year competing in the FEH 4-Year-Old Championship.
• Of the 2021 champions, one is returning for for the 2022 Championship: Monica Fiss’s Thoroughbred mare Miss Roxy (Noble Mission x Macaabra), bred by Fiss, will be competing in the FEH 4-Year-Old Championship.
• Tempus Fugit EZ (Tempest x Von Africa LF), Kaitlin Hartford’s Danish Warmblood yearling stallion bred by Elly Schobel earned the highest qualifying score this year with an 88.0 at Full Gallop Farm in March. We will see this stallion prospect compete in this year’s FEH East Coast Yearling Championship.
• Joni Fontana and Monica Fiss get the unofficial award for busiest owners with three entries in this year’s FEH East Coast Championships each. Fontana has one entry in the 4-Year-Old Championship and two in the FEH Yearling Championship. Fiss has one horse in 3-Year-Old Championship and two in the 4-year-old Championship.
• Of the 47 entries (pending the qualification of the 17 additional entries in today's FEH Last Chance Qualifier), Martin Douzant is handling 19 of them - guaranteeing him an action-packed weekend.
• 19 owners will be presenting their own entries before the judges themselves.
• There are five breeders who are presented their homebreds this year: Therese Schuler, Ellen Siemer, Lauren Welsh, Karen Severns, and Kerri Nitzenberger.
• Pay It Forward EZ is the only horse listed as “unknown breeding.” The filly, who is competing in the FEH Yearling Championship, was rescued from a kill pen by owner/handler Kaitlin Hartford.
• Two sires have multiple entries in this year’s Championships. Alpine is the sire of two entries, both owned and bred by Ellen Ziemer: the Holsteiner mare Delta Dawn PVF (Apline x Delta Crisis) and the Hanoverian mare Alisa PVF (Alpine x Lovely Lady RSH). Both are entered in the FEH 3-Year-Old Championship. Florianus II has four of his offspring entered this week: the yearling Dutch Warmblood filly Remi Royale (Florianus II x Wilhemina), the yearling Dutch Warmblood colt Regal Ritchie (Florianus II x Graceful) and the four-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Noona (Florianus II x Wilhemina), all of which are owned and bred by Joni Fontana, as well as the three-year-old Warmblood gelding Olympiad (Florianus II x Wilhemina) owned by Vera Fontana and bred by Joni Fontana.
  
• The Thoroughbred reigns supreme this year, dominating the field of entries with 8 horses of Thoroughbred breeding set to compete. If all of the FEH Last Chance Qualifier entries are accepted, the Thoroughbred will have 11 entries representing.

The Facts:

• Katie Rocco and Wayne Quarles will be serving as the judges for the East Coast Championships.
• This year, horses must have earned a 72% or higher at any FEH qualifier to be eligible to compete at the FEH Championships. Horses are only permitted to compete in one Championship.
• Championship divisions for Yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds will be offered at all three Championships.
  • Yearlings and 2-year-olds will be judged in-hand on their conformation, 3-year-olds will be judged in hand and at liberty on their confirmation in the jump chute, 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.
• 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.
• The FEH program may be found here

The Competition Schedule

Saturday, September 25

• 9:00 a.m. | FEH Yearling Championship (In-Hand)
• 11:45 a.m. | FEH Three-Year-Old Championship (Jump Chute)

Sunday, September 26

• 9:00 a.m. | FEH Two-Year-Old Championship (In-Hand)
• 12:15 p.m. | FEH Four-Year-Old Championship (Under Saddle and Jump Chute)

Helpful Links

• Website
• USEA Prize List
• USEA FEH Championship Digital Event Program
• Entry Status
• Ride Times

Don't forget to follow the USEA’s event coverage on social media!

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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, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee Premium Products, Saratoga Horseworks, Capital Square, Kerrits, and The Jockey Club for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.