The Ocala International Festival of Eventing (Ocala, Florida), set to take place Thursday, April 20 through Sunday, April 23, first ran in 2006, but the 2023 event is extra special as it will offer a CCI4*-S division for the first time ever. In addition, the event's venue, the Florida Horse Park, has made an extensive investment in cross-country irrigation practices that allow every inch of the course to be watered appropriately in preparation for the competition. Competitors are obviously excited about this year's competition, with 500 entries total, 157 of those taking place across the competition's four FEI levels being offered: the CCI4*-S, CCI3*-L, CCI2*-L, and CCI1*-L.
In anticipation of the weekend's event, organizer Emily Holmes shared: "I have the best team in the world. We run so many competitions together that we're a mostly well-oiled machine. The grounds crew at the Florida Horse Park is amazing, and they've been busting their tails for the past few weeks making sure the courses are watered, aerated, and ready to go. And Rick Dunkerton is quite often my voice of reason when dealing with all of the additional FEI stuff that I need to get lined up."
Get to know a bit more about the CCI4*-S competition that will take place this weekend in Ocala in this week's addition of the USEA's Fast Facts.
The CCI4*-S Field
The Facts
Competition Schedule
Thursday, April 20
Friday, April 21
Saturday, April 23
Sunday, April 24
Helpful Links
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.