United States Eventing Association

Fast Facts: Future Event Horse East and West Coast Championships

The USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) East and West Coast Championships are being held this week at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, and Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Maryland, and the USEA will be on the ground providing coverage at both events. Divisions for Yearling, 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old Future Event Horses will be offered at both Championships.

The West Coast Championships will be held this Thursday, September 21, and the East Coast Championships will be held Saturday-Sunday, September 23-24. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds will be judged in-hand and on their conformation and 4-year-olds will be judged under saddle before being stripped of their tack for conformation. Both 3- and 4-year-olds will also be judged over fences in the jump chute.

Susan Darling-Mahoney's BestKeptSecret through the jump chute at the 2016 West Coast Championships. Captured Moment Photo.

• There are 82 horses competing at the East Coast Championships and 21 horses competing at the West Coast Championships.
• Across both East and West Coast, there are 13 horses competing in the first 4-year-old FEH Championship. Learn more about the new 4-year-old Future Event Horse division here.
• Chris Ryan and Robin Walker will judge both the East and West Coast Championships.
• This is the third year that 3-year-olds will compete in the jump chute. In 2015 the division was optional and in 2016 became a mandatory part of the Championship competition.
• Once the East and West Coast Championships have taken place, the Overall Champions for each age group will be declared based on final scores.
• The FEH East Coast Championships will divide the yearling, 2-year-old, 3-year-old, and 4-year-old divisions into fillies and geldings/colts.
• The FEH West Coast Championships are being held during the Twin Rivers Fall Horse Trials, which is offering FEH qualifying classes on Wednesday in addition to Intro through Advanced level competition over the weekend.
• Loch Moy Farm is holding a FEH qualifying event and Jump Chute Clinic on Friday, September 22. The FEH East Coast Championships are being run as a stand-alone event on Saturday and Sunday.
• Three off-the-track Thoroughbreds are competing in the 2017 FEH East Coast Championships; Katie Domino's Easy Cheesy and Carlisle Grain and Katie Wherley's Grateful Heart.
• Ronald Zabala-Goetschel has 23 horses entered to compete at this year's FEH Championships. Of those 23 are the 2015 FEH Yearling Champion and 2016 FEH 2-year-old Champion, Wise Master Rubelk, and the 2016 FEH 2-year-old Reserve Champion, Wise Gem Twistess, returning this year to compete in the FEH 3-year-old Championship.
• The 2016 FEH East Coast Yearling Champion, Laurie Cameron's Lanthan Lights C, is back to compete in the FEH 2-year-old Championship this year.
• The 2016 FEH West Coast 2-year-old Champion, Lady Elegance, owned by Marta Petrenko, is competing in the FEH 3-year-old Championship division at Twin Rivers.
• Competing in this year's FEH West Coast 2-year-old Championship are the 2016 FEH Yearling Champion and Reserve Champion, Cheron Laboissonniere's Hallelujah DF and Michlynn Sterling's Kosmic Twist S.

West Coast Championships Competition Schedule

Thursday

• 8:00 a.m. – Yearlings
• 9:00 a.m. – 2-Year-Olds
• 11:45 a.m. – 3-Year-Olds
• 3:20 p.m. – 4-Year-Olds

East Coast Championships Competition Schedule

Saturday

• 9:30 a.m. – Yearlings
• 1:22 p.m. – 2-Year-Olds

Sunday

• 8:00 a.m. – 3-Year-Olds - In-Hand and Conformation
• 10:44 a.m. – 4-Year-Olds - Under Saddle and Conformation
• 12:30 p.m. – 3-Year-Olds - Jump Chute
• 4:50 p.m. – 4-Year-Olds - Jump Chute

Helpful Links

• Twin Rivers Ranch Website
• Loch Moy Farm Website
• West Coast Championships Entries and Times
• East Coast Championships Schedule, Entries, and Times

About the USEA FEH Program

The USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) series was introduced in 2007 as a pilot program as, what the USEA hoped would be, a successful precursor to the already popular USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) series, which is designed for 4- and 5-year-olds. Since the “test year” was so successful – with more than fifty young horses competing at the year-end Championship show – 2008 would see the FEH’s first season as a bona fide USEA program. FEH Classes are in-hand classes for yearlings, 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds. At Championships, 3-year-olds are required to compete in an additional free-jump division. New in 2017, the FEH program will offer a 4-year-old class in which the horses show their gaits under saddle at qualifier events, and compete in a free-jump division at Championships as well.

The USEA would like to thank the FEH series sponsors for their support: SmartPak, Standlee Hay, Professional’s Choice, and Merck Animal Health.