United States Eventing Association

Fast Facts: The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs

Buckle your seatbelts, there is a LOT of excitement going on at The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs this week. Around 375 entries will make their way to Temecula, California, to compete in one of the many exciting divisions they are offering, including the USEF CCI2*-L Eventing National Championship, USEF CCI4*-L Eventing National Championship, USEF Eventing Young Rider National Championship, presented by the USEA, and the Area VI Championships.

The Field:

• There are three countries represented in the CCI4*-L field: the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
• Tamie Smith has three entries in this year’s four-star long: Gina Economou’s 11-year-old Warmblood gelding Cooley By Design (Plot Blue x Uthree Z), the Elliot V Partnership’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Elliot V (Zavall VDL x Vera R), and The Kynan Syndicate’s 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Kynan (Envoy x Danieta).
• Liz Halliday is making the trip out to Temecula, which is just 20 minutes from where she grew up, for the first time since 2020 when she competed in the CCI4*-L here with Cooley Quicksilver.
• The four-star field were all born abroad in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

• Canada’s Dana Cooke and Kingfisher Park’s 9-year-old German Warmblood gelding FE Quattro (Quaterstern x Elina) are coming into this weekend off of a win at Morven Park (Leesburg, Virginia) in the CCI3*-S. They added just 0.8 time penalties to their score on cross-country to lead the field of 28 on a score of 29.1.
• Also coming in fresh off of a victory is Tommy Greengard and his 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Joshuay MBF (Foreign Affair x Fernacchy MBF) who won the CCI4*-S at Woodside (Woodside, California) earlier this month.
• There are 33 young riders taking part in this year’s USEF Eventing Young Rider National Championships presented by the USEA. You can get to know some of the pairs a little bit better here.
• The Young Rider Championship runs in a traditional team format with three or four athletes per team, with a drop score allowed for teams of four. There is one combined team representing Areas V and IX, as well as teams from Alberta, Canada, Area VI, and Area VII.
• Of those 26 young riders, 13 were participants in the 2023 USEA EA21 Regional Camps. Six of those 13 were selected to attend the upcoming 2024 USEA EA21 National Camp, which will be held in Temecula, California: Harper Padgett, Camryn Chung, Julia Beauchamp Crandon, Elsa Warble, Molly Duda, and Kayla Dumler.
• In addition to their national divisions, there are 11 USEA-recognized Area Championships taking place during The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs at the Preliminary, Modified, Preliminary/Modified, Training, Modified/Training, Novice, Training/Novice, Beginner Novice, and Novice/Beginner Novice levels. They are also offering two championships at the Starter level.

The Facts:

• Gary Parsonage (GBR) is the Technical Delegate for the four-star, three-star, and two-star, and Wendy Wergeles (USA) is assisting, as well as heading up the TD duties for the one-star.
• Sandy Phillips (GBR) is serving as President of the Ground Jury for the four-star. Angela Tucker (GBR) is the President of the Ground Jury for the three-star. Marilyn Payne (USA) is the President of the Ground Jury for the two-star. And lastly, but definitely not least, Robyn Fisher (USA) is the President of the Ground Jury for the one-star.
• Clayton Fredericks (AUS) is the cross-country designer for the four-star, three-star, and two-star, while Alessandra Allen-Shinn (USA) designed the national levels and the one-star cross-country track.
• Marc Donovan (USA) is this year's show jumping course designer.
• The CCI4*-L is a qualifier for the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final that will take place at the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds.
• The event will be live streamed through Ride On Video here.

The FEI Competition Schedule:

Wednesday, November 1:

• 2:00 p.m. | First horse inspection for all FEI divisions

Thursday, November 2:

• Ring 1
  • 8:20 a.m. | CCI4*-L dressage
  • 10:05 a.m. | CCI2*-L dressage
• Ring 2
  • 8:20 a.m. | CCI1*-L dressage
  • 1:30 p.m. | CCI3*-L dressage

Friday, November 3:

• 8:45 a.m. | CCI3*-L cross-country
• 10:20 a.m. | CCI4*-L cross-country
• 12:15 p.m. | CCI2*-L cross-country
• 2:20 p.m. | CCI1*-L cross-country

Saturday, November 4:

• 8:00 a.m. | Final horse inspection
• 10:45 a.m. | CCI1*-L show jumping
• 12:45 p.m. | CCI2*-L show jumping
• 3:05 p.m. | CCI3*-L show jumping
• 4:45 p.m. | CCI4*-L show jumping

​​Helpful Links

• Galway Downs Website
• USEA Prize List
• Entries
• Schedule of Events
• Livestream
• Live Scores
• USEA’s Coverage

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