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Jun 24, 2019
Fox River Valley Horse Trials Brings FEI Eventing Back to Area IV
Area IV’s Fox River Valley Pony Club (FRVPC) Horse Trials held in Barrington Hills, Illinois just outside of Chicago wrapped up an exciting weekend of competition which saw the return of the FEI CCI2* level including the CCI2*-L and CCI2*-S formats!
For almost five decades, the Fox River Valley Pony Club, with the support of an entire community, has helped organize, host, and support the FRVPC Horse Trials. FRVPC recognized how important international level competition was to the Area IV Eventing community and decided to bring back the FEI divisions. Instituting was a very large feat, but the event was a huge success!
This year, Jay Hambly, FEI international cross-country course designer and lead builder for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics designed the cross-country courses from Starter to CCI2* level. Brody Robertson was the show jumping course designer for the first time.
Hambly's cross-country courses were extremely well received, challenging the riders while riding well. We had a gorgeous day for cross-country and Hambly had this to say about how the CCI courses rode: “I think [the rode] very well and the riders all made smart decisions and finished with better horses than they started with.”
The Training course seemed to be the most challenging but very educational for the horses and riders with many getting around after second attempts at the more challenging questions.
Everyone was accepted at the final jogs for both the CCI2*-L and CCI2*-S.
The event was also hosting a Pony Club Rally in conjunction with the horse trials this year and all the Pony Clubbers also had to present their horses and ponies to the ground jury at the beginning of the competition as well as on the final morning.
We were thrilled that CEO of the United States Eventing Association Rob Burk came to volunteer at our event this weekend! This is what he had to say about our event: “This is a wonderful event and it is obvious how much the volunteers and organizers love this event. The mix of the Pony Club rally and the horse trials make it even more special. I will definitely be back to visit!”
Peter Gray, President of the Ground Jury and dressage judge, said he was here three years ago and the event continuously improves with the quality of the courses and the track, this year being excellent.
In 2020, FRVPC Horse Trials will celebrate its 50th year! In addition to supporting the sport of eventing in the Midwest and the educational mission of the FRVPC Pony Club, the running of the FRVPC Horse Trials also plays a critical role in the preservation of open space in the unique equestrian area of Barrington Hills. It is a truly special event that unites an entire community and a legacy we hope will continue on for years to come.
Take a look at www.FRVPCHorseTrials.org to learn more about the horse trials.
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Educational Activities
USEA Educational Activity Highlight: Sherwood Forest Hunter Pace | Sherwood Oregon | July 13, 2024
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.
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Profile
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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.
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Alliston’s Busy Weekend, Braitling’s Reuniting with Five-Star Mount, & Kalkman’s Advanced Victory Highlight Twin Rivers Summer H.T.
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.
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Education
USEA Podcast #364: All Your Grooming Questions Answered
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.
