It’s not too early to start thinking about championship season! A great goal for riders of all levels, the individual Area Championships held across all of the USEA Areas offer a top-notch championship atmosphere at some of your favorite local venues. The 2022 Area Championships calendar has been solidified, so take a look at the information and qualification requirements to plan out the rest of your competition calendar with championships in mind.
NOTE: Whips are not permitted to be carried in the dressage test at USEF/USEA Championships or USEA Area Championship divisions.
(Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 3rd at one event, includes amateur placing.
Qualifying Period: 9/18/2021 – 8/23/2022
In Area: BN, N, T
Any Area: P
For a detailed account of Area I Championship policies and specifications go to www.area1usea.org.
(Intermediate, Preliminary, Modified, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th at one event.
Qualifying Period: 9/14/2021 - 9/13/2022
In Area: BN, N, T, M, P
Any Area: I
Open to members of other Areas but must qualify within Area II for BN/N/T/M/P.
For a detailed account of Area II Championship policies and specifications go to www.usea2.net
Open Intermediate (OI-CH), Preliminary (OP-CH), Modified (OM-CH), Training (TR-CH & TH-CH), Novice (NR-CH & NH-CH), and Beginner Novice (BNR & BNH)
Placing to Qualify: BN thru Preliminary: 1st thru 5th at one event with no cross-country jump penalties. Intermediate: Completion of a minimum of 2 events, intermediate HT or 3*, with no cross-country penalties.
Qualifying Period: 6/9/2021 – 6/7/2022 in any Area.
In Any Area: BN, N, T, M, P, I
Open to members of other Areas but non-residents must qualify within Area III.
For a detailed account of Area III Championship policies and specifications go to www.usea3.org
(Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th at one event.
Qualifying Period: 9/21/2021 – 9/21/2022
Any Area with Caveat: Must compete in at least one Area IV horse trial during the qualifying period.
Only open to residents or declared residents of Area IV.
For a detailed account of Area IV Championship policies and specifications go to www.useaIV.org.
(Intermediate, Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Novice and Beginner Novice
Qualifying Period: 8/31/2021 – 9/6/2022
Intermediate, Preliminary, and Training.
Qualifying Period: 10/5/2021 – 10/18/2022
In Area: BN, N, T, P, I
Placing to Qualify: 1st thru 5th at one Event at the same level of the championship of a USEA recognized horse trials within Area V.
Open to members of other Areas but must qualify in Area V.
Horse/rider must qualify as a pair and both horse and rider must be current USEA members at the time of qualifying event and championships.
For a detailed account of Area V Championship policies and specifications go to www.areaVeventing.com.
(Preliminary, Training, Novice, Beginner Novice, and Intro)
Placing To Qualify: 1st through 3rd at a single competition at the level in Area VI.
OR
2 MERs earned at the level in Area VI. One of these may have 20 penalties on cross-country.
When achieved at a National Horse Trials an MER is achieved by completing the entire Horse Trial and scoring. -not more than 50 penalty points in the Dressage Test; and - No jumping penalties at obstacles on the Cross-Country Test unless specified otherwise, and not more than 90 seconds (36 penalty points) exceeding the optimum time; and - not more than 16 penalties at obstacles in the Jumping Test. -25 penalty points received for Dangerous Riding will not achieve a National Qualifying result. When multiple Minimum Eligibility Requirements are required, one of the Minimum Eligibility Requirements can be achieved incurring 20 penalties at the obstacles of the Cross-Country Test.
Qualifying Period: 9/13/2021- 8/29/2022
Open to members of other Areas but must qualify in Area VI.
For a detailed account of Area VI Championship policies and specifications go to www.areavi.org.
(Intermediate, Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th at one Area VII event
Qualifying Period: 8/31/21 – 8/30/22
In Area: BN, N, T, P, I
For a complete definition of the MER, reference the USEF Rules for Eventing, CHAPTER EV, EVENTING DIVISION, APPENDIX 3 - PARTICIPATION IN HORSE TRIALS.
There is no residency requirement.
For a detailed account of Area VII Championship policies and specifications go to www.areavii.org.
(Intermediate, Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th in any Area.
Riders must be members of USEA Area VIII as determined by their address of record with the USEA or declaration of Area.
To compete for the Adult and Young Riders awards competitors must be a member of the Area 8 Adult Rider or Area 8 Young Rider program no later than opening date for entries: July 19, 2022.
Intermediate Competitors: Eligibility for the Intermediate division (only), will be the qualification requirements of the AEC.
Qualifying Period: 10/4/2021 – 8/15/2022
For a detailed account of Area VIII Championship policies and specifications, including residency requirements, go to www.usea8.org.
(Preliminary, Training, Novice, Beginner Novice, and Starter)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th at one USEA recognized event with a minimum of 5 starters.
Qualifying Period: August 26, 2021 - August 7, 2022
In Area: P, T, N, BN, Intro
All entries must be submitted by the posted closing date of the show (Aug 2nd). Late entries will be accepted only for those riders who obtain their qualification during the August 6-7, 2022 Spring Gulch Horse Trials. Rider and Horse must qualify as a pair. Completion at any level must meet the USEF definition of a MER to qualify for championships.
Area IX Members may qualify in any area but they must have competed in at least one USEA recognized event within Area IX during the qualifying time period, although it does not need to be on the horse they are showing in the Championships.
Open to members of other Areas but must qualify in Area IX. For a detailed account of Area IX Championship policies and specifications, including residency requirements go to www.areaixeventing.com
(Preliminary, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice)
Placing to Qualify: 1st through 5th at one event
Qualifying Period: 11/2/2021 – 11/7/2022
Area X and declared Area X horse and rider combinations can qualify in any Area.
Horse and rider combinations from other areas must qualify within Area X.
For a detailed account of Area X Championship policies and specifications go to www.usea.area-x.org.
At the August USEA Board of Governors meeting, a proposition was brought forth to officially recognize what is commonly referred to as “Starter level” as a USEA division. For many years now, Starter level has been offered as a test at USEA approved events. The decision to recognize the level officially would allow those competing in Starter level divisions to receive recognition on the USEA Leaderboards and to compete at the Starter level at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) in the future. The motion was approved to recognize this level, and the USEA staff have been hard at work preparing all of the rules, guidelines, and standards that will go along with this level’s recognition for the 2024 season.
Karma is developing into one of the fastest and most-reliable cross-country horses in the West. The 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare and James Alliston won their third-straight blue ribbon together at either the four-star or Advanced level in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, with the only double-clear cross-country round on Saturday.
Most couples share a kiss and part ways at 8:00 a.m. as they head off to their own work days, but eventing power couple James and Helen Alliston do it all together. We gave our USEA members the opportunity to submit their questions for this West Coast-based couple, and USEA Podcast host Nicole Brown gets them to share all on many topics: eventing in the U.S. versus the U.K., who is the most competitive of the two, dealing with warmer temperatures, why James likes to drive illegally slow, and so much more!
The Plantation Field International CCI4*-S concluded today with the cross-country phase, and the final standings were nearly a matter of “last one standing.” As Tropical Storm Ophelia brought a torrential downpour to the area, a number of riders decided to opt out: of 39 competitors, only six completed, and 17 withdrew before the start of cross-country.