United States Eventing Association

Get Qualified For The FEH Championships!

The qualifying competitions for the USEA Future Event Horse (FEH) Championships have been taking place across the country all winter and spring, but there is still plenty of time this summer to qualify for the Championships in the fall. With more than a dozen qualifiers still left on the FEH calendar, owners and breeders should take advantage of the available opportunities.

The FEH program evaluates the potential of yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds to become successful upper-level eventing horses. At qualifiers, the youngsters are judged in-hand on their conformation and movement, while the 4-year-olds additionally have an under-saddle walk, trot, canter evaluation. At Championships, the 3-year-old and 4-year-olds are also judged through the jump chute in a free-jumping class.

FEH horses must earn a minimum qualifying score of 72 percent at any qualifier to be eligible to compete in the USEA FEH Championships. Horses may qualify at any USEA FEH qualifier, but must only choose one championship, East Coast or West Coast. Additionally, 4-year-old horses may not compete in both the FEH and YEH Championships in the same year. A 4-year-old may compete at both FEH and YEH qualifying competitions, but may only compete in one FEH or YEH program championship, not both.

The USEA Future Event Horse East Coast Championships will kick off at Loch Moy Farm in Adamstown, Md. September 25-26 with judges Robin Walker and Lori Hoos. The Central and West Coast Championships will occur in October, with the Central Championships taking place October 9-10 at Haras Hacienda in Magnolia, Tx. with judges Lori Hoos and Katie Rocco. Lastly, the West Coast Championships will be judged by Robin Walker and Chris Ryan and will be run at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, Calif. across October 29-30, in correlation with the USEA Young Event Horse West Coast Championships.

All three Championship venues will provide a professional jump chute crew to safely guide the 3- and 4-year-olds through the jump chute division. All three venues also plan to have a last chance qualifier the day before their respective Championships.

Is your horse qualified? The USEA manages a running leaderboard with FEH horses that are qualified for the 2021 Championships, and the list of those horses may be found here. The FEH horses are listed in ranking based on the highest scores. The leaderboard is updated twice monthly after the USEA receives scores from each event.

Helpful Links for FEH Championships

• FEH Calendar
• FEH General Page
• FEH Rules
• FEH Equipment and Presentation
• FEH Tips for Handlers
• FEH Introduction to Free Jumping
• VIDEO: Introduction to Free Jumping
• VIDEO: FEH Handling, Part 1
• VIDEO: FEH Handling, Part 2

For questions about the FEH program or the FEH Championships, please contact Kate Lokey at [email protected].

Don’t see an FEH qualifier near you? Reach out to your local organizers to express your interest, and ask them to add an FEH division to their event!

About the USEA Future Event Horse Program

The USEA introduced the Future Event Horse Program in 2007 in response to the popularity of the already established USEA Young Event Horse Program. Where the YEH program assesses 4- and 5-year-old prospective event horses based on their performance, the FEH program evaluates yearlings, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and 4-year-olds for their potential for the sport based on conformation and type. Yearlings, 2-year-olds, and 3-year-olds are presented in-hand while 4-year-olds are presented under saddle at the walk, trot, and canter before being stripped of their tack and evaluated on their conformation. Divisions are separated by year and gender. At the Championships, 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds are also required to demonstrate their potential over fences in an additional free-jump class. Click here to learn more about the Future Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Parker Equine Insurance, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, Saratoga Horseworks, The Jockey Club, and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Future Event Horse Program.