United States Eventing Association

Get Qualified: The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH Championships Are Approaching

The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Championships are just a few months away, and many horses are on track earning their qualifications for the fall. The Championships offer classes for qualified 4-year-olds and qualified 5-year-old horses on both the East and West Coasts, including a dressage test, a conformation test, and a jumping/galloping test.

Those in the 5-year-old division on both coasts will vie for the prestigious Holekamp/Turner Le Lion d'Angers Grant for the chance to compete at the FEI Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses at Le Lion d’Angers in France as a 7-year-old. Additionally, the recipient of the Holekamp/Turner Grant will be given a prize from The Dutta Corporation for a round trip flight to further aid in the trip to France.

The Dutta Corp USEA YEH East Coast Championships will take place in correlation with the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in Elkton, Md., across Thursday and Friday, October 14-15, 2021. Two weeks later, the Dutta Corp USEA YEH West Coast Championships will take place at Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, Calif. Friday and Saturday, October 29-30, alongside the Future Event Horse (FEH) West Coast Championships.

Judges

Chris Ryan (IRL) and Debbie Adams (USA) will be the primary judges for the YEH Championships on both coasts, but due to anticipated high entries, the East Coast Championships will bring on four additional judges for the 4-year-old division: Linda Zang (dressage), Cathy Tucker-Slaterbeck (conformation), and Peter Gray and Phyllis Dawson (jumping/gallop).

Qualifications

Qualified horses will be allowed to participate in one championship only. Horses must earn one score of 75% or higher at one qualifier for the East Coast Championships. Horses must earn one score of 70% or higher at one qualifier for the West Coast Championships.

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

Horses still have a chance this summer and fall to compete in a YEH qualifying competition. The 2021 YEH calendar may be found here.

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

Entry Process

The Dutta Corp. USEA West Coast Championships: All entries must be received before the closing date. Event management reserves the right to deny entries sent after the closing date.

The Dutta Corp. USEA East Coast Championships: Event management will accept up to 40 horses in the 4-year-old division and 55 horses in the 5-year-old division. The event management will accept the first 40 entries received that are qualified in the 4-year-old division and the first 55 qualified entries received in the 5-year-old division. If the limits are reached, then event management reserves the right to put horses on a waitlist. In the event of any openings, horses will be taken off the waitlists in order of the horses’ highest qualifying score. Event management reserves the right to deny entries after the closing date, September 14, 2021.

Helpful Links For YEH Championships

YEH Calendar

YEH General Page

YEH Rules and Guidelines

YEH Jumping Standards

2021 YEH Championship Information

Holekamp/Turner Grant Information

YEH 4-year-old Championship Dressage Test

YEH 5-year-old Championship Dressage Test

2021 YEH Championship Qualified Horses

For questions or to inquire about the YEH Championships, the Holekamp/Turner Grant, and The Dutta Corp. prize, contact [email protected].

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four and five that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, Parker Equine Insurance, Etalon Diagnostics, and Saratoga Horseworks for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.

About The Holekamp/Turner Grant and The Dutta Corporation Prize

In 2015, Timothy and Cheryl Holekamp of New Spring Farm and Christine and T.J. Turner of Indian Creek Farm spearheaded a new grant to support the USEA Young Event Horse program and pipeline for U.S. team horses. The Holekamp/Turner Grant awards the highest scorer of The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse 5-year-old Championships, East and West Coast Championships combined, with cash that enables them to travel to the FEI World Young Horse Championships at Mondial du Lion in Le Lion d’Angers, France, for the 7-year-old three-star Championships. Additionally, this year, the Dutta Corporation will award a round-trip flight to the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient to further aid in the commitment of garnering a YEH horse for the World Young Horse Championships in France.

Grant recipients who are North American bred receive $17,500 to travel to Le Lion d’Angers, but if the Holekamp/Turner Grant recipient is an imported horse, the recipient will be awarded $8,000. The intention of the grant is to further develop an upward pathway for U.S. team horses in the sport of eventing. The horse that has the highest score from the USEA Young Event Horse Championships that also qualifies to compete at La Mondial Du Lion will receive the Holekamp/Turner Grant. If the highest-scoring 5-year-old does not qualify or is unable to attend, the Grant is then awarded to the next highest scorer who is qualified, willing, and able to go.