United States Eventing Association

A record number of entries have been received for this year’s Hagyard MidSouth Three Day & Team Challenge event at the Kentucky Horse Park Oct 19-23. The organizers opened over 600 entries in all, for both the horse trials team competitions and the three-day event divisions. The USEF National Championship CCI* is jam-packed, and there will be a record turnout for the SmartPak Equine/ USEA Classic Series three-days at both the Training and Preliminary levels. The weather has been perfect for course preparations in the past few weeks and the organizers are ready to welcome competitors to the world-class Kentucky Horse Park for what promises to be a fabulous weekend of competition.

The 50 Classic Format competitors in the Smartpak Equine/USEA Classic Three Day Events will enjoy the thrill of the steeplechase as they compete for the chance to win a host of coveted prizes including SmartPak products and gift certificates, Five Star Tack Bridles, FITS Breeches, and Fleeceworks products. In addition, the winners of the P3D and T3D will be entered in a drawing to win a custom Stackhouse saddle. And, in an effort to encourage riders to continue their development through Classic events, every T3D competitor who completes the event will be offered a voucher that will entitle the rider or the horse to a discounted entry for the P3D at the 2012 or 2013 Hagyard MidSouth Three-Day.

The CCI* proudly hosts four national championships for its nearly 50 entries: the National Junior Championship, the 19-21 Year Old Championship, the National Amateur Championship and the National One Star Championship. All of our three-day horses will be well-tended by the fantastic staff from Hagyard Equine Institute throughout the week, and educational seminars for the Classic series start on Wednesday morning.

Alongside the three day divisions, Hagyard MidSouth runs the oldest team competition held at a recognized event in the United States. The tradition began in the early 1980s as a joint effort between the MidSouth Combined Training & Dressage Association (now MidSouth Eventing and Dressage Association) and the Michigan Combined Training Association. Originally held at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, Kentucky, the competition offered the opportunity for friendly rivalry between local combined training associations. To participate, one had to be a member of a local combined training association with by-laws. The initial event hosted 45 riders, mostly from Kentucky, riding only in Pre-Training (now Novice) and Training divisions in a summer event operated by 20 volunteers.

The competition grew steadily and eventually MSEDA took over the entire organizing responsibility and moved it to October at the Kentucky Horse Park. Since then, it has run team competitions at the Novice, Training and Preliminary levels and, for a short time, at Intermediate. The CCI* was added in 1998, team competition at the Beginner Novice level was added in 2008, and most recently the event has taken on the Classic three day divisions. Such an ambitious event requires a large and devoted team of volunteers, and the staff today numbers well over 250!

This pioneering event helped develop the standardized method of team scoring accepted everywhere today. Teams of three or four riders compete together throughout the weekend at every level of the Horse Trials, riding their Dressage tests at the same time in adjacent rings, and doing both Cross-Country and Stadium in consecutive order. The organizers strongly encourage the Team in Team Challenge, and riders love the opportunity to ride as a group. Spectators might even see some creative costumes distinguishing the teams on Cross Country!

For more information visit http://www.kyevents.net/shows/info/tchallenge. There you can find ride times, scores, directions, and contact information for volunteering.