Feb 07, 2020

Here’s Why You Need to Compete in the 2020 Fresno Intercollegiate Team Challenge

By Claire Kelley - USEA Staff
Fresno County Horse Park will host an intercollegiate team challenge at their event in April. Gina Pearson Photo.

This year, the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program has its eye on the West Coast. With the program growing in popularity nationwide, John Marshall has offered to host a USEA Intercollegiate Eventing West Coast Championship at the Fresno County Horse Park in 2021.

Before this can happen, Marshall will host an intercollegiate team challenge at Fresno County Horse Park in Fresno, California on April 17-19, 2020. This team challenge will serve as a pilot year for a future USEA Intercollegiate Eventing West Coast Championship. Advised by the USEA Board of Governors, this team challenge must have at least six colleges/universities participate for a 2021 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing West Coast Championship to be considered.

"We are excited about hosting a USEA West Coast intercollegiate team challenge during our April 17-19 Horse Trials," said John Marshall, show organizer for Fresno County Horse Park Horse Trials.

Two schools are tentatively planning to compete in this upcoming team challenge which means that four more schools will need to compete in order for a future USEA Intercollegiate Eventing West Coast Championship to be considered.

“The prospect of an Intercollegiate Eventing West Coast Championship has long been on our minds,” said the USEA Intercollegiate Committee Chair, Leslie Threlkeld. “In order to make the program truly national, we need to expand the participation to the West Coast, and a dedicated Championship will boost that initiative. It's awesome that John Marshall is interested in supporting a Championship at his horse trials. It will be important now for the students to step up and get it done. The foundation is set for them, but they have to be the catalyst to make it happen. Once it's off the ground, momentum will carry it, just like we saw on the East Coast.”

USEA/Jessica Duffy Photo.

How to Register for the Fresno Intercollegiate Team Challenge

First, email the show secretary, Christina Gray at [email protected] and let her know what school and which students plan to participate in the team challenge.

Second, have an eventing team representative fill out the Affiliate Application Form to register a school as a USEA University Affiliate. Submit the application form via email to USEA Senior Director of Membership Services Jennifer Hardwick at [email protected] or mail in the form to the USEA office at 525 Old Waterford Rd., NW, Leesburg, VA 20176. In addition to the application form, the school must pay an affiliate membership fee, which costs $75 per year. The school must renew this affiliate membership each year.

Any accredited university or college may register as an affiliate organization of the USEA. Once the institution is registered as an affiliate, all current undergraduate students of that school will be eligible for a discounted USEA Collegiate Membership.

For more information on the USEA Intercollegiate Program, please click here.

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country now offer intercollegiate team challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In intercollegiate team challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, FITS, World Equestrian Brands, FLAIR and US Equestrian for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

Jan 21, 2025 Young Event Horse

First Class of YEH New Judge Education Program Graduates Added to the YEH Judges List

The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is proud to announce the first class of USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) Judges have completed their certifications through the YEH New Judge Education Program, which was led by YEH faculty member, Marilyn Payne.

Jan 21, 2025 News

Now On Course: Patience Pays Off for Nazila Hejazi & Her 20-Year-Old Missouri Fox Trotter

Nazila Hejazi and her 20-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter mare, Tessa, may have made for an unconventional pair at the USEA Area VI Championships, held in October at Galway Downs (Temecula, California) but they didn’t let that hold them back. It’s uncommon to see a horse in their twenties still competing in eventing, and even more rare for a gaited horse to compete in a jumping sport.

Jan 20, 2025 News

Echoing the Dream: Small Acts of Kindness in Eventing

Today, we pause to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reflect on the powerful moment in 1963 when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his vision for a better future. Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech was more than just words; it was a call to action that transcended time, culture, and boundaries—a beacon of hope that continues to inspire.

Jan 19, 2025

That “Forward” State of Mind

We’ve all been there—on the horse who pokes his way around the warm-up ring, needs leg, leg, leg coming into the combination, or brings up the rear on every trail ride. None of us wants each and every ride to be a lower-body squeezefest, nor do we wish to do anything with our crop except maybe wave it at that annoying deerfly. In this excerpt from his book The Sport Horse Problem Solver, former international eventer Eric Smiley explains the essential quality of forwardness and how to prepare the horse to expect you to look for it in all that you do together.

Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA

Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA

Official Feed of the USEA

Official Saddle of the USEA

Official Equine Insurance of the USEA

Official Forage of the USEA

Official Supplement Feeding System of the USEA

Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA

Official Horse Boot of the USEA

Official Shockwave of the USEA

Official Horse Wear of the USEA