United States Eventing Association

How to Sign Up for the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League

The USEA has a new program named the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) and since the announcement last month, this new program has gained widespread interest from members all over the country. The USEA website now has an interscholastic homepage that includes guidelines, a scoring template for event organizers, an IEL application form, and a list of interscholastic teams that are already registered for 2021.

With so much interest in this new program, please learn how to register for the IEL using the steps below.

1. Check the IEL eligibility requirements

Any individual who is currently in the 7th through 12th grade is eligible to become a member of the IEL. Members of the IEL should register with the USEA as a USEA Junior member. Membership must be renewed each year. For more details on eligibility, please review the IEL guidelines.

2. Renew your USEA Junior membership for 2021

The program will start when the 2021 USEA competition season officially begins on December 1, 2020. The IEL registration will be available for Junior members on their USEA Online Services starting on December 1, 2020.

Please keep in mind that all members of the IEL must be current Junior members of the USEA. If you have any questions regarding IEL registration, please email USEA Senior Director of Membership Services Jennifer Hardwick at [email protected].

3. Form an interscholastic team

An interscholastic team can have two to 50+ members as there is no limit on the size of an interscholastic team. An interscholastic team can be any group of junior riders who share a common bond - the same barns, the same school, same Pony Club, same area, etc. Junior riders may only affiliate themselves with one interscholastic team per year.

The only limit on team size is when an interscholastic team competes in an interscholastic team challenge. In interscholastic team challenges, members are put on 3- or 4-man teams. However, an interscholastic team can have more than one team competing in an interscholastic team challenge. For example, in the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program, the University of Kentucky has over 50 members on their team and in intercollegiate team challenges they typically have more than one team competing (UK Team 1, UK Team 2, etc.)

4. Elect a team representative

Each interscholastic team should elect one team representative to be the point of contact for the USEA. This representative does not need to be a Junior member. The representative can be a coach, parent, owner, team captain, etc. The USEA requires that every team representative of this program is SafeSport certified.

Please note that the 'team representative' is also known as the 'affiliate representative' and these two terms are used interchangeably.

5. Register your team with the USEA

A list of interscholastic teams is now available on the USEA website. Click here to view the list and see if your team is already affiliated with the USEA.

If your team is not on the list, fill out the IEL application form and your team representative should send the completed application form and a team roster (a list of members on the team) to USEA Senior Director of Membership Services Jennifer Hardwick at [email protected].

Team registration is free for the first two years (through 2022) after which a $75 annual affiliate fee will be applied. For interscholastic teams that are associated with a USEA ICP certified instructor, the $75 affiliate fee will always be waived. The ICP instructor may only be affiliated with one interscholastic team. But, IEL is not limited to just ICP instructors - the USEA welcomes any coach, trainer, or instructor that has junior members to register a team.

6. Plan for upcoming 2021 interscholastic team challenges

Keep an eye out for the 2021 interscholastic team challenge calendar which will be published on the USEA website in December 2020.

The interscholastic team challenges will run in conjunction with USEA recognized horse trials. Interscholastic team challenges will follow the USEF Rules for Eventing, therefore, IEL members are not allowed to share horses during a competition. However, they can share the horses while training at home. For event organizers who are interested in hosting an interscholastic team challenge, please email Claire Kelley at [email protected].

7. Have fun!

This program hopes to encourage team camaraderie and will give junior members a unique opportunity to compete in a team atmosphere. The goal of the IEL is to increase membership, education, and engagement in riders on a national level who are in 7th through 12th grade.

For more information on the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League, please visit the IEL page on the USEA website.