Although the land-grant, public university has always had strong agriculture, animal science, and veterinary programs, Iowa State University is now home to its first organized eventing team. As one of the newest teams to affiliate with the USEA, the ISU Eventing Team was organized in the summer and fall of 2016 and is an officially recognized student organization on campus. The team already boasts 19 members on the roster, an advisor who is an eventer and equine veterinarian, and serious interest from prospective undergraduate and graduate students looking to continue eventing once they come to Ames, Iowa for their studies.
The team is made up of both longtime eventers and those who are new to the sport. The members and supporters are comprised of students, alumni and faculty with a vast array of studies: from animal science, to political science, mathematics and everywhere in between. ISU is also the only affiliated collegiate team in Area IV.
Team member Aalyshah Zaragoza and Sandry schooling at LR Eventing. Photo courtesy of ISU Eventing.
The ISU Eventing Team has already hosted events in conjunction with local eventing professionals including Meaghan Marinovich of Marinovich Eventing and Laura Rietveld of LR Eventing, with plans to work with other clinicians including Bonnie Mosser, John Staples, equine professionals from the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, and more.
In the state of Iowa, Catalpa Corner Charity Horse Trials is the only USEA recognized event, but Iowa is also surrounded by several states with recognized competitions. The Team offers opportunities for car- and trailer-pooling so members will be able to go to other events in the area, such as Heritage Park (KS), Roebke’s Run (MN), Windermere Run (MO), Otter Creek (WI) and Fox River Valley Pony Club (IL), among others. In addition to recognized competition, the team will travel to a variety of schooling events and local clinics.
ISU Eventing painting jumps at local farm. Photo courtesy of ISU Eventing.
The Iowa State Event Team has as its primary aim to encourage competitive riders in the discipline of eventing to continue competing while in college and after graduation. However, the organization will also offer social and educational opportunities (mounted and unmounted) to its members, and the local equestrian community. The Team has volunteered at local barns and plans to volunteer at events to help promote and support eventing and other equestrian disciplines.
For more information, visit the ISU Eventing Team Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/isueventing/. To make a charitable, tax-deductible donation to the team which will be used to host events which develop the horse, rider, and eventing community, and to reduce the financial burden of being competitive intercollegiate eventers, please contact [email protected].
About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program
In 2014, the United States Eventing Association (USEA) Board of Governors approved the creation of the Intercollegiate Eventing Program as an official program of the USEA. Originally proposed with input from the Intercollegiate Eventing League, the program was established to provide a framework on which eventing teams and individual competition could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. Collegiate athletic programs have been the training grounds for Olympians, amateur athletes and professional athletes for generations. Enabling students to train in the Olympic sport of eventing is a natural addition. To learn more about Intercollegiate Eventing click here.
If you are wanting to get a good parking spot at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning, you better be on your way as early as possible! Cross-country day at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is easily the busiest day the Kentucky Horse Park sees each year, so it's time to grab your coffee and go ensure you get the viewing spot you want for both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions today.
Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.
Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.
Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.