The historic Commonwealth Dressage & Combined Training Association (CDCTA) Fall Horse Trials is quickly approaching. With less than a month left before the September 11 USEF/USEA recognized event, entries for the trails are sadly lower than expected. With the price of gas and diesel, work schedules, and less time for horses the volunteer-based organization understands the struggles surrounding the eventing industry. Those that are interested in competing at the CDCTA Fall Horse Trials need to get their entries in by Tuesday, August 23.
CDCTA has been running recognized horse trials in Northern Virginia for over 30 years. As an entirely volunteer based organization, our competitions are completely dependent upon the generous hands that come forward to assist. The CDCTA Horse Trials strives to be a fun and inclusive event with forward riding, confidence-building tracks offered for all levels.
The CDCTA Horse Trials is uniquely run on a private farm that they are fortunate enough to lease for events twice a year. For both the Spring and Fall events, the entire show venue is built from the ground up from open hay fields. Twice a year the CDCTA volunteers move each and every portable cross-country jump onto the course and prepare the tracks with flags and roping. Without the use of public lands, the leasing and cross-country jump moving costs are a very large part of the CDTA’s budget for the trials, an expense that countless other local events do not have funds to spend for.
Due to the vast overhead involved with running the event, CDCTA is eagerly awaiting the entry deadline to ensure that there are sufficient entries to run the event. Unfortunately, there is the possibility that if not enough people come forward to participate the event will have to be canceled due to lack of funds. While CDCTA is a non-profit organization, they must be fiscally responsible to the organization and need to be close to covering expenses for the competition to continue.
The CDCTA is doing everything in its power to host the Fall Horse Trials for the competitors, but in order to do so, they are in need of a significant number of additional entries.
Please get your entries in, and any questions regarding the CDCTA Horse Trials, can be emailed to [email protected].
Eventers who are new to the sport may feel a little overwhelmed by the often-misunderstood world of saddle fitting. Riders are often bombarded with information from peers online or self-described experts, putting them at risk of following bad advice related to equipment that impacts horse welfare perhaps more than any other piece of tack. Finding a qualified expert to answer these questions is crucial. Who better to turn to than both a qualified Master Saddle Fitter and a fourth-generation saddle designer to answer some of these questions?
Did you know that the USEA Foundation awards over 150 grants each year to deserving individuals who are involved in the sport of eventing? With grants that assist riders with accomplishing their competition goals, grants geared toward licensed officials, grants that are specific to continuing education for coaches, grants that assist competitions with obtaining frangible technology, and so much more, there really is a grant opportunity available to almost anyone!
With the start of the New Year just days away, now is the time to consider how your actions can have a positive impact on the sport of eventing in 2025. Each and every member of the eventing community has an important role to play in ensuring the sport continues to grow and thrive. From fostering educational opportunities to supporting grassroots initiatives and participating at all levels of the sport, there are so many ways to get involved.
Ride iQ’s popular “Ask An Expert” series features professional advice and tips from all areas of the horse industry. One of the most-downloaded episodes is an expert session with Peter Gray, an accomplished dressage judge and Olympic eventer. He has recently judged at events like the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, and he served on the ground jury at the 2022 FEI World Eventing Championships in Pratoni, Italy. His background as a competitor in the Olympic Games riding for Bermuda and as a coach and selector for the Canadian eventing team adds depth to his understanding of the sport.