Over 200 competitors came to Morven Park International Equestrian Center for this year’s Spring Horse Trials and a successful 2021 eventing season kick-off.
The weekend’s big winners were Skyeler Voss, who won the Open Intermediate division riding Argyle and Ainsley Colgan riding Ginobi, who achieved the lowest score of the weekend with an impressive 26.10 in the Junior Beginner Novice Rider division.
In addition to Voss and Colgan, other notable winners were Ema Klugman who won the Open Preliminary-A division riding RF Redfern and Michael Pendleton who won Open Preliminary-B riding Redfield Fellow. Bruce Davidson, Sr., rode Invito, to a first-place finish in the Open Training division. Scores for all divisions will be posted on MorvenPark.org/HorseTrials.
“This was my first time attending Spring Horse Trials and I was awe-inspired by the sheer scope of an eventing competition,” said Stacey Metcalfe, Morven Park’s new Executive Director/CEO. “Each phase of competition was more exciting than the last and of course the competitors were all so impressive. We cannot thank the riders, officials, judges, and volunteers enough for coming out this weekend, in the sun and in the rain, to celebrate horse trials with us.”
Beginner Novice through Intermediate was offered at this year’s horse trials and for the first time, a Preliminary Training Division was available. The P/T division winner was Martin Douzant riding Olympus. Cross-country took place on the Park’s sprawling 1,000 acres and competitors enjoyed dressage and show jump arenas outfitted with Eurotex footing from Attwood Equestrian Surfaces.
The Morven Park International Equestrian Center thanks Sponsors SmartPak and Winchester Equipment Company, Silver sponsor Adequan, and Bronze level sponsors Total Equine Veterinary Associates, Coat Defense, and In Memoriam Pet Services for their support of Spring Horse Trials.
The Morven Park Fall International Horse Trials and CCI4*-L, CCI3*/2*YH-S, CCI 4*/3*/2*-S will be held October 6 – 10 and the Park’s popular hunter/jumper summer series kicks off next weekend with a sold-out show. Visit MorvenPark.org/Equestrian for details. For sponsorship opportunities, email [email protected].
About the Morven Park International Equestrian CenterMorven Park International Equestrian Center is a premier competition venue located in Loudoun County, VA and attracts some of the world's top riders. Morven Park hosts events year-round, and in nearly all riding disciplines, such as carriage driving, hunter/jumper shows, dressage competitions, and the Spring and Fall Horse Trials. The Equestrian Center grew out of the renowned Morven Park International Equestrian Institute, one of the world's most prestigious riding academies. In addition to holding competitions and events, Morven Park also welcomes riders and show managers to rent facilities such as the indoor and outdoor arenas, stalls, cafe, and show office space. To learn more, visit MorvenPark.org/Equestrian.
About Morven Park Morven Park is a 1,000-acre nonprofit park in Leesburg, Virginia. Known as the “Central Park” of Loudoun County, Morven Park welcomes 250,000 visitors each year who come to enjoy exquisite scenery, formal boxwood gardens, the Morven Park International Equestrian Center, the iconic Greek Revival mansion, museums, and hiking trails. For more information, or to support the Park, visit MorvenPark.org.
The USEA Annual Meeting & Convention is an event that many USEA members look forward to year after year to catch up with their fellow eventing enthusiasts and stay up to date on all the latest work happening on the USEA Committees and Task Forces, but there’s so much more to explore. The educational opportunities offered at this year’s Convention, which takes place on Dec. 7-10 at the Marriott St. Louis Grand hotel in St. Louis, Missouri, are endless and afford members with the opportunity to expand their horizons through a full schedule of seminars and events. Plus, each day of the Convention counts as one ECP Continuing Education credit for those in attendance!
Each year every member of the USEA receives a nomination ballot to submit nominees to the Board of Governors and during the Annual Meeting of Members, all members are invited to vote for those individuals nominated to serve. All members receive a proxy to vote for their chosen representatives for those unable to attend the Annual Meeting of Members. The only restriction for Board membership is that they must be USEA members. There are 10 positions representing each Area of the country and 11 at-large positions with no other restrictions.
Effective Dec. 1, 2023, USEF rule EV145.8 will require, whenever possible, new cross-country obstacles (for which frangible devices are appropriate) to be constructed with FEI approved frangible technology for the Training level and above (previously it was Modified and above).
The Ram Tap Horse Park Horse Trials hosted the final USEA Classic Series Event of the year this past weekend in Fresno, California. The event offered three traditional long-format divisions at the Beginner Novice, Novice, and Training levels. Meet the final USEA Classic Series champions of 2024 below.