First up on this week's episode of the USEA Podcast, Future Event Horse Committee Co-Chair Susan Graham White comes on the show to discuss the judging seminars that will be offered this year at the East Coast and West Coast Championships taking place in September. These seminars are intended for current FEH judges to help improve the quality of FEH judging across the board. The seminars will be a combination of classroom lectures and practical application in the arena.
Allyn Mann, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Adequan, comes on the show next to talk about the $60,000 Adequan® USEA Advanced Final taking place next weekend at the 2019 USEA American Eventing Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Mann recaps the history of the Advanced Final, which began as the Adequan® USEA Gold Cup, and talks about what's in store this year with this new division.
Finally, we continue with our series featuring past USEA Presidents in celebration of our 60th anniversary, taking place this year. We'll be hearing from Charles Lloyd, president from 2002-2004, who talks about the birth of the ICP program, the transition of the USEA to its new headquarters, and the introduction of the USEA American Eventing Championships.
It's time to get down to business at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event. Across both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions riders have echoed two of the same sentiments: this won't be a dressage competition and Derek di Grazia's courses might look easier than they ride this year.
With the Paris Olympics on the horizon this summer, riders from the top eventing nations are gunning for a coveted team spot, and British team selection is particularly tough due to a plethora of talent. Tom McEwen came to the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event to prove he’s on form with James and Joe Lambert and Deirdre Johnston’s JL Dublin, and he’s out in front after two days of dressage.
Derek di Grazia’s name is legend at the Kentucky Horse Park as the designer of the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event cross-country course for over a decade, in addition to countless other influential tracks around the world. Now with the inclusion of the Cosequin CCI4*-S division, which runs alongside the famed five-star, riders at both the four- and five-star levels get to experience one of the iconic di Grazia Kentucky tracks while competing in the bluegrass. The USEA caught up with riders of both levels to get their feedback on this year’s courses.
Two riders will share the top spot on the leaderboard in the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event upon the conclusion of dressage on Friday. Early in the morning, Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo found herself launching up the scoreboard after a beautiful test with Dyri earned them a score of 26.0. While no other pair could top their performance, one team did match it perfectly near the end of the day– Liz Halliday (USA) and her 2023 Pan American Games silver medal mount Miks Master C.