United States Eventing Association

Request For Expressions of Interest: The 2020 YEH East Coast Championships

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is now accepting expressions of interest to host The Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast Championships in 2020. The Fair Hill Organizing Committee (FHOC) announced that the inaugural Maryland Five-Star at Fair Hill will be postponed until 2021, which will now also impact the YEH Championships. While the FHOC is eager to continue to host The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH Championships in 2021, the USEA is now in need of a 2020 venue for the East Coast.

The USEA would like to request for expressions of interest to host The Dutta Corp. USEA YEH East Coast Championships at a site located in the eastern United States, ideally within relatively close proximity to the USEA headquarters in Virginia.

Host site(s) should; be attractive and presentable venues, have consistently good footing, have the ability to comply with the USEF COVID-19 Action Plan, and have a demonstrated record of a media plan with demonstrated ability to successfully work with local media.

The USEA Young Event Horse Championships have historically been conducted across two days and must be held in October. The YEH Championships include a 4-year-old division as well as a 5-year-old division. The USEA licenses the rights to run the YEH Championships to a host site/organizer while retaining certain rights of control over the event.

Only organizers with an established relationship with a facility and proof of support for the expression of interest from the host site owners/operators, or the owner(s) and/or operator(s) of a prospective host site may nominate said venue for consideration. Expressions of interest should be submitted in the form of a letter and should consist of no more than 800 words.

All expressions of interest for a YEH Championships host site located in the eastern United States should also include the following:

1. Address of proposed site(s), in the eastern region of the United States
2. A list of site features relevant to eventing competitions including but not limited to;
1. The permanent and/or temporary stall capacity;
2. The number of arenas (including dimensions and footing type);
3. Existing infrastructure and acreage available for the YEH jumping/galloping test
4. Basic utilities (water, electric, cable/internet)
5. Any other features of note (i.e. parking, RV/camping availability), and;
6. The ability to run dressage, conformation, and jumping/galloping with ample warm-up areas
3. Contact information for the person or entity submitting the expression of interest;
4. Proposed business/management model(s), and;
5. Indication of whether running the YEH Championships at the site on the week of the originally scheduled YEH Championships (October 15-16, 2020) is feasible (or) proposed alternative dates. Dates must not interfere with the West Coast YEH Championships October 23-24, 2020.

All expressions of interest should be submitted by July 1, 2020.

Please direct inquiries and expressions of interest to the following contact:

Kate Lokey, Director of Programs and Marketing
Phone: (703) 779-0440
Fax: (703) 779-0550
[email protected]

About the USEA Young Event Horse Program

The Young Event Horse (YEH) Program was first established in 2004 as an eventing talent search. Much like similar programs in Europe, the YEH program was designed to identify young horses aged four and five, that possess the talent and disposition to, with proper training, excel at the uppermost levels of the sport. The ultimate goal of the program is to distinguish horses with the potential to compete at the four- and five-star levels, but many fine horses that excel at the lower levels are also showcased by the program.

The YEH program provides an opportunity for breeders and owners to exhibit the potential of their young horses while encouraging the breeding and development of top event horses for the future. The program rewards horses who are educated and prepared in a correct and progressive manner. At qualifying events, youngsters complete a dressage test and a jumping/galloping/general impression phase. At Championships, young horses are also evaluated on their conformation in addition to the dressage test and jumping/galloping/general impression phase. Click here to learn more about the Young Event Horse Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, SmartPak, Standlee Hay Company, Parker Equine Insurance, C4 Belts, and Etalon Diagnostics for sponsoring the Young Event Horse Program. Additionally, the USEA would like to thank The Dutta Corp., Title Sponsor of the Young Event Horse Championships.