With the Starter level now fully endorsed by the USEA, many competitors are taking advantage of competing at this level in hopes of accruing year-end points on the USEA leaderboard and securing their qualifications for the 2024 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds. For those who are new to competing with the USEA or new to the Starter level, we thought it would be beneficial to dedicate this month’s edition of Rule Refresher to all things Starter related!
Text has been taken directly from the USEF Rules for Eventing with emphasis added by the USEA.
What Does the Starter Level Look like?
Specifications for all three phases of the Starter level are as follows:
a. Dressage: Competitors should be prepared to do a walk, trot, and canter dressage test with 20-meter figures and a halt.
b. Cross-Country: Obstacles, solid in appearance, with ground lines, where appropriate, to enhance the fence profile. 1. There must be no jumps before or after a water crossing within 25m (78 ft) before and 16m (54 ft) after. 2. There should be an option for a ditch or water crossing if a ditch or water jump is part of the course. 3. Combinations are not allowed. 4. The track of the course must avoid turns of less than a 20-meter radius.
c. Show Jumping: The jumping course should be inviting and straightforward. 1. Recommend lines of 25m (82 ft) or more. 2. Combinations are not allowed.
In dressage, competitors will utilize one of the following tests:
Cross-country specifications are as follows:
Show jumping specifications are as follows:
It is important to note that there are no qualifications for a rider or horse to enter the Starter level. Membership for the rider and horse is optional, however if a rider wishes to earn year-end points on the USEA Leaderboard or earn qualifications for the AEC, they must be USEA members.
What Rules Do I Follow?
All three phases at this level will be subject to the current USEA requirements for the Starter level, USEA Policies and Guidelines, and the USEF Rules for Eventing. Whenever there is no directive given for this level, governance is deferred to the USEF Rules for Eventing, Beginner Novice level and to specifications applied to all levels.
Example: What happens if I fall off?
EV123 in the USEF Rules for Eventing states that in the instance of an athlete fall, riders will be eliminated (marked “RF” for rider fall) at the following levels: BN, N, T, M, P, I, A. As noted above, whenever there is no directive given for this level, governance is deferred to the USEF Rules for Eventing, Beginner Novice level and to specifications applied to all levels. This means that this rule also applies to competitors at the Starter level as well. So if you were to part ways from your horse on course, you would be eliminated.
This guidance also applies to several other rules in the rulebook. Other examples include: Willful delay between the last fence and the finish, speed faults, and fourth penalized disobedience on the entire course; all of which can be found under EV123.
Riders can reference the rules for each phase
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.