United States Eventing Association

SEC is the Conference to Beat at the 2018 Intercollegiate Eventing Championship

Tigers, Cavaliers, Wildcats, Reveilles, and Horned Frogs will all come out to play at the Intercollegiate Eventing Championship at the Virginia Horse Trials (VHT) CCI/CIC, May 24-27, 2018. Whether you bleed blue or use the “Roll Tide” rallying cry, there’s a school for everyone to stand behind at the third annual highly-anticipated Championship.

The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has proven to be successful at more sports than just football. Auburn University, University of Georgia, University of Kentucky, Texas A&M, and University of Alabama repeatedly bring their A-game to the annual Intercollegiate Championship. University of Georgia had more than two full teams participate in 2017 and earned the championship title the year before in 2016. University of Kentucky took the Reserve Champion title last year, and Auburn University brought two full teams of which Team Orange earned third place.

Whether it’s Beginner Novice or the CIC2*, the Intercollegiate Championship is a great way to show off school pride. Last year, Texas A&M (yet another SEC school) was awarded 2017’s “School Spirit Award,” an award presented to the team with the highest team morale and overall team spirit. Imagine matching school saddle pads, helmet covers, patriotic school outfits, banners, flags, ribbons, and more. This is an opportunity for riders to take their school spirit to a whole new level. The best part? The winning team of this award gets their entry fee refunded (a value over $200)!

In 2016, the first year the Championship was hosted, 37 students from 10 colleges and universities made up 10 competing teams. Doubling the numbers in participation, 2017’s Championship had over 80 students from 17 schools that formed 21 teams.

Andy Bowles, the mastermind behind the VHT CCI/CIC is looking forward to this year’s Championship. "The first two years of the Intercollegiate Championship have been very successful. The increased participation and excitement for the competition shows that the model and structure we have developed creates a compelling team atmosphere," Bowles said. "We're looking forward to this year's Championship and we will continue working to provide a fun yet challenging competition. Afterwards the USEA will accept bids for a new location. We hope that the next venue takes it forward in the same way we have, and we look forward to having it back at Virginia in the future."

Entries for the third annual USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship will open on April 10. To see if your qualified to compete, please visit the Intercollegiate Eventing Program page.

The USEA would like to thank the Intercollegiate Eventing Team Championship Sponsors: World Equestrian Brands, Ride Safe, and US Equestrian.

About the USEA Intercollegiate Program
The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA and many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges throughout the year, where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

About the Virginia Horse Trials
The Virginia Horse Trials has been a premier eventing destination for over 25 years. Situated on 600 acres, the Virginia Horse Center is a first-class venue. Brian and Penny Ross founded the Virginia Horse Trials in 1989 and organized the event through its 25th Anniversary in 2014. Andy Bowles took over the organization of the Virginia Horse Trials in 2015 and looks forward to maintaining it as a destination for east coast eventers in the years to come.