United States Eventing Association

Start Planning for the 2025 USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships at Stable View

After the success of the first annual USEA Intercollegiate & Interscholastic Eventing Championships at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, members are not going to want to miss the second edition in 2025! Barry and Cyndy Olliff, owners of Stable View, and their team are gearing up for an even bigger and better event in the coming year. If you are a current or prospective member of the Intercollegiate Eventing Program or the Interscholastic Eventing League, be sure to block off the weekend of May 3-4, 2025 to attend these exciting Championships.

By combining the newly established IEL Championship with the ever-popular Intercollegiate Eventing Championship, the USEA is fostering a pipeline for participation in the sport of eventing from grade 5 through college and beyond. Bringing these groups together allows IEL participants to learn about college and university eventing programs that are interested in welcoming new members and encourages the collegiate riders to mentor their younger counterparts. Camaraderie and cohesion are the key goals of this event, which exemplified team spirit and stellar sportsmanship in its first year.

If you’ve attended a recent championship, you’ll know that the Opening Ceremony Parade, which will take place on Friday, May 2, sets the tone for the weekend of festivities. Again, Stable View will welcome competitors from both programs to parade around Phillips Arena, in front of the iconic Stable View Pavilion and all their adoring supporters, to kick off the fun.

Teams are encouraged to dress is their best team spirit wear, adorned with face paint, pom poms, mascots, and any other decorations that their creativity allows. Golf carts and mini-pony mascots are permitted! Afterwards, all attendees will be invited to join us for a Graze and Gaze Welcome Party complete with mechanical bull riding for some friendly competition.

As always, the Spirit Award will be a focal point of the competition as well. In 2025, the major event that will contribute to the Spirit Award festivities will be the Hobby Horse Combined Trial. Building on last year’s extremely entertaining Hobby Horse Jumping Contest, Barry and the team will be making this a two phase competition with a show jumping course and cross-country test. The show jumping course will be judged on accuracy and time this year, while the cross-country test will include Starter-sized fences and a real water complex!

In addition to the Hobby Horse Combined Trial, a traditional stall decorating contest will be a component of the final scores. Stable View has installed new message boards at the front of each barn to allow for stapling of more posters, ribbons, and décor!

Finally, the cross-country decorating team will be dedicating a fence for each college, university, and IEL Club competing. While the decoration of the jump itself will not be judged aesthetically, the teams will be given extra credit for providing their decorations for Stable View to use. Flags, stuffed mascots, streamers, and other team spirit gear are encouraged and can be mailed directly to the venue. More information on the Spirit Award criteria and deadlines will be forthcoming, but this advanced notice should help get the creative juices flowing!

Both Championships will host divisions at the Starter through Intermediate levels, and Spirit Awards will be offered separately for each program. There will be no qualifications necessary to enter either championship, however, all schools and clubs represented must be registered affiliates of the USEA. Don’t forget to submit Collegiate Team Applications or IEL Application Forms, along with official affiliate rosters, to Jennifer Hardwick, USEA Senior Director of Membership Services, at [email protected] by February 15, 2025.

All collegiate participants must be enrolled as undergraduate students, or with their school’s approval, be no more than six months past the completion of their undergraduate education, allowing December graduates to compete in the May championship. Collegiate participants are also required to hold an active USEA Membership. If you attend an accredited university or college that isn’t currently listed on the Intercollegiate Eventing Program List, consider starting a new team by reviewing the program information here and submitting a Collegiate Team Application.

All IEL participants must be enrolled in 5^th through 12^th grade at a public school, private school, online school, or homeschool. Unlike the Intercollegiate Eventing Program, IEL Clubs can be any group of junior riders who share a common bond, like riding at the same barn, competing with the same trainer, attending the same school, or being a part of the same Pony Club. For a list of the current Interscholastic Eventing Clubs, please click here. If you are interested in starting a new IEL Club, click here to learn more about the program and submit an IEL Application Form today.

Any questions regarding the Intercollegiate Eventing Program or Interscholastic Eventing League and the upcoming 2025 championships can be directed to USEA Staff Liaison, Kaleigh Collett, at [email protected].

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing 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 at universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or 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. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. The 2025 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 3-4. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Nunn Finer, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, and World Equestrian Brands for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

About the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL)

In August 2020, the USEA Board of Governors approved the creation of the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) as an official program of the USEA. The mission of IEL is to unite junior riders who are in the 5th—12th grade and provide a supportive community through which students can continue to pursue their riding interests. A group of junior members in the 5th—12th grade who share a common bond, such as the same barn, school, Pony Club, or other connection, can register with the USEA as an IEL Affiliate. The second annual USEA Interscholastic Eventing Championship will be held alongside the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 3-4, 2025. Click here to learn more about the Interscholastic Eventing League.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Nunn Finer, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, and World Equestrian Brands for sponsoring the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League.