United States Eventing Association

Surefire Farm Announces Discontinuation of Recognized Horse Trials

The Surefire Farm Horse Trials, held at Jan Byyny's Surefire Farm in Purcellville, Virginia, has announced that they will not be holding USEA recognized horse trials moving forward. Surefire Farm has hosted horse trials since 2004, offering Beginner Novice through Intermediate levels.

"After much deliberation, I have decided that Surefire has run its final sanctioned horse trials," Byyny shared in a statement. "This has been a really hard decision, but the time has come. I’m super glad, though, that we decided to run this past June, even as the pandemic was creating new challenges to putting on our event. I feel grateful that we ended on a really good note."

"I want to say thank you to every single rider, volunteer, official, supplier, sponsor, and course builder who over the years helped, supported, and created our amazing event," she continued. "There would have been no Surefire Horse Trials without Tom Finnen, Dick and Jo Byyny, and Christy Stauffer, and the list of others who were critical to our success is quite long. I appreciate everyone who pitched in, year after year, as part of our Surefire family. It is the memories of all who helped that stand out most for me."

Byyny clarified that she will continue to train horses and riders at Surefire, teach clinics, and do "anything and everything I can to make our sport better. This is the end of the Surefire Horse Trials but not the end of Surefire! We’ll be open for schooling for anyone that wants to come by - just contact me to make an appointment. We’re working on plans to run derby crosses, schooling horse trials, and some other fun shows. I look forward to welcoming you back to Surefire Farm."

The USEA is grateful to Byyny and her team for their hard work in operating the Surefire Farm Horse Trials. To learn more about the event's history and the people that contributed to it, check out the USEA Events A-Z article.