United States Eventing Association

Preparing the Fast Facts for the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds always displays the true diversity of the sport of eventing. Riders from all backgrounds and ages riding horses that were wrangled up in the Wild West or born into the arms of the riders who still have them to this day come together to compete in the sport they love. One fun fact the USEA staff always enjoys looking at is the age range between competitors. This year the oldest competitor was 75 years young and the lone youngest competitor was 9 years of age. That young rider is Addison Borton.

The USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds returned to the Kentucky Horse Park for the second time from Aug. 29-Sept. 3, and it was a week to remember. Twenty-four champions were crowned, but there were so many more amazing moments in between. Here are some of our favorites.

Whew - what a week at the #AEC2023! Out of the 850 competitors, 24 new national champions rose to the top and USEA Podcast Host Nicole Brown caught up with two of them: Liz Halliday who won the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final and Stephanie Letarte, the 2023 USEA Training Amateur Championship.

With 850 competitors on the roster, putting on this year’s USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds was no easy task. And like all other horse trials in the U.S., the AEC still relies heavily on the efforts of volunteers to bring its efforts to fruition. Over 750 volunteer shifts were filled over the course of the 7-day-long competition by an outstanding 300-plus volunteers. Those volunteers hailed from all over the country, with 30% of the final volunteer number driving in from out of state. Eventing enthusiasts flew in from each coast to help make this event a special one for the qualified competitors this year. While on grounds, the USEA caught up with a handful of these spectacular individuals to get the down low on why they opted to volunteer at this year’s national championships.

While they’d both been to the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds in the past, Andy Amato and his wife Tonya Cummins Amato hoped to one day share the special experience with their 12-year-old daughter Addison Amato. With all horses and humans healthy and with the AEC being held in Lexington, Kentucky, 2023 was their year.

The 2023 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds has been a roaring success, standing as the third largest eventing competition in North American history, behind the 2021 and 2019 AEC at the Kentucky Horse Park. None of it would have been possible without the support of the many loyal sponsors.

After a week of competition, the 2023 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds drew to a close on Sunday evening at the conclusion of the six Beginner Novice Championship divisions.

The schedule might be lighter today, but the competition will still be fierce as competitors in our six final divisions step forth in hopes of being crowned champion. We absolutely love Beginner Novice championship day and cannot wait to watch eventing dreams unfold right before our very eyes. We encourage all other competitors to take a moment to head down to the Rolex Stadium to cheer these final six divisions on as they cross the finish timers!

Beginner Novice riders left the start box today and are still sporting high levels of enthusiasm despite the relentless nature of competition, and all that needs to be done in-between phases, as the 2023 USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds heads into its final day. The big atmosphere inspired mighty plans, all of which went swimmingly for our first-place leaders who are still hanging onto their overnight dressage scores after going through the notable head of the lake.

The competition and the temperature heated up on Saturday as six Novice divisions came to a conclusion at the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) presented by Nutrena Feeds.