United States Eventing Association

US Equestrian has updated its COVID-19 Action Plan for Licensed Competitions(Action Plan) to include protocols specific to allowing spectator attendance at a limited capacity beginning May 3, 2021. Last week, US Equestrian announced the maximum capacity for spectators at competitions in its April 14 communication. This follow-up announcement of the specific spectator protocols will provide competition organizers, licensed officials, and other stakeholders with sufficient time to prepare for a return of spectators beginning May 3, 2021.

US Equestrian (USEF) released the following letter this afternoon in regards to upcoming plans for allowing spectators at USEF competitions. The United States Eventing Association (USEA) follows all protocols and rules set by the USEF for USEA recognized events.

The FEI levels originally scheduled at the Morven Park Fall Horse Trials from October 2-4, 2020 have been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. This would have been the first time a CCI4*-L was offered at Morven Park. Park staff were anticipating a record number of competitors, volunteers, and officials to attend from around the United States and other countries. Additionally, inaugural CCI2*YH-S and CCI3*YH-S levels had been planned to showcase up-and-coming horses.

Going into 2020, we in High Performance had a clear plan on how to be best prepared for the Tokyo Olympic Games. When the selection trials in Kentucky, Badminton, and Jersey Fresh were all canceled, we had to swiftly develop a plan for our final selection event.

We are nearly two full months into a return to competition. While we are all grateful for the opportunity to enjoy competing again, the challenges and risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic remain part of our daily lives. Governors are beginning to pull back or even reverse reopening initiatives in several states as positivity rates are increasing.

The 2020 USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds (AEC) is just one month away! This year, the AEC is on August 25-30 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. For anyone looking forward to competing at the 2020 AEC, please review the safety measures below that will be in place during the event.

The health of our competitors, spectators, officials, volunteers, and everyone else involved in the Ocala Jockey Club Three-Day Event production is very important to us. We announced on May 24, 2020 that we felt confident in OJC’s ability to run the 2020 Event and the accompanying USEF CCI4*-L National Championships as scheduled.

Now that some competitions have resumed, it is important that we all remain vigilant in our efforts to reduce the risk of COVID-19 virus transmission when attending a USEF-licensed competition. Please remember that we are among the first sports to reopen, and by strictly adhering to these requirements and best practices we can demonstrate to local, state, and federal authorities that the equestrian community is able to manage our sport in a safe and responsible manner.

As COVID-19 hit the U.S. nationwide, it forced the cancellation of the eventing calendar from March 16 to June 1. During the suspension of USEA recognized events, the USEA Official Podcast kept members informed about what was happening with the sport and helped prepare everyone for a safe return to competition. Recording from the safety of their own homes, the hosts of the USEA Official Podcast dive deep into life amidst COVID-19 on episodes #255-#259.

After nearly three long months of waiting, eventers were finally able to return to competition this past weekend with three events taking place at River Glen in New Market, Tennessee; Feather Creek in Norman, Oklahoma; and Plantation Field in Unionville, Pennsylvania. The USEA attended the Plantation Field Horse Trials on Friday to observe the return to competition amid new restrictions put in place by the USEF to protect all in attendance from COVID-19.