United States Eventing Association

It was a busy week at the MARS Maryland 5 Star, held Oct. 16-20 in Elkton, Maryland, with a five-star and three-star division running alongside the Dutta Corp. USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships. The USEA was there to capture all of the action. Here are some of our favorite photos.

In the CCI3*-L competition at the MARS Maryland 5 Star, Sharon White, who was part of the U.S. Team that took home silver in the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, jumped from ninth place to first after a spectacular cross-country round on Saturday, and held firmly onto her lead with a clean show jumping round with her 8-year-old Westphalian mare, Jaguars Duende (Jaguar Mail x Latina) finished with a total score of 29.6.

Oliver Townend had no rails in hand heading into today’s show jumping at the MARS Maryland 5 Star, and while his veteran partner, the 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse Ballaghmor Class (Courage II x Kilderry Place), had already won three five-stars over his career, he’d also had a rail or two down on the final day, so a win wasn’t guaranteed.

After a day full of cross-country excitement, it's time to move on to the final day of competition at the 2024 MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. Before we move on to the final phase, show jumping, all of the three-star and five-star horses must present before the Ground Jury one final time at the last Horse Inspection which starts at 9:30 a.m. with the three-star field. The five-star horse inspection will follow immediately after.

After Saturday's CCI3*-L cross-country at the MARS Maryland 5 Star, Sharon White and Jaguars Duende ascended from 9th place after dressage to take the lead with a score of 29.6. Sara Schulman held steady in second place on Cooley Chromatic, finishing their cross-country round with a score of 30.6. Alexandra Knowles and P.S. I Love You made an impressive jump from 14th place to third, finishing with a score of 31.4.

Ian Stark’s final five-star cross-country course at the MARS Maryland 5 Star proved to be the ultimate test on Saturday as the field of 22 was whittled down to eight throughout the afternoon. Oliver Townend (GBR) and Ballaghmor Class (Courage II x Kilderry Place) sailed around adding just 4.8 time penalties to their score to slide into the lead on a score of 31.3.

Everyone's favorite day has arrived! Cross-country kicks off today in both the CCI3*-L and the CCI5*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill and all three of the top riders in the five-star echoed the same word when asked about Ian Stark's farewell course: hard.

The Thoroughbred mare Rose Traveler (War Dancer x Nashwan Rose) was the last to be seen in the 2024 Dutta. Corp USEA Young Event Horse (YEH) East Coast 5-Year-Old Championship, and she definitely lived up to the age-old adage, “saved the best for last.” The mare was ranked 31st in the conformation and 22nd in the dressage, but her jumping and galloping efforts absolutely impressed the judges, launching her up the leaderboard to claim the champion title.

Nine years ago, Tamie Smith and Mai Baum traveled from their homebase in California and took the East Coast eventing scene by storm, winning the Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International CCI4*-L.

Thanks to CrossCountry App, you can check out Ian Stark's cross-country courses for the CCI3*-L and CCI5*-L at the MARS Maryland 5 Star!