The fifth annual USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships were a huge success at the Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington, Va. this weekend. There was a record number of 105 Intercollegiate entries, which included 29 teams and 15 unique colleges and universities competing for the Championship titles.
This year was the first year where two divisions were offered – not just the undergraduate division, but also the new graduate division. The graduate division was open to current graduate students, as well as the seniors from the graduating 2020 class who missed out on last year’s Championships after the unfortunate cancellation due to COVID-19. This year’s Champions were the University of Kentucky Wildcats Team (Cosby Green, Ivie Cullen Dean, Caroline Dannemiller, and Abbey O’Day) in the undergraduate division and Amelia Bayer from James Madison University, Macy Clark from the University of Kentucky, and Mackenzie Krason from Virginia Tech in the graduate division. The prestigious Spirit Award was then claimed by Auburn University.
This year’s USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships would not have been possible without the support of some great sponsors, who helped make it special for all students in attendance. Bates Saddles, Saratoga Horseworks, Kerrits, RevitaVet, FITS Riding, World Equestrian Brands, EQuine AMerica Magazine, R&J Equine Kinetics, and US Equestrian all offered up incredible prizes for the students in both divisions.
The Intercollegiate sponsors sent the top three teams in the undergraduate division home with large prize bags filled with luggage bags, grooming bags and other goodies from Bates Saddles, certificates from FITS Riding, leather cleaning kits and certificates from World Equestrian Brands, special items from Equine America Magazine, incredible items such as show coats from Kerrits, branded saddle pads from US Equestrian and RevitaVet, and some other miscellaneous items. RevitaVet also gave the winning team a RevitaVet therapy system, and the winning team also received two spots to attend a one-month hydrotherapy sertive at R&J Equine Unlimited in Virginia. The champions in the graduate division also went home with large prize bags with items from all of the sponsors. Lastly, Saratoga Horseworks sent both Champion teams home with beautiful, custom embroidered show coolers.
The USEA would also like to thank The Virginia Horse Trials and Executive Director Andy Bowles for putting on such a wonderful event and giving this opportunity to the students. A special mention also goes to Leslie Threlkeld, USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Committee Chair, who continues to dedicate her time and energy into the program and on-site at the annual championships.
Until this past May, qualifying for the USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Nutrena Feeds let alone actually making plans to compete, seemed like a far-off dream. Going into this show season the AEC was a goal I had set in the back of my mind but maybe only said out loud a few times.
The Millbrook Horse Trials kicked off on July 25 with lower level dressage at Riga Meadow Equestrian Center at Coole Park in Millbrook, New York. There are more than 400 total entries competing at Millbrook, from Beginner Novice to Advanced level. Today the upper level horses cantered down the centerline, while the lower levels headed out on cross-country.
The United States Eventing Association, Inc. (USEA) is thrilled to announce Adams Horse Supply as the new title sponsor of the USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) at the American Eventing Championships (AEC). The ATC will now be titled “The Adams Horse Supply USEA Adult Team Championships at the AEC.”
The world’s best eventing horses and riders will be first out of the starting blocks when the equestrian action gets underway at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Versailles, France, tomorrow morning with the opening dressage test.