United States Eventing Association

The Leading Riders of Intercollegiate in 2021

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing program has steadily gained popularity since its creation in 2014. In 2016, the USEA intercollegiate national leaderboards were introduced, and every December a new set of nationally ranked riders are named.

For 2021, the collegiate riders that took home top honors were Cosby Green of University of Kentucky, Katie Lichten of University of Virginia, Jackson Dillard of Clemson University, Morgyn Johnson of Randolph-Macon College, Cora Severs of University of Kentucky, Katie Szewczyk of University of Florida, and Nicole Carlone of Iowa State University.

USEA Advanced Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

Earning 10 points at the Advanced level Cosby Green earned the 2021 USEA Advanced Intercollegiate rider of the Year. She was the only intercollegiate rider to earn points at the Advanced level. Green was also the second-highest ranked Intermediate Intercollegiate Rider of the Year with 56 points at the Intermediate level. Green accumulated these points with her two upper-level mounts, Copper Beach, a 2006 Irish Sport Horse gelding and Highly Suspicious, a 2010 Irish Sport Horse gelding sired by Russel. Get to know more about Green by clicking here.

USEA Intermediate Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

For the second year in a row, Katie Lichten topped the USEA Intermediate Intercollegiate Rider of the Year leaderboard. Lichten earned 65 points at the Intermediate level while competing Sapphire Blue B (Heritage Fortunas x Lucy Blue) a 2010 Irish Sport Horse gelding and Yarrow (Yaveri x Amelia) a 13-year-old Canadian Sport Horse gelding.

USEA Preliminary Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

Jackson Dillard finished the year with 31 points at the Preliminary level to earn himself the title as the 2021 USEA Preliminary Intercollegiate Rider of the Year. was the highest-ranked Preliminary Intercollegiate Rider of the Year. Dillard earned his points by piloting his own 2009 Warmblood gelding Elmo and his own 2011 Hanoverian mare, Layla Q (Loerke x Ayla Q).

The second-highest ranked collegiate rider at the Preliminary level was Sydney Shinn as she earned 20 points at the Preliminary level.

USEA Modified Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

Finishing with 21 points at the Modified level, Morgyn Johnson was the 2021 USEA Modified Intercollegiate Rider of the Year. Johnson earned her Modified points with her 2014 Trakehner gelding, Peter Parker GS (Humble GS x Painter’s Emily).

The second-highest ranked Modified collegiate rider of 2021 was Johnson’s teammate, Austin Skeens of Randolph-Macon College, with 15 points.

USEA Training Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

Cora Severs finished the 2021 competition season with 33 points to top two national leaderboards – the 2021 USEA Training Intercollegiate Rider of the Year, and the 2021 USEA Training Young Adult Rider of the Year. Severs earned her 33 points with Cuervo (Judgement ISF x Alexis Titty 11 Z) a 2007 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Stacey Severs.

Morgyn Johnson, the highest-ranked intercollegiate rider at the Modified level, was also second-highest ranked on the USEA Training Intercollegiate Rider of the Year leaderboard with 26 points at the Training level.

USEA Novice Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

With 38 points, Katie Szewczyk of University of Florida was the 2021 USEA Novice Intercollegiate Rider of the Year. Szewczyk accumulated 38 points with her 2003 Quarter Horse gelding, Suspicious Behavior (Clark Noble x Streakin Bella).

USEA Beginner Novice Intercollegiate Rider of the Year

Nicole Carlone of Iowa State University finished the 2021 competition season with 16 points at the Beginner Novice level to earn the 2021 USEA Beginner Novice Intercollegiate Rider of the Year. Carlone accumulated these points with her 2007 mare Too Big For Your Britches.

Congratulations to all the collegiate riders! For more information on the USEA Intercollegiate Program, please click here. To see all the intercollegiate leaderboards at every level, click here.

Don’t forget the 2022 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships take place on May 21-22, 2022 at Chattahoochee Hills H.T. in Fairburn, Georgia. Every school must renew its affiliate registration with the USEA for 2022. Click here to renew.

About the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program

The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program was established in 2014 to provide a framework within which eventing teams and individual competitors could flourish at universities and colleges across the country. The USEA offers a discount of $25 on annual USEA memberships for current students of universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country now offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually as well as on teams with their fellow students. In Intercollegiate Team Challenges, each rider’s score is multiplied by a coefficient appropriate for their level to account for differences in level difficulty, and then the individual scores are added together to determine the team score. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, EQuine AMerica Magazine, FITS, Kerrits, RevitaVet, R&J Equine, USEF, World Equestrian Brands, and Saratoga Horseworks for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.