United States Eventing Association

The 2009 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is off to a running start this year, and the country's top horses and riders from coast-to-coast are already racking up points towards a year-end purse of $10,000! Horse and rider combinations from eight destination events across the country will take home cash, prizes, and points in the running to become the 2009 Year-end Adequan USEA Gold Cup champion.

At each of these eight premier events, the top division offered at the competition is the designated "Gold Cup" division, whether it be a CIC3*, Advanced, or a CIC2*.

Horses and riders must achieve points together as a pair at the Gold Cup events, and both must be members of the USEA. First place winners take home 200 points for their win, and can also earn bonus points: 50 extra points for double-clear cross-country rounds, and 40 extra points for double-clear show jumping rounds. To learn more about how horses and riders rack up points, visit the Gold Cup Points System page.

Fabulous Prizes...and Cash!

Winners of each of the eight Gold Cup events across the country take home a trailer-load of prizes for their achievements. Winners receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, an E.A. Mattes Couture Pad, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers take home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place receives a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.

The overall Adequan USEA Gold Cup winner will receive a hefty check for $10,000 and a huge trophy at the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, which will be held in Reston, Virginia this December. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the USEA, so this Meeting is sure to be one of the best celebrations yet!

Tryon & Leyland Set the Stage

The first event of the Gold Cup calendar kicked off out in Temecula, California at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials on March 27-29. Two-time Olympian Amy Tryon of Duvall, Washington, and her 2008 Jersey Fresh CCI3* winner Leyland took home the top prize in the CIC3*, which served as the designated "Gold Cup division." Leyland, a nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Elisabeth, Mike, and Chris Nicholson, galloped around the Ian Stark-designed course with gusto.

Their success paved the way for Leyland's first trip around the challenging Rolex Kentucky CCI4* at the end of this month. For their win at the Gold Cup event, Tryon and Leyland racked up 200 points for their win, plus 40 extra points for their clean show jumping round.

Kelly Prather and Andrea Pfeiffer's Ballinakill Glory pulled together an impressive finish, and taking home the second place ribbon in the field of 14 starters. Riding for Tracy Bowman, Jolie Sexson and Killian O'Connor, who led the division after Saturday's cross-country phase, dropped two rails to finish in third. Sexson and the talented Irish gelding will be headed to Lexington, Kentucky at the end of this month to compete for their first time at the Rolex CCI4* event.

Prather and the spunky mare Ballinakill Glory picked up 175 points for the second place finish, and Sexson and Killian added 160 for their third place. Because they posted a double-clear show jumping round, Sandra Donnelly and Buenos Aires added 190 points to the Gold Cup leaderboard--150 for their fourth place finish, and 40 bonus points for their clear round.

Buck & Bobby Kick Off the East Coast Events

On the first weekend in April in Norwood, North Carolina, Buck Davidson bested a field of 61 starters at The Fork Horse Trials & CIC3* with Carl Segal's My Boy Bobby, a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, to take home top honors in the CIC3*, which served as the event's Gold Cup division.

'Bobby' will also be prepping for his four-star debut, and gave a spectacular performance for owner Carl Segal. "This is probably the most exciting weekend I’ve ever experienced since I’ve been in the sport!" said Segal after the young horse jumped a double-clear show jumping round to close out the competition on Sunday afternoon.

For their win in this competitive division, Buck and Bobby took home 240 points, leaving them tied for first in the Gold Cup leaderboard with Amy and Leyland.

Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val are off to a great start in 2009, taking home 2nd place in the highly contested division. The pair had a great year in the Gold Cup Series last year, and are looking forward to competing at the challenging Jersey Fresh CCI3* in May.

Last year's USEA Young Rider of the Year Jennie Brannigan took home the third place with her talented young Dutch warmblood gelding Cooper in their first CIC3*. True to form, Cooper jumped fast and clean in the final phase on Sunday, giving them 160 points for their third place finish, plus an extra 40 for their clean show jumping round.

So far, Davidson and Tryon are tied for first place on the Gold Cup leaderboard with 240 points. Brannigan isn't far behind in third place with 200 points, while Donnelly rounds out the fourth place slot with 190 points. At this point in the Series, it's anyone's game!

What's Next for the Gold Cup Series?

The next two events on the Gold Cup calendar will be CIC2* events--Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials in Victor, New York and Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Georgia.

The Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials has always been a favorite among East Coast eventers, proving itself time and again to be a destination event for competitors by providing some of the best facilities, courses, and prizes in the country. This year mark's the 20th Anniversary for this outstanding event, and will be sure to be one of the best year's yet!

A new addition to the Gold Cup calendar, Chattahoochee Hills, owned by Olympian Carl Bouckaert, is a stunning 8,000-acre eventing facility that's taken the eventing world by storm. Organizer and course designer Ritch Temple has big plans for this amazing facility!

The USEA will then travel to the prestigious Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Montana on the last weekend in July for an exciting showcase of top level competition including the CIC3*W, Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event horse competitions, and a long-format Preliminary division!

On August 20-23, the Gold Cup moves to the midwest for the next event at Richland Park Horse Trials in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which is always popular with many of the riders prepping for fall three-day events. The CIC3* division will be the Gold Cup division, and we'll see if last year's winners Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val will return to claim their title.

For the second year in a row, the USEA's national championships, the Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships will designate the Advanced class as a Gold Cup division. This means that in addition to receiving all the great cash, prizes, and triple points from the AEC, winners also get a trailer-load of Gold Cup loot and points as well! If you're in the running for the Gold Cup series this year, be sure to make the AEC your destination event, to reap all the benefits theses programs have to offer.

Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California will once again wrap-up the Gold Cup series. Last year's overall winners of the Series, Tory Smith and Bantry Bay V, won this prestigious event, which clinched their top spot on the season's leaderboard. Could this year mark another win for a West Coaster? It could come down to the very last event!

Stay tuned for up-to-the-minute video and news coverage from the USEA Communications Team for the 2009 Adequan/USEA Gold Cup Series.

Gold Cup Sponsorship

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title: Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and E.A Mattes; Contributing: Cover-All, and Patron: Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, and Succeed.

Adequan is proud to be the official joint therapy treatment of the USEA.

For more information on the Gold Cup Series or USEA sponsorship, contact Jo Whitehouse for more information at 703-669-9999 or email [email protected].