The "happiest horse trial on Earth," the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship, got a whole lot happier this year with the inclusion of the inaugural USEA Interscholastic Eventing Championship. Just shy of 200 entries competed at the 2024 joint championships which took place from May 4-5 at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina. There were pom poms and banners and glitter galore, but team spirit was of the greatest abundance as young riders from the 5th grade through college gathered together to share their pride for their team.
With so many fun moments and memories, it's hard to trim down the number of photos that we share. Check out some of our favorites from across the weekend below.
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 at universities and colleges registered as Affiliates with the USEA. Many events across the country offer Intercollegiate Team Challenges where collegiate eventers can compete individually or 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. The USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship is a capstone event for the program, which is held annually in the spring. The 2024 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship will be held at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, on May 4-5. Click here to learn more about the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Nunn Finer, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, and World Equestrian Brands for sponsoring the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Program.
About the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL)
In August 2020, the USEA Board of Governors approved the creation of the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) as an official program of the USEA. The mission of IEL is to unite junior riders who are in the 5th—12th grade and provide a supportive community through which students can continue to pursue their riding interests. A group of junior members in the 5th—12th grade who share a common bond, such as the same barn, school, Pony Club, or other connection, can register with the USEA as an IEL Affiliate. The USEA Board of Governors recently approved an inaugural IEL Championship to kick-off in 2024 at Stable View in Aiken, South Carolina, which will be held in conjunction with the USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships on May 4-5, 2024. Click here to learn more about the Interscholastic Eventing League.
The USEA would like to thank Bates Saddles, Horse & Country, Kerrits, Nunn Finer, Sidelines, U.S. Equestrian, WeRideTogether, and World Equestrian Brands for sponsoring the USEA Interscholastic Eventing League.
What’s a Hunter Pace? The Sherwood Forest Equestrian Center's Hunter Pace is a cross-country-style course around Sherwood Forest over various natural obstacles/terrain. The course ends with a final treat for riders to take in stunning views of Mt. Hood with a loop through the old Far Hill Farms field. The beginning of the course will first start with a warm-up loop around show jumping obstacles in the outdoor ring at Sherwood Forest and then riders will continue directly onto the course. Sign up as a solo rider, pair, or team.
Claire Allen remembers when she was 11 years old, having just made the switch from the hunter/jumper ring to three-day eventing. She told her new eventing trainer that her goal was to one day compete in the United States Equestrian Federation’s Eventing Young Rider Championships.
As he was finishing tacking up his horse in preparation to navigate the cross-country course at the 2024 Twin Rivers Summer Horse Trials, James Alliston expressed concern about navigating the 101 Freeway. That’s because as soon as he crossed the finish line aboard Intermediate level winner Addyson (Ampere x Nickerbocker) at 10:38 a.m. on Saturday—his fifth cross-country round of the morning with three at Preliminary and two at Intermediate—the West Coast-based five-star rider had to drive 185 miles on the 101 Freeway from Twin Rivers Ranch in Paso Robles, California, to San Francisco International Airport to catch a 4:35 p.m. flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
There is so much more to proper grooming than keeping your horse picture-perfect for the horse inspection. Good grooming practices are critical to proper horse management, no matter if you are planning for your next FEI appearance or your Starter level debut. To help you maximize your knowledge of grooming practices, we opened up the opportunity for USEA members to submit any questions they might have on our Instagram and Facebook stories. In this week's episode, Host Nicole Brown sits down with three of the highest-regarded grooms in this industry, Max Corcoran, Emma Ford, and Stephanie Simpson, and asks them all of your questions and more to help you perfect the art of grooming.