The three team horses and one reserve horse representing the United States in the FEI Eventing Nations Cup at the Military Boekelo CCIO4*-L passed the first horse inspection today in front of the ground jury of Jane Tolley (GBR), Stuart Bishell (NZL), and Dr. Katrin Eichinger-Kniely (AUT). A total of 98 horses will move forward to compete in the dressage phase of competition, which is held over the next two days beginning tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
This FEI Eventing Nations Cup is an Olympic trial event, meaning that it is to be conducted based on the new Olympic format that will go into effect at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. In this new format, teams are made up of three horse/rider combinations instead of four, with a fourth reserve rider who may be substituted in during any of the three phases of competition.
However, at the FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Boekelo, there will be one difference: the reserve team rider will also be allowed to compete in the entirety of the competition for MER and qualification purposes. In the new Olympic format, the reserve team rider only competes if they are substituted in. If the reserve team rider does need to be substituted, they will do so based on the Olympic competition rules. The rules for substitutions are as follows:
If the original team rider is eliminated for any reason other than lameness, a horse fall, dangerous riding, abuse of horse, or disqualification, the original team rider will still continue forward with the competition carrying additional penalties: 100 for not completing dressage, 200 for not completing cross-country, and 100 for not completing show jumping.
More details about the rules governing this FEI Eventing Nations Cup can be found here.
Helpful Links
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.