United States Eventing Association

USEA Events A-Z: Jumping Branch Farm

Jumping Branch Farm in Aiken, South Carolina, has been a staple in the Aiken eventing community for decades. Former owner Julie Zapapas hosted USEA-recognized events on her farm for 15 years but ultimately chose to discontinue recognized competition in 2009.

When Jumping Branch Farm came on the market, Tim Shaw purchased the farm as a joint venture with his son and former eventer Tate Shaw, but when Tate moved to Arkansas to pursue training race horses, Tim wasn’t sure what the future might bring.

“I wasn’t crazy about buying the farm by myself,” recalled Tim. “But then everyone from the community stepped up and said, ‘We will help you!’ And then the dates for our event came available and so many people said we should grab those dates and host a show, but I didn’t know anything about running a show. They said, ‘Call Amber, she'll help you.’ ”

So Tim picked up the phone, gave Amber Lee a call, and before he knew it, USEA recognized competition was back at Jumping Branch Farm in 2022—but that wasn’t before the new team at the property put in some labor of love to prepare the property. Tim invested in some new cross-country jumps and refurbished some of the original ones for their Starter through Preliminary level courses, and Lee suggested putting on a schooling show in December of 2020 to prepare for their first recognized event.

“We decided to offer a schooling horse trial in a one-day to do a run-through and find out who we needed where, what we needed more of, and all of that. That really set us up well for our first recognized event,” said Lee.

The community showed up to support Jumping Branch with around 150 horse and rider pairs signing up for that initial schooling show. In 2021 they offered one one-day horse trial, but have since grown to offering a one-day format in February and a full weekend in March.

While Tim has done some updates around the property, Jumping Branch Farm was already previously set up for success as a show venue. The over 100-acre farm features two 20-stall barns, a five-stall barn, four Airbnb properties, two ponds, and well-manicured grass fields for all three phases.

“That is one of the things I love the most about Jumping Branch is that it still has this grassroots feel,” Lee said of the grass show jumping ring and dressage courts. “It’s not like these brand new modern facilities out there; it still has that old-fashioned eventing feel, but the Shaws continue to update everything so that it stays in great condition. Plus, it is such an established property that the grass holds up really well for us to run hundreds of horses on it”

Because of that, Tim takes great pride in maintaining the footing around the property.

“I am always checking it and either fertilizing it or watering it," he said. “There is always some little thing that can help improve the footing around the farms which I am always on the watch for.”

While much of Aiken can feel a bit flat in terms of terrain, Jumping Branch Farm is proud to offer some diversity in its cross-country courses.

“Everyone loves the cross-country courses,” said Lee. “It’s actually quite hilly in the back part of the course, so that gives people a different feel on cross-country and they really enjoy that.”

Both local businesses and national businesses have stepped in to sponsor the events put on at Jumping Branch, which helps the Shaws and the organizing committee put on the best shows possible for attendees. And the Aiken community always shows their support by volunteering at each of their events.

“Our volunteers and competitors always make it a point to put it on their calendar every year because they know that there is always constant improvement out here,” noted Lee.

Former USEA president Carol Kozlowski is one of those dedicated volunteers and has been a long time supporter of the venue. "I enjoy driving into Jumping Branch Farm and seeing the trees and picturesque fields that have been there since I started spending winters in Aiken 22 years ago," said Kozlowski. "It is clear the venue is lovingly tended to, welcoming without pretense, comfortable and uncomplicated. The owners are hands on and have immersed themselves in caring for and thoughtfully improving the venue.

"I give huge kudos to owners Tim and Vickie Shaw for embracing the legacy of the events at Jumping Branch Farm and dedicating so much energy to bringing the event back to recognized status," she continued. "Their enthusiasm is evident and every competitor feels the friendly atmosphere everyone associated with the competitions there works hard to achieve. I believe the Jumping Branch Farm horse trials should be on every rider’s bucket list for must attend events in Aiken!"

Aiken-based USEA member Symantha Melemed is lucky enough to have Jumping Branch Farm just down the road, but its not just the convenience of its location that has her going back each year.

"Jumping Branch is my favorite show," she shared. "They are the perfect combination of constantly improving and listening to competitors while still preserving the 'old time' feel of eventing. The stabling and trailer-in areas are conveniently located together, and right by the finish flags of cross country, so everyone lingers to visit the vendors, cheer on a great ride, and commiserate with friends when things didn’t go as planned. Volunteers are cherished and we always make a weekend of the event, with me riding and my husband volunteering. We are so glad to have Jumping Branch Farm hosting USEA Horse Trials again in Aiken!"

While initially, Tim wasn’t sure if this big of a project was one that he wanted to take on without his son, it’s the positive energy that the local community provides all year long that really solidifies his decision to move forward with eventing at Jumping Branch Farm.

“I just enjoy the fact that the people like Jumping Branch and provide their feedback," he said. The positive feedback that they share tells us we are doing the right thing, and that is really satisfying to me.”

Entries are now open for the March 30-31 Jumping Branch Farm Spring H.T. and will close on Tuesday, March 12. Access the event's Omnibus listing here.

For more information on Jumping Branch Farm and the horse trials that they offer, check out their Facebook page here and their website at jbfarm.com.