United States Eventing Association

UVA, UK, and Virginia Tech are the Top Scorers on Day 2 of the 2021 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships

Out of 105 total entries, there were 23 intercollegiate riders that competed today in the 2021 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships at Virginia Horse Trials in Lexington, Va. Taking place over four days of competition, the schedule for today, Friday, May 28, consisted of dressage for the CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, CCI*-L, Intermediate, and Preliminary divisions; cross-country for all Preliminary riders; and show jumping for the riders in Intermediate, CCI3*-S, and CCI2*-S divisions.

Breaking down the 23 collegiate riders that competed today, there was one in the CCI3*-L (two total), one in the CCI3*-S, three in the CCI2*-L, two in the CCI2*-S, four in the CCI1*-L, five in the Open Intermediate division and seven in the Preliminary Rider division.

There are still 17 intercollegiate teams that have yet to even compete with Modified, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice competitors starting their Championship weekend tomorrow, Saturday, May 29. While it’s still too early to report the team rankings, the University of Virginia, the University of Kentucky, and Virginia Tech are holding top spots in their respective divisions.

For the CCI3*-L, Katie Lichten and Sapphire Blue B representing the University of Virginia Orange Team scored a 33.3 to sit in ninth going into tomorrow’s cross-country. The University of Kentucky Gatton Team rider, Cosby Green (the only Championship competitor to compete yesterday) holds a 28.7 with Copper Beach to sit in second in the CCI3*-L going into tomorrow.

The Virginia Tech Maroon Team rider, Emily Shilling on Enchanting Class scored the best out of the three intercollegiate riders in the CCI2*-L B division, scoring a 33.0 to sit in eighth going into tomorrow’s cross-country. The USC Aiken Navy Team rider, Sydney Shinn on Nyconn Cat scored a 34.1 in the same division to tie for eleventh. The University of Kentucky Coach Cal Team rider, Lauren Yeagy rode Allie Knowles’s former 5-star mount, Sound Prospect to a score of 35.1.

The CCI2*-S division saw two intercollegiate riders and has another Virginia Tech Maroon Team rider on top. Paige Cianciulli on Dark N Handsome holds the best score out of the two intercollegiate riders with a cumulative score of 43.7.

Hannah Warner of the University of Kentucky Team Blue scored the best out of the four intercollegiate riders in the CCI1*-L division with her horse Drombane Dynamite. Not only did Warner score the best out of the four, but she also currently tops the leaderboard of the full CCI1*-L division with a score of 27.6.

Warner describes the scene after her final salute with her teammates yelling the Go Cats school chant. Watch the video below for more of her thoughts on her winning dressage ride and what it feels like to represent the University of Kentucky.

VIDEO: Hannah Warner Thoughts on Winning Dressage Ride

The University of Virginia Team Blue and the University of Virginia Team Orange are fighting for the top spots in the Open Intermediate division. The highest placed intercollegiate rider is the University of Virginia Team Orange rider, Arden Stephens on Cisko A. After dressage and show jumping, Stephens has a cumulative score of 36.1 to sit in second going into tomorrow. Close on her heels is the University of Virginia Team Blue rider, Maia Kantarowski on Pebbly Maximus who has a cumulative score of 38.6 to sit in fourth.

Kantarowski’s teammate, Jessie Schwartz on WHF Kitaro is holding the top spot out of the seven intercollegiate riders who are in the Preliminary Rider division. After dressage and cross-country, Schwartz has a cumulative score of 33.2 to sit in second going into show jumping.

The Championships will continue tomorrow with every team competing in both undergraduate and graduate divisions. Tomorrow’s schedule includes dressage for Modified, Training, Novice, and Beginner Novice divisions; cross-country for CCI3*-L, CCI3*-S, CCI2*-L, CCI2*-S, CCI1*-L, Intermediate, Modified, Training, and Beginner Novice; and show jumping for the Preliminary and Novice divisions.

Helpful Links:

• USEA Championships Coverage
• Virginia Horse Trials website
• 2021 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships Program
• Meet the Teams Preview
• Live Scores
• Ride Times
• Competition Schedule

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 Saratoga Horseworks, Bates Saddles, FITS, World Equestrian Brands,EQuine AMerica Magazine, Revitavet, Kerrits, R&J Equine Unlimited, LLC, and US Equestrian for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.