With the new competition season kicking off officially on December 1, it’s time to brush up on the USEF Rules For Eventing ! There are five new rules and amendments that will take effect at the start of the new season regarding competition approvals, officials, and more. To access the full 2022 USEF Rulebook, click here.
EV 121 Calendar Approval Process and Federation Guidance
An addition to this rule was made regarding eventing competition standards in point two as follows: EVENTING COMPETITION STANDARDS. The Eventing Competition Standards apply to all National levels of Eventing Competitions. Refer to Annex 5 on the Federation Website for the USEF/USEA Eventing Competition Standards.
EV 134 Dressage Rules
A new rule was added to this list that reads as follows: Judges must be given at least a 30-minute lunch break and at least a 10-minute break every 2 hours. A prior agreement should be met between the judge and competition if a judge will be required to officiate longer than 8 hours in one day, or be required to be on the show grounds longer than 10 hours.
EV 169 National Horse Trials and EV 170 National Three-Day Events
A clarification has been made as to which officials are required at Nationally rated horse trials and three-day events for all levels Beginner Novice-Advanced.
EV 171 Ground Jury
In Section 1 of rule EV 171, further clarification was added to dictate that family members of the cross-country course designer or show jumping course designer are not allowed to serve as the Ground Jury at any event.
EV 172 Additional Judges
Clarification was added to indicate that if the cross-country course designer and show jumping course designer are different individuals, that the show jumping course designer may serve as an additional judge if they are licensed to do so.
In addition to the five rules above, the following changes to the rulebook are pending approval by the USEF Board of Directors.
EV 108 Exercising and Warming Up
Placement poles are not permitted at National Horse Trials.
EV 153 Faults
This clarification was added in to solidify that a rider may not request permission to continue on with cross-country after receiving a CR penalty.
The USEA Classic Series is going strong thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of event organizers who are committed to the thrill of long-format eventing. Dr. Christel Carlson, M.D. is one of the biggest champions of the program. A former competitor, she continues to contribute countless hours to the USEA as an organizer, judge (R), volunteer, and member of multiple committees. She is the owner of Spokane Sport Horse Farm in Spokane, Washington, which hosts two USEA recognized events each year. The facility’s fall event, which closes out the season in Area VII, includes Classic Three-Day divisions at the Beginner Novice, Novice and Training levels.
It was a weekend to remember for eventers from 13 colleges as they convened at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina, from May 26-28 for the 2023 USEA Intercollegiate Championship. The 23 teams gave their all and had tons of fun!
The 2023 Woodside Spring H.T. served as a celebration of the successes of the West Coast eventers that competed in the Kentucky Three-Day Event, as well as what’s in store for the future of the sport in California. On the eve of competition on Thursday, organizers at the Woodside Horse Trials held a party in honor of both Tamie Smith’s historic win in the Kentucky five-star and the team of cross country builders led by Bert Wood that unveiled new courses at The Horse Park. Derek di Grazia designed the new Advanced and Intermediate tracks, with Wood designing the new tracks for Preliminary through Starter.
The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is pleased to offer the USEA Adult Team Championships (ATC) at the upcoming USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC), presented by Nutrena Feeds. The Adult Team Championships will be offered once again at the Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, and Preliminary levels for members of the USEA Adult Rider Program, and newly added this year, the Modified level will be included in the ATC as well.