May 02, 2019

Your Guide to Packing for the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships

By Claire Kelley - USEA Staff

James Madison University brought a miniature pony mascot named Rory to the 2018 Intercollegiate Championships. USEA/Jessica Duffy Photo.

What should students pack for the 2019 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships? School spirit, support, and sportsmanship! These intangible qualities can come in various forms, from a miniature pony mascot to matching saddle pads. In just over two weeks, on May 18-19, students will travel to Fairburn, Georgia for the 2019 USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championships at the Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials.

Last year, the University of Kentucky (UK) won the coveted Spirit Award that rewards each team member with a refund on their entry fee. For the University of Kentucky, the team spirit went further than the decorations hung on their stalls. Behind the school memorabilia was a team who supported one another, had fun, and remained positive throughout the weekend.

“[In 2017] we saw how underprepared we were,” said Mia Fox, a student at the University of Kentucky. Coming back with a vengeance, the University of Kentucky stepped up their school pride and Fox explained the team’s preparation for the 2018 Intercollegiate Championships. “We set up meetings and planned out every last detail down to the socks.” Fellow UK student Jackie LeMastus added, “We wanted to show that we’re a team with a lot of spirit and have a lot of fun.”

University of Kentucky’s décor in the college town. The ‘college town’ is the stabling solely for intercollegiate competitors and teams are stabled together where they’re allowed to hang any decorations around their stalls and tack room.

School spirit items include:

Banner to hang on stalls
Flags to hang on golf cart, stalls, or tack room
Team Mascot
Horse paint in school colors to use during cross-country
Face paint for students
Temporary tattoos with school logo
Hair accessories in school colors
Pom poms
Stickers and decals
Towels, tablecloths, buckets, tape, and tents in school colors
Foam Hands (pictured below)
School apparel – tshirts, socks, overalls, belts, hats, etc.

*Please keep in mind that everything on this list is optional and based on what other teams have brought to championships in previous years.

University of Kentucky’s mascot with foam hands, school apparel, and school hat. USEA/Jessica Duffy Photo.

As the 2019 Intercollegiate Championships has changed location, so has the spirit award criteria. A series of judged competitions will occur during the show weekend. Points for each competition will be awarded as follows: 1st place: 5 points, 2nd place: 3 points, 3rd place: 2 points, participating team: 1 point. All contests will be judged by the Chattahoochee Hills Organizing Committee. Points will be awarded per school and official scores will be displayed on the show scoreboard.

Friday Night Relay Race: a relay team will be made up of three individuals (each school may enter multiple teams). The first team member will ride a stick horse over a course of two fences, the second team member will ride a bounceyball horse over a course of two fences, and the third team member will jump a course of two fences on foot (maximum height 2'). Best time wins. *Course may change based upon ring availability.
Most Spirited Cross-Country Crowd: a combined score will be given based upon the most spirited fans watching cross-country (including tailgaters).
Stall/Barn Decorations: to be judged after cross-country on Saturday.
Saturday Night Competitors Party and Team Entertainment: teams will perform a song, group or individual (each school may enter multiple acts), three-minute maximum to entertain the crowd. Please provide any music to be used via flash drive.

The team that accumulated the most amount of points over the weekend wins.

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 FITS, RideSafe, World Equestrian Brands, FLAIR and US Equestrian for sponsoring the Intercollegiate Eventing Program.

University of Maryland’s spirited golf cart with their school mascot on board. USEA/Jessica Duffy Photo.

Jun 17, 2019 Rules

Rule Refresher: The Dressage Test

The dressage test is the first of the three phases in eventing. Intended to demonstrate "the harmonious development of the physique and ability of the horse," the dressage test contains a prescribed list of movements to be carried out in front of a judge, or judges, and which is then given a penalty score that horse and rider carry through to the end of the competition.