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.

  1. 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.
  2. Most Spirited Cross-Country Crowd: a combined score will be given based upon the most spirited fans watching cross-country (including tailgaters).
  3. Stall/Barn Decorations: to be judged after cross-country on Saturday.
  4. 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.
Mar 12, 2025 Competitions

Fast Facts: Carolina International CCI4*-S

The USEA Media Team is excited to be on-site this year at the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International CCI and Horse Trial to provide coverage of the uber exciting CCI4*-S division, which many U.S.-based competitors use as a trial run in the lead up to the feature event of the spring calendar, the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event CCI5* (Lexington, Kentucky). This year there are 37 entries in the four-star division, which is a slight increase from the 35 we saw compete in this division last year. Here's a break down of some interesting facts and statistics you might want to know leading into this year's competition!

Mar 11, 2025 Instructors

Ask an Expert: USEA's Eventing Coaches Program with Emily Mastervich & Robin Walker

Ask an Expert, brought to you by Ride iQ, is a live, virtual event that dives into key equestrian topics with top professionals in the sport. This week’s episode focused on the USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) with special guests Emily Mastervich and Robin Walker. The duo shared insights into the program’s purpose, its impact on eventers at all levels, and what it means for the future of coaching in the sport. Listen to episode now on the Ride iQ Youtube Channel.

Mar 11, 2025 Series + Championships

Opportunity Event Horse Program Announces Calendar for Pilot Year

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) is excited to announce the Opportunity Event Horse (OEH) Program, a new pilot program for the 2025 competition season. The OEH Program is designed to introduce horses and riders to the sport of eventing in a supportive and encouraging environment.

Mar 10, 2025 Association News

USEA Podcast #382: Getting Hyped for 2025

The 2025 season is well underway and it's an exciting year for United States eventing with many world-class horse and rider partnerships already showing off what they are made of this early in the year. In addition to high-performance eventing, USEA CEO Rob Burk, USEA President Louise "Lou" Leslie, and EquiRatings' Diarm Byrne sit down to chat with USEA Podcast Host Nicole Brown about what is to come on the U.S. eventing schedule across all levels, competitions that are getting everyone excited, and so much more in this week's episode of the USEA Podcast!

Official Corporate Sponsors of the USEA

Official Joint Therapy Treatment of the USEA

Official Feed of the USEA

Official Saddle of the USEA

Official Equine Insurance of the USEA

Official Forage of the USEA

Official Supplement Feeding System of the USEA

Official Competition & Training Apparel of the USEA

Official Horse Boot of the USEA

Official Shock Wave of the USEA

Official Horse Wear of the USEA