2017 FENCE Intercollegiate Team Challenge. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Four years ago I went to FENCE Horse Trials on the NC/SC border to take pictures and interview a group of ambitious college students determined to develop collegiate eventing. In the time since then, the concept has taken off, thanks in large part to the dedication and hard work of the students themselves.
A USEA Intercollegiate Committee was formed and a membership level created specifically for college students. This year there are 24 colleges and universities in the U.S. that are registered as USEA Affiliate Organizations and many more unaffiliated schools with eventing clubs and teams. We’re also gearing up for the second annual USEA Intercollegiate Championship at Virginia Horse Trials in May. There were a total of ten schools that competed in the inaugural year and the organizers are expecting a huge boost in participation for 2017.
This weekend, it felt a bit like things came full circle to be back at FENCE and see a brand new group of students competing in the Intercollegiate Team Challenge. Congratulations to the University of Kentucky White team for the win! Click here to learn more about Intercollegiate Eventing and to find a team challenge near you!
U.S. Weekend Action
Fair Hill CIC & H.T. [Website] [Results]
Ocala CCI & H.T. [Website] [Results]
Twin Rivers CCI, CIC & H.T. [Website] [Results]
FENCE H.T. [Website] [Results]
Monday News and Notes:
So many amazing activities are happening at Rolex Kentucky, besides the competition itself, you’ve almost need to bring a day book or schedule notifications on your phone to get to all the things that interest you. There are always a plethora of educational and entertaining course walks to attend and the schedules are starting to roll out. SmartPak has announced that they will have Boyd Martin and Ryan Wood lead the way at their 13th annual Rolex Course Walk on either Thursday, April 27 or Friday, April 28. Click here to sign up and be sure to visit the SmartPak booth: the first 500 people to stop by will get a free gift! [SmartPak Rolex Kentucky Course Walk]
We love to cheer for the rookies here at EN, and we especially enjoy getting to know the Rolex Rookies. USE profiled four Rolex Kentucky first-timers for 2017, all of whom are USEF Eventing Emerging Athlete Program Participants: Caroline Martin, Madeline Backus, Jenny Caras and Savannah “Woodge” Fulton. [Meet Four First-Timers]
Monday Video: EN’s own Kate Samuels and Nyls Du Terroir showing us how it’s done on the Advanced course at Fair Hill this weekend. Zoom!
