Photo courtesy of the USEA.
The U.S. Eventing Association announced this morning that all USEA recognized events will be canceled for the next fourteen days beginning Monday, March 16.
“The United States Eventing Association (USEA) Board of Governors held an emergency meeting on Friday, March 13 to discuss the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the U.S. eventing community. ‘While some parts of the U.S. are not yet seeing cases of the coronavirus, we are making these decisions with the entire country and membership in mind,’ said USEA President Max Corcoran. ‘We need to reel in this virus as humans and help make an impact. The USEA is committed to the welfare and safety of our competitors, volunteers, officials, spectators, and fans.’
“The USEA Board of Governors voted to suspend recognizing any competitions under its direct jurisdiction held in the U.S. at the Beginner Novice, Novice, and Training levels for a period of at least two weeks (14 days) starting on Monday, March 16. The suspension extends also to USEA recognized educational activities, Young Event Horse, Future Event Horse, and New Event Horse competitions.
“Competitions held at the Modified level and above continue to fall under the jurisdiction of the US Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).”
Read the full USEA statement here.
Competitions run at the Modified level or above remain under USEF and FEI governance. Yesterday both organizations urged all competitions within the next 30 days to cancel. You can read that announcement here.
Any competitions that choose to run during the March 16-30 period will not be recognized by the USEA. Any finishing result will not county toward year-end leaderboards or toward USEA Classic Series or USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) qualifications.
The USEA has pledged their commitment to supporting date changes for those competitions affected. Organizers should reach out to their Area chair to begin the calendaring process. The USEF has agreed to waive any fees associated with date changes.
All fees collected will be refunded to events. This includes USEA starter fees, which will be refunded to competitors by the competitions themselves.
[USEA to Suspend Recognizing Events for Two Weeks]
