One Big Thing: Road to the Classic Seminar Series
WEEF Scholarship recipient Paulina Sobolewski and her horse No Strings Attached at the Waredaca Classic Three-Day. Photo by Maya Kuntz Photography.
Thinking of competing in a long-format Classic 3-Day this year? Join the Waredaca Eventing Education Foundation in their Road to the Classic Seminar Series. The first webinar in the series will be “Making a Fitness Plan with Natalie Hollis & Suz Cornue” of Destination Eventing, taking place on April 20th, 2026.
Both Natalie and Suz are upper-level event riders who specialize in producing top horses and riders in the sport of eventing. They are active in the USEA ECP program and were awarded the 2024 USEA ECP Sue Hershey Award for their dedication to teaching eventing.
About the Seminar Series
Brought to you by the Waredaca Eventing Education Foundation and supported by the Maryland Horse Industry Board grant program, this series is a mix of online webinars and in person clinics with top riders, trainers, and veterinarians to help you prep for a Classic Three-Day event. The series is open to riders of all levels and all ages from all over.
April 20, 2026: Online
The webinar will feature discussions and instruction on one of the most vital aspects of a Classic Three-Day — fitness for both yourself and your horse.
[Click here to register for the April 20th webinar]
May 15, 2026: Clinic
Olympic event rider Stephen Bradley will be hosting an in-person clinic within the Road to the Classic series on “Classic 3-Day Steeplechase & Pace Work”, giving riders a chance to learn about the proper pace for Roads & Tracks as well as practice the Steeplechase phase. Stephen is a veteran US Equestrian Team member, a two-time Pan American Games Gold medalist, and one of only two US riders to have won both Burghley and the Kentucky Three-Day Event.
[Click here to register for the May 15th clinic]
June 2026: Webinar
5* event rider, show jumper, US Pony Club ‘A’ graduate, and world traveler Colleen Rutledge will be sharing her packing list for what to bring (and not to bring) to a Classic Three-Day event. With her horse Shiraz, Colleen was the first person to complete five Northern Hemisphere five-star events with the same horse and with no cross country penalties. She was a USET member in 2015 with her homebred Covert Rights at the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen, Germany.
[June webinar date TBD]
July 8, 2026: Webinar
Dr. Chad Davis, official veterinarian for the Waredaca Classic Three-Day, will be walking participants through what they need to bring to the vet box, what is expected of the rider and horse, and how to build your vet box team for a Classic Three-Day. As co-founder of Davis Equine Sports Medicine, “Dr. Chad” serves as the lead veterinarian at horse trials and FEI eventing competitions across the country and internationally.
[Click here to register for the July 8th webinar]
August 24, 2026: Clinic
Dr. Megan Snyder of Damascus Equine will conduct a demonstration and lecture on how to properly jog your horse for an official Horse Inspection, and offer invites as to what the ground jury is looking for. Participants may bring their own horse to practice jogging, or borrow a Waredaca Pony Club Riding Center horse for the clinic. Dr. Snyder is an FEI Official Veterinarian for eventing, a USEF testing veterinarian, and a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, where she serves on the Performance Horse Committee.
[Click here to register for the August 24th clinic]
About WEEF
The Waredaca Eventing Education Foundation is a non-profit founded to support eventing education at Waredaca Farm. The Foundation’s first project was the creation of the Jimmy Wofford Legacy Fund to promote eventing education, which rewards at least one adult amateur and one junior each year who intend to train and compete in a Classic Three-Day Event. The Foundation’s vision is for this to be an ongoing, perpetual scholarship that will honor Jimmy and keep the spirit of the Three-Day long format, as Jimmy was a strong supporter of the long format in general, and the Waredaca Classic Three-Day in particular. Those interested in this scholarship opportunity may submit applications until April 1st!
Waredaca has been hosting USEA horse trials for more than 40 years. The first event, then run through the U.S. Combined Training Association, was held in 1979 with Pre-training and Training levels only. In 2004, the USCTA asked Waredaca to host the first Classic Three-Day in the country as part of a new pilot program. Waredaca has been hosting USEA horse trials for more than 40 years. The first event, then run through the U.S. Combined Training Association, was held in 1979 with Pre-training and Training levels only. Since then, Waredaca has expanded its horse trials to include three events a year offering Beginner Novice through Intermediate, with this years’ event taking place from October 21-25, 2026. Participants in the Classic not only compete, but spend several days in various educational activities including lectures, demonstrations, and practicing in front of various experts in the industry.
Major International Events This Weekend
The Event at TerraNova CCI4*-S (FL): [Website] [Schedule] [VIP Tickets] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Galway Downs International HT CCI4*-S (CA): [Website] [VIP Tickets] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream]
WAYER International HT CCI4*-S (AUS): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Tamworth International Eventing CCI4*-S (AUS): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring]
US Events This Weekend
Morven Park Spring HT (VA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Jumping Branch Farm Spring HT (SC): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Bouckaert Equestrian HT (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Other Links and Reading
- World Equestrian Center gets okay for huge sports complex in NW Marion
- Horse Protectors To Rally in Washington, DC on March 26 to Support the Lost Horses Campaign
- Lack of concussion awareness and misdiagnosis contribute to delayed recovery in horse riders
Training Tip of the Day
A thorough conditioning tip brought to you from 5* Australian eventer Kate Chadderton:
Aside from nutrition and shoeing, fitness is the most important part of a performance horses program. I rate it above training. For a horse to answer the questions you ask him on the flat and jumping either at a show or home, he must be physically able to respond.
For example, if you’re asking your horse to gallop around a 6 minute course on the weekend, it’s not fair to him, physically or mentally, if you have only flatted him once that week and he’s stood in the paddock the other 5 days.
Equally, if you’re asking him to perform a high degree of collection for half pass or flying changes, it’s only fair if you have prepared and strengthened his muscles over time. Which brings me to:
TYPES OF FITNESS
Obviously the event horse has to use his body in a multitude of ways — sometimes fast, sometimes slow. I like to incorporate several different methods of work.
Firstly I find trot sets, whilst boring (hello working students!), are great for building long slow endurance. My horses typically do it out in a hilly field and on the bit. For my gallops I use a mixture of hills and flat ground, alternating fairly evenly between them. The hills are awesome for building amazing amounts of strength and the incline really gets their heart rate up. I use a flat surface to encourage them to gallop on a longer stride, if they’re comfortable opening up and understand how to use their stride length for speed, we can save time without going quicker between the fences.
FOOTING
Your footing is of very import. As galloping is done outside and at the mercy of Mother Nature, weather is very influential.
I have a gallop schedule for my horses but will readily deviate from it to get better footing. For example, if the ground is hard today and it’s going to rain tonight, I’ll switch my gallop to the following morning. Same goes if it’s too wet and 12 hours of drying improves the ground. Another technique I love using is walking the horses on hard surfaces to strengthen their legs. I’m lucky enough to have about a mile of pavement on my farm so it’s easy for each horse to do that three times a week. Typically they go with myself or a working student after I finish schooling them. This doubles as a relaxing hack which the horses enjoy. I’ve found this really helps keep their legs tight and strong; it’s an old technique I stole from the English foxhunters!
Obviously I’m talking about event horses, but dressage horses, jumpers and almost every other equine athlete, improve their performance thru fitness. Of course you’re not going to gallop your fancy dressage or jumping horse, but trot sets and walking on hard surfaces can be a good additional to aid in soundness.
Go Eventing
A Phoenix family affair having us all awwww-ing with cuteness:
“A lot of joy in this photo! Jacob & Liam grooming, Jordan riding Pavarotti, and A Humble Romance (A Little Romance x Humble GS) finishing her first beginner novice on her dressage score ✨🙌❤️”
