United States Eventing Association

Sundance Farm is taking their success of their first Horse Trial in 2014 and building on it by offering Young Event Horse (YEH) and New Event Horse (NEH) classes in 2015.

The 2015 Sundance Farm Horse Trial will be held September 25-27 in Plymouth, Wis., bringing new opportunities for competitors in Area IV. The Event will not only be offering the newly added NEH and YEH divisions, but also Horse Trials with levels Beginner Novice through Training, along with a P/T division and a Starter trial division.

“It is only our second year hosting a USEA Recognized Horse Trial, but we really wanted to help support the efforts of those people bringing along their young horses, so with guidance from our friend Tim Holekamp and the staff at the USEA office, we decided to give it a go,” stated Kelly Mahloch, Sundance Farm organizer. “Area IV has not had these divisions offered for several years and we really wanted to try to do something about that. Riders in Area IV shouldn’t always have to travel out of the Area to get special opportunities, so we’re hoping to fill that void.”

The YEH, NEH and all cross-country courses are located on the 100-acre Sundance Farm, while the stabling, dressage and show jumping for the Horse Trials are located at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds, just four miles from the farm. The facilities already have regulation USDF sand arenas with judge stands and quality, permanent stabling and camping make for a comfortable stay for horses and riders. Newly constructed wash racks are in place and water will be available for filling water buckets in the parking area.

While the YEH Series gives owners, breeders and riders the opportunity to showcase the upper level potential of their four- and five- year-old horses, the NEH Series is designed to be an introduction to the sport of Eventing for riders and horses of all ages, focusing on education and preparation to begin Eventing in a correct and progressive manner. Both the YEH and NEH are asked to complete three sections: 1) Conformation and Type, 2) Dressage, 3) Jumping Test/Gallop/General Impression.

The YEH series runs a 4-year-old division as well as a 5-year-old division, each containing their own USEA dressage tests, and the jumping criteria for YEH can be found here. NEH classes use the YEH 4-Year-Old Dressage Test, and complete a jumping test not to exceed 2’3”-2’7”.

While horses are not accepted or held, they are assessed on their conformation and movement. View the YEH Scoresheets here, and the NEH Scoresheets here.

The venue at Sundance Farm offers a great opportunity for riders to get young or inexperienced horses out, offering a positive experience to build on for their future endeavors. Horses that receive qualifying scores in the YEH divisions at Sundance may also proceed on to the YEH Championships at Fair Hill in October.

To register for Sundance Farm H.T. please visit the online Omnibus listing, and then login to your account on Xentry to enter.

To learn more about the NEH and YEH series’, visit the USEA YEH page and the USEA NEH page.