We are thrilled that the 2026 Area 1 Championships will be held at Huntington Farms in South Stratford, VT on August 22-23, 2026. The Huntington team is already hard at work planning and preparing to make our Championship weekend a fantastic event.
Meanwhile, members have asked about 2026 Area 1 Championship qualifications. Great question! The Area 1 Council took the opportunity to review and update our qualifications. They are ready and you can find the detailed qualifications here (add link).
Area 1 Championship qualifications track with the AECs with a few specifics applicable to Area 1.
General qualifications have not changed:
- All Area Championship competitors MUST be current USEA members both at the time of qualifying AND the championship competition.
- Horses at Starter, BN, N, and T must have at least a Limited Status registration and horses at Modified and higher must have a Full Status registration at the time qualifications are earned.
- All qualifying competitions must be USEA registered horse trials, two-day or three-day events.
- Divisions must have five (5) or more starts to count as qualifying competitions (except Modified and Preliminary).
- List all qualifying competitions on your entry form.
- Open to members of other Areas, but riders must qualify with at least one qualifying placement from a recognized Area I event (except Preliminary and Modified).
- To qualify, the rider and the horse must have placed 1st thru 5th at one event during the qualifying period at the level, including “Amateur Placings” as determined by the USEA qualifications for the AEC. In addition, placing 1-5 at the previous year’s championship constitutes a qualifying ride.
- The qualifying period for each championship will be from the closing date of the previous year’s championship to the closing date of the current year’s championship. (At the organizer’s discretion the closing date may be extended.).
- Horse and rider must qualify together.
What is different this year is the addition of MERs (Minimum Eligibility Requirement) for each level in accordance with AEC qualifications with Area 1 timeline specifics. All are included in the detailed qualifications (add link to Area 1 qualifications again). The summary by level:
- Preliminary, Modified, Training & Novice
- Horse and rider must obtain an MER at three USEA recognized horse trials within an 18-month period from the closing date of the current year’s Championship, with at least 2 MERs within the qualifying period.
- Beginner Novice & Starter
- Horse and rider must obtain an MER at three USEA recognized horse trials within a 24-month period from the closing date of the current year’s Championship with at least 2 MERs within the qualifying period.
We wish everyone in Area 1 the best of luck for the upcoming season and we hope to see many of you out competing and qualifying for the Championships. Here’s to spring!
