“Keep it in Kentucky”: Equestrian Association Seeks Hosts for Olympic-Level Eventing Across All Skill Levels

The United States Eventing Association (USEA) has been a strong base for the equestrian community in the country. The non-profit organization has been at the core of sport since 1959; acting as the governing body for eventing. Its sole purpose has been to grow the event and track the safety of the athletes and the equines. As the organization continues with its governance, it is significantly celebrated for conducting the American Eventing Championships (AEC).

The American Eventing Championships are a way to promote the sport across the country. The annual event welcomes every level of the Olympic equestrian sport of eventing; from beginner to advanced. The AEC has been in practice since 2004 and has been popularly held at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. However, on the 12th of October, the USEA announced a request for expressions of interest for the event from 2025 to 2028. After the organization took to Facebook to reshare the news with preferred regions, the internet couldn’t stay from lending responses.

The USEA seeks expression of interest

On the 12th of October, the USEA announced a request for expressions of interest to host AEC 2025-2028. The announcement revealed that the organization would prefer the western United States region for 2025, and one in the eastern United States region from 2026 to 2028. It further added that they would also consider a single-bid or a joint one with two venues. The AEC is hosted for a course of 5-6 days and the USEA demanded features aligning.

Some of the demands made by the USEA on the conditions of the ground included- for the venue to be presentable, and to have a good footing. It further stated that the venue must have the ability to host a large number of spectators considering its success recently. Following the post and the announcement, the close followers of the event chimed in to lend their ideas.

The equestrian community has exciting suggestions on the board

For any equestrian enthusiast, the Kentucky Horse Park is a familiar ground for the events. And when the USEA had the announcement to share, the venue was ready to float on top. The post received a massive response from the Kentucky enthusiasts. “KHP always,” “Kentucky!,” “Keep it in Kentucky!!!!,” and many followed the name. Interestingly, a Kentucky native had a reaction on the contrary. “As a person from Kentucky, anywhere but Kentucky. Our organizers do an amazing job but we lose an important horse trial on our schedule that would have been that weekend. It’s someone else’s turn!” and 10 others agreed.

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While the fight for Kentucky went on, some fans were also serious in providing an insight on the possible venues. “I think the idea of splitting it up in 3 regions would be most beneficial to all competitors. Not all of the west coast can afford to go east and vice versa. Another idea could be do region champs (i.e. west, central, east) and Top 10 from each division could go to one location to compete for the national champ title. Just a thought.” While another appeared with an equally reasonable suggestion. “I’ve always argued that no way can you find a “central” site . The east coast is always going to yield higher entries . Instead of one national championship – split it up and have a west coast event and a east coast event.”

As people argued about the structure, a few other venues topped the list with frequent mentions. Rebecca Farm, Texas Rose Horse Park, Colorado Horse Park were a few other suggestions amongst the eager fans.

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