It’s all happening at the Fair Hill International Eventing Festival this April.
In the eventing world, a horse and rider team is called green when they are fresh and new to the sport, like spring grass. And while every team may start green, many are competing while dreaming of gold: Olympic gold, that is. There is a long spectrum of competition levels in between green and gold, but at Fair Hill, we offer them all. “From Green to Gold” is Fair Hill International’s motto and our goal is to offer teams of horse and rider athletes the chance to develop from amateur to professional and international competition levels. April’s Eventing Festival is the epitome of this mission as riders from all over the world and at varying levels of competition will meet in Fair Hill to compete from April 19th to the 21st.
One of the aspects of April’s event that is so special is that national AND international levels are represented. The Training, Modified, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced levels are nationally recognized by the USEF/USEA (which are the sport’s governing bodies here in the United States). But these horse trials are also recognized by FEI (Fédération Equestre Internationale – the international sport’s governing body) with the CCI1*-S, CCI2*-S, and CCI3*-S levels. The S after the FEI levels indicates that the courses are shorter versions of the long format, while CCI comes from the traditional French names of the cross-country competition. Many riders competing at this event will have past Olympic Team experience or aspirations for the 2024 Olympics.
There is a parallel between the international FEI levels and the US national levels. The CCI1* aligns closely with the Modified level. The CCI2* aligns closely with the Preliminary level. And, the CCI3* aligns closely with the Intermediate level. But all these options aren’t even the end of what Fair Hill will bring to the table in April’s Eventing Festival!
The Recognized Horse Trials take place on April 19th and 20th – the Friday and Saturday of the weekend. Sunday the 21st features the Unrecognized Horse Trials, where riders can compete at Elementary, Starter, Beginner Novice, and Novice levels. Many riders who compete on Sunday at traditionally “Green” levels will dream of one day advancing to the Friday and Saturday competitions to earn a “Gold.” In this way, Fair Hill can be there to help them develop and advance up to any competitive level they desire.
The April Eventing Festival will feature talented equestrian teams and fun for volunteers and spectators alike! Please join us to watch these world-class athletes compete. There will be food, live music, and plenty of fun for the kids on Saturday April 20th. Additionally, we can use volunteers of all ages! For more information, check out fairhillinternational.org and follow us on Facebook (Fair Hill International), Instagram (@fairhillint) and TikTok (@fairhillint).