The 2006 USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse (YEH) Series kicked off March 17 at the Rocking Horse Spring Horse Trials in Altoona, FL. Due to the early date, only a five-year-old division was held.

Great Britain's defending Olympic Gold medallist and recent U.S. transplant Leslie Law, with youngster Rainman, ran away with the division on a score of 88.35%. It was a tight race for second place, with Eric Dierks and Text, his Thoroughbred gelding, slipping into second on a score of 79.26%, with Jennie Jarnstrom and Papillon Z, her Swedish Warmbloood gelding, in third with 79.05%.

For his win, Law received a six-month supply of Fly Predators from Spalding Labs as well as a Fleeceworks Complete package saddle pad. These will also serve as prizes for the winners of each division throughout the year. The winners of the championships, which will be held in late September at Morven Park in Leesburg, VA, will win a Stackhouse saddle, in addition to an additional six-month supply of Fly Predators.

Six new events, for a total of 17, have signed on to hold USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series qualifiers throughout the year. The calendar to date covers eight USEA Areas, and will expand further, with a total of at least 20 qualifying events expected for the 2006 season. For the schedule of events, visit www.useventing.com/competitions.php?section=yeh&id=49.

The USEA/Spalding Labs Young Event Horse Series could best be described as an equine talent search. The series gives owners and breeders the opportunity to showcase the potential of their four- and five-year-olds, encouraging them to produce top-level event horses for the future: the next Winsome Adante, Custom Made or Primmore's Pride, perhaps.

The divisions are based on age, with one division for four-year-old horses and the other for five-year-olds. The classes at each event offer four sections: dressage, jumping, conformation and type, and suitability and potential. While the judges look for horses with strong abilities in dressage and show jumping, they also look for a horse with correct, elastic gaits; scope and athleticism over fences; and those that with the correct training will have the speed, soundness and stamina necessary at the top levels of the sport.

The ultimate goal is to earn two qualifying scores of 70 or higher to qualify for the championships. USEA Executive Director Jo Whitehouse, who spearheaded the launch of the YEH Series, summed up the Series' philosophy best, "Eventers in the U.S. are used to buying horses that are already competing, or finding them off the track and re-training them. Hopefully programs like the Young Event Horse Series will encourage more people to consider purchasing a young prospect bred specifically for the sport, or even better, to try their luck by pairing up a mare and stallion that could produce a future Rolex winner!"


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