Elkton, Md. – Eventing will take center stage this weekend at The Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International as athletes gather from across the country to contest The Dutta Corp./USEF Three-and Two-Star Eventing National Championships. The event kicked off today as 74 CCI2* competitors and 57 CCI3* competitors passed the first horse inspection.

Competition gets underway tomorrow with the first day of dressage, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. The dressage phase continues on Friday. The weekend will see cross-country and show jumping, wrapping up Sunday afternoon when two National Champions will be crowned.

Dressage Ride Times

The impressive field in the CCI3* includes three members of the Gold medal-winning U.S. Pan American Eventing Team. Marilyn Little (Frederick, Md.), who also captured Individual Gold at the Pan American Games, brings two entries to this weekend’s championships: RF Overdressed and RF West Indie. Little will be presenting both horses in their first CCI3* level competition. Phillip Dutton (West Grove, Pa.) is entered on two talented mounts, Mighty Nice and Fernhill Cubalawn. With Thomas Tierney and Simon Roosevelt’s Fernhill Cubalawn, Dutton has had a successful year, including a fifth-place finish in the gelding’s first CCI4* at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event presented by Land Rover, and as part of the Bronze medal-winning Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team at the Aachen CICO3*. Boyd Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) will lead off the dressage phase as the first to go with Welcome Shadow, one of his four CCI3* entries. Fresh off a Team Silver-medal winning performance at the Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3* this past weekend, Buck Davidson (Ocala, Fla.) will pilot four entries, including veteran partners Park Trader and The Apprentice.

The large CCI2* field includes plenty of up-and-coming talented combinations. Matt Brown (Petaluma, Calif.), who also contributed to the Silver-medal win at the Military Boekelo-Enschede CCIO3* and finished as the top-placed American in sixth, brings a new mount, the Blossom Creek Foundation’s Talking Point BCF. Caroline Martin (Miami Beach, Fla.) will ride her own and Sherrie Martin’s Effervescent in the combination’s second outing at the CCI2* level. The pair has earned top placings this fall at the Plantation Field CIC2* and Richland Park CIC2* where it finished third and fourth, respectively, finishing both events on their dressage score.  USEF Eventing 18 Athlete, Adrian Jones (Shamong, N.J.) , will  pilot Laura Jones’ Magnificent Toy in the gelding first CCI2*.

This weekend’s event will also feature the East Coast Young Event Horse Championships.

Complete event information