US Equestrian continues to plan for the 2020 USEF Pony Finals, presented by Collecting Gaits Farm, scheduled for August 3-9 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY.
The prize list is now available and entries are open. The prize list and additional information will only be available electronically this year, and can be found on the Pony Finals website. Entries and stall reservations may be secured online via credit card or by mail with a check. No credit cards will be charged and no checks deposited, however, until US Equestrian is certain that the event can be held safely. At that time individuals entered will be notified, all entries will be considered definite entries, and they will become subject to the show policy regarding scratches as outlined in the prize list. The deadline for entries is July 21, 2020.
Pony Finals will feel different this year due to COVID-19 precautions. These changes include:
- The Hunter Championship will be moved into the Rolex Arena, while the Jumper and Pony Medal events are still tentatively scheduled to occur in the Alltech Arena.
- There will not be any VIP tables.
- Social events/activities may be limited or canceled.
- USHJA Horseless Horse Show has been canceled.
- This year’s event will follow the most up-to-date USEF COVID-19 Action Plan for USEF-Licensed Competitions released by the Federation at the time of the event, available here.
Other key information to remember about this event:
- The qualification criteria has been amended. Those amendments can be found here.
- The deadline for entries is July 21, 2020.
- Notifications as to whether those entered are accepted to compete will likely be available shortly after the July 21st deadline. As noted in the amended criteria, preference will be given to those qualified under the traditional method of winning a champion or reserve.
- Only owners of Hunter ponies that have qualified via that traditional method of winning a champion or reserve will receive a qualified letter from USEF.
- If you do not receive a qualification letter for your pony and believe you should, please review the competition results for that pony, as it may have received “bad points” at the competition in question, thus preventing it from being considered qualified.
- Owners of Hunter ponies looking to compete in the event based on the National Horse of the Year (HOTY) points, must submit an entry in order to be considered. US Equestrian will not be contacting individuals based on the pony’s National HOTY ranking.
- Please refer to the prize list for the refund policy.
- Entries may be submitted online through the Show Management System.
About USEF Pony Finals
The USEF Pony Finals is the most prestigious and celebrated event of its kind in the United States. The Regular Hunter Pony and Green Hunter Pony Finals are a three phase competition judging the pony’s conformation, way of moving and jumping ability. The Marshall & Sterling/USEF Pony Medal Final tests young riders, judging their ability to compete over a technical and demanding course of fences. The USEF Pony Jumper Championship was designed as a stepping stone for junior riders who desire to move into the Grand Prix ring one day. For more information about Pony Finals, click here.