Even if you drop the placing requirements to qualify more people, it seems there are other stipulations such as nobody wanting to get in their trailer and drive to another event at the same facility they showed at a month ago. It doesn’t line up with the people feeling left out because AEC isn’t often on the west coast.
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There is a larger context that may be on the minds of the AECs organizing group …
In any sport, national championships are an incentive for members to be active in qualifying events, clinics, etc. preparation. Riding in the championships is a goal that adds purpose and focus to their activities in the sport.
Of course the incentive aspect isn’t there for riders in the West, where the AEC’s are considered inaccessible. Even if qualified, they have no expectations that they would go.
But – What it really comes down to is not the add to the West. If the AEC’s move west, even for a single year, then the ‘expectations’ script is flipped for the far larger base of competitors in the East. The riders in the East are now the ones who will not go, even if qualified. That particular goal disappears for the majority of the East.
Further to that are the junior riders. Time and years are short for junior competitors, as they are maturing, and before they age out. Every year can be a different story for a junior rider. Having even one AEC year drop off their schedule can affect their entire set of goals, focus and plans for those eligible years.
The West is not bereft of any opportunities at championships, since there are regional organizations with championships to provide goals and focus.
Is it wise to disincentive the far greater number of riders in the East, even for a year? Not even every other year, or some other routine? That has to be an important consideration for the AEC decision-makers. Equal to adding incentive to the West.
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Yes, getting rid of the AECs and making it an Eastern Championship and a Western Championship would probably be better in terms of customer participation. We had this argument 20 years ago when the AECs were first proposed. Hence the 3 rotation and having them split between east and west.
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Interesting question. If one looks at the rankings of top riders, we see plenty of West Coast folks. It is clear that the overall numbers of riders may not be the same as the East Coast but the quality is just as good.
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I wonder if it was thought to do it like pony club does. They have east & west champs most years & then a centrally located full championship every so many years. I think that would be fun! But I don’t know, they may have proposed that at one time?
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Not here on the west coast IMEX. At Modified level there’s only one division usually. Open. Maybe a Rider division occasionally. I’ve noticed this different in Southern California, and at Galway it looks like they seem to split up a lot.
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I used that example specifically because someone else made this claim about west coast events, so I looked at the results and the claim turns out not to be true, at least for the event being discussed last time this came up: West coats AEC: splitting divisions, other classes
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Using one horse trial does not make the point. Look at the various areas, not just Area VI. Areas V, VII, IX, X, (and IV, depending)) which make up the majority of the west, just don’t have the numbers of competitions to qualify. I know of at least one competition in Area IV that is running because they need to have the opportunity to qualify riders.
This is the exact same thing we had to fight when MER requirements were proposed. It was going to take folks upwards of 2 years to gain what folks in Areas II and III could get in a summer.
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Ranking the best scores doesn’t work. There are judges who are known to be softer scorers and ones that are know to be harder. Susie’s 31 may win under judge X and I win under Y with a 27 and Susie really had the better test.
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Yeah, like I said above at Galway they do seem to split it up into tiny divisions. But at Ram Tap, Twin and Woodside they do not.
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Well, the divisions at the most recent Ram Tap were pretty tiny without splitting: 5 in training, 10 in novice, and 12 in beginner novice (https://eventing.startboxscoring.com/eventsu/ramtap/sht0525/). Queeny Park (the next non-CA event I saw on Startbox in the areas RAyers mentioned) ran two training divisions, one with 8 and one with 10, and two novice, each with 9 (https://eventing.startboxscoring.com/eventsr/queeny/ht0525/).
If a group is having the same conversation for 20 years … it would seem that it is past time to act on it! 
At this point in time, what would it take to constructively move forward to East & West championships?
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The Ram tap show was a schooling horse trials. So entries were low and there was really nothing to split. I don’t know the other venue mentioned, so it’s not in California.
Anyway, these are the exceptions that include the rule. In my experience, competing here for years, it’s very unusual to have many divisions within a level.
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Ok, fine. Recognized at Ram Tap in March: https://eventing.startboxscoring.com/eventsr/ramtap/ht0325/ OM had 14. OT had 10. NR was split — A had 7, B had 5, and ON had 13. BNR was also split into two divisions of 9 and 8; OBN had 11. I just don’t see these huge divisions that you are claiming are the norm. Taking the top five in some cases allows the entire division to qualify. At Ram tap in March, even without the extra qualifications for amateurs, 50% of the training and 60% of the novice entries would qualify (assuming meeting other requirements for a qualifying score, which I didn’t check). Do you really think that is what the standard should be for qualifying for the AECs?
I mean… how does this hurt you or the competition? Getting around the course is still required. If that person who was 5th/5 goes and wins the whole thing at AEC is that bad? If they jump around the division and pay their fees and help make the event financially successful is that bad? It’s only a problem IMHO if their entry means someone else doesn’t get to play.
Whether or not the split is a good idea in the first place is a different question; curious that they split a division of 12 but ran 14 and 13. Maybe people scratched after they split. Some days just showing up and jumping around really is winning.
Plenty of ways to algorithm these things depending on your true goals, but I can’t say that I see the harm in expanding qualifications. In many cases, having more people from the same barn eligible makes the event more accessible to your division leaders, also.
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Actually, let’s just do this show by show. Here’s the number of starters for each recognized event this year in Area 6 (https://useventing.com/events-competitions/calendar?area=6):
- Galway Downs Jan 2025: MR – 4; OM – 9; JTR – 6; OT – 11; STR – 8; JNR – 4; ON – 15; SNR – 14; BNR – 13; OBN – 9.
- Ram Tap Feb 2025: OM – 13; OT – 20; TR – 21; NR – 18; ONA – 13; ONB – 14; BNR – 19; OBN – 13.
- Twin Rivers Feb 2025: OM – 24; OT – 23; TR – 19; NR – 13; ON – 24; BNR – 17; OBN – 14.
- Ram Tap March 2025: OM – 14; OT – 10; TR – 11; NRA – 7; NRB – 5; ON – 15 (but 2 HC); BNRA – 9; BNRB – 8; OBN – 11.
- Galway March 2025: MRA – 6; MRB – 4; OM – 8; JTR – 7; OT – 16; STRA – 7; STRB – 7; TRAM – 10; TH – 8; JNR – 5; NAM – 11; NH – 15; ON – 16; SNRA – 8; SNRB – 8; BNAM – 5; BNH – 8; JBNR – 11; OBN – 12; SBNRA – 10; SBNRB – 8.
- Twin Rivers April 2025: MR – 13; OM – 14; JTR – 10; OT – 18; STR – 16; TRAM – 18; TH – 14; JNR – 9; NAM – 15; NH – 14; ON – 19; SNR – 19; JBNR – 15; OBNA – 15; OBNB – 16; SBNR – 18.
- Galway May 2025: MR – 6; OM – 7; JTR – 3; OT – 9; STR – 8; TH – 10; JHR – 5; NAM – 5; NH – 7; ON – 7; SNR – 9; BNH – 7; BNRA – 8; BNRB – 13; OBN – 7.
So, of the 7 recognized events so far this year, 4 of them either had low entries or, more commonly, split many of the lower levels such that divisions had 10 or fewer competitors. When that sort of thing is going on, I just do not see the case for expanding the qualifications to include first through fifth place, and I think USEA should step in with guidelines for organizers in order to insure some consistency in how divisions are divided for fairness in any qualifications or awards that are based on placings.
I think this is a fair question. In my view, it undermines the idea of having a championship show vs. just a big fancy competition. It cheapens the idea that qualifying and completing is an accomplishment in its own right – especially for those who qualified and completed in years with more stringent standards.
I’m all for promoting accessibility in the sport, but I don’t think that needs to come at the expense of rewarding excellence (at all levels) through something like a championship show with real qualifying standards such that qualifying is itself an achievement. And I think it sends a weird message about sports and competition to trend in the direction of “everyone’s a winner,” which is what happens with these tiny divisions.
I find it odd you are arguing this when anything above prelim is, if you go clean at Intermediate or Advanced twice, you are qualified That’s was how I qualified for both of my AECs (At Lamplight) almost 20 years ago. Prelim is 1st-5th.
Who cares how one is qualified? On any given day anybody can win if they are up to the challenge. Sometimes I was able to beat WC and Olympic riders when they make the mistake and I didn’t. And some days, like last week when Tammie Smith had 2 in my division, I pull up and go home when it’s clear it isn’t going our way.
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There’s a lot more opportunity on the east coast - almost one within driving distance each weekend, maybe even more, actually? Shows on the west coast tend to take more travel time and more show time - harder to attend, costlier. Should we normalize things somehow? Weight the scores of those in 1st and 2nd on the east coast? How we do adjust things to be equal? Or should we drop it and be happy more people will have the opportunity to go eventing at a big fun show? You don’t have to attend it you don’t think the competition is up to your standards.
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I would also point out that events earlier in the year in California tend to have lower entries. We don’t have a ton of indoor or covered arenas so a lot of us don’t ride as much in the winter when it’s wet and/or windy. Things really pick up in May. I can report back on division size at Woodside this weekend after I jump judge.
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Things being equal is very complicated (and close to impossible, IMO).
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Adjust the qualification standards proportionally. The West has fewer events, further travel etc so they are lowering the threshold because the East has more opportunities. (is this the first time AECs has done this? )
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Someone suggested a way to reward quality performances, not just placements- a point type system. This also helps filter out cases where someone places high due to a small field, versus someone with stronger performance in a large, competitive division. This gets complicated (our local org does this with a formula). Again- there is some bias if you are going on the dressage score, for example.
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Travel stipends, lower entry fees for coming more than X miles. Not ideal or fair to the venue etc just spit balling.
Every attempt to “level the playing field” runs into an endless swirl of factors—geography, climate, population density, travel costs, venue quality, horse health, volunteer depth, even stray weather on competition day—that simply can’t be standardized. One coast will always host more events, another will always face longer hauls; some riders enjoy year‑round footing, others slog through mud season (helllooooo Mid West 
) .
You can tweak qualification rules or hand out a few wildcard slots - whatever-, but each fix just pushes the imbalance somewhere else.
USEA prob has to settle for “close‑enough.” They watch the numbers, adjust thresholds, and hope the inevitable rough edges don’t cut too deeply. Riders, owners, and organizers know the score: with this many moving parts, absolute fairness isn’t on the table—only a shifting compromise that keeps the sport running. I have always thought East and West and call it something else.
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