Happy New Year!
I’m sure everyone is looking forward to 2021. At this time, we have a full competition calendar scheduled. For details, check our website at www.areavii.org and the USEA website/competitions/Area VII.
Please join me in welcoming Luigi Meneghelli as our new Area VII Chair. Luigi has prior experience in this role and will be an excellent leader for our Area. I’ve enjoyed being Area VII Chair for the past two years and will remain on the Council for the next rotation as I am now on the USEA Board of Governors. Area VII has strong representation at the national level and I’m honored to be a part of our strong team. if you would like to become more involved in Area VII activities, please reach out to Luigi or any of the Area VII Council members. Our contact information is on our website, section Resources/Area Council.
Regarding the competition calendar, there has been a bit of date shuffling which has impacted where and when we will hold our Area VII Championships in the next couple of years. In 2021, the AEC’s will be held on the same weekend as the EI Fall event. This is a disappointment in that EI put a lot of effort into its plans to host the Championships in 2020, only to have all of their activities canceled due to the pandemic. Now with the AEC’s being held on the same date as EI’s Fall event in 2021, it wouldn’t be fair to those who qualify to compete in both the National and Area Championships to have to choose between the two. Therefore, after much thought and discussion among the Area VII Organizers and Council, the 2021 Area VII Championships will return to Aspen Farms in September.
In 2022, Rebecca Farm will be adding a second event to its calendar and will host the AEC’s in September. It is very exciting that the National Eventing Championships will be held in our Area! To avoid a conflict, Aspen Farms will also host our Championships again in 2022.
We are thrilled that Aspen Farms has agreed to host the Championships again in 2021 and 2022. We are also very excited that Rebecca Farm will be hosting the AEC’s in 2022. For those who qualify for the AEC’s, this is a wonderful opportunity to have this prestigious event in our own Area.
The future is full of exciting opportunities for Area VII. Here’s to a healthy and successful new year!
Best wishes to everyone - Cynthia Bayles