US Equestrian offices will be closed on Friday, March 29th, 2024 in observance of Good Friday.
  • Share:

Reminder to Eventing Athletes of USEF Policies Regarding FEI Entries

by US Equestrian Communications Department | Feb 13, 2023, 8:00 AM

Dear U.S. Eventing Athletes,

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of USEF policies regarding FEI entries:

  • If you intend to compete in a U.S. FEI competition, your entry must be submitted in the USEF FEI Entry Portal no later than 4 p.m. ET on the Definite Entry Date listed in the competition’s FEI Schedule.
  • You are not considered to be entered in the competition until your entry is submitted in the USEF FEI Entry Portal.
  • No new entries will be accepted in the USEF FEI Entry Portal after 4 p.m. ET on the Definite Entry Date.
  • All U.S. athletes must have current SafeSport Training before their FEI entry will be submitted.

FEI Schedules: The FEI Schedule is your official resource for all information regarding U.S. FEI Eventing competitions. FEI Schedules can be found by utilizing the FEI Calendar Search and on the U.S. FEI Competitions page on the USEF Eventing website. We recommend you bookmark this page and refer back to it when preparing to enter an FEI competition.

Definite Entry Date: The “Closing Date for Definite Entries” is the most important date to mark on your calendar and can be found under section VII in the FEI Schedule. The Definite Entry Date may be as early as four weeks prior to the competition but no later than Friday of the week prior to the competition. The USEF FEI Entry Portal will close, and no new entries will be accepted after 4 p.m. ET on the Definite Entry Date.

Changes to existing entries may be accepted after the Definite Entry Date with the approval of the competition’s Organizing Committee no later than 4 p.m. ET on the “Last date for substitutions” as stated in the FEI Schedule. These changes are limited to:

  • Change of division i.e., switching from a CCI4*-S to CCI3*-S.
  • Substitution of a qualified horse or athlete. You may not substitute both the athlete and horse for the same entry.

Enter early: You can enter an FEI competition through the USEF FEI Entry Portal before the opening date of the competition. There are no fees involved when entering through the USEF FEI Entry Portal and having your entry in the system is a critical piece of a complete entry. You can make changes to or withdraw your entry at any time up until the Definite Entry Date.

It is equally important to remember that if a competition is over-subscribed, only complete entries – which means all fees are paid and the athlete/horse membership, registration and passports are up to date – will be considered for balloting purposes. Remember that the Definite Entry Date for the USEF FEI Entry Portal supersedes the date of entry with the Organizing Committee.

Register first: You will not be able to enter a competition through the USEF FEI Entry Portal without a current FEI rider registration. Once you have completed your FEI registration, follow these steps to complete your entry:

  • Go to www.usef.org and log into your user account.
  • Click on Account in the top right corner.
  • Scroll down and click on the blue “Athlete Dashboard” tile.
  • You will find two important blue tiles: one titled “Commonly Ridden Horses” and another titled “FEI Entry.”
  • If you have not already populated information under Commonly Ridden Horses, you must do so before proceeding to the FEI Entry. Once added, information about your horses will always be there for you to select for entries, add/delete information or update as needed.
  • Click on FEI Entry, choose U.S. FEI Competitions or Foreign FEI Competition, select discipline, month, and then pick the competition you wish to enter.

Should you have any issues during the entry process, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Check your existing passport(s): Make a habit of checking all existing passports every year prior to the spring competition season. Make sure vaccinations are up to date and recorded as necessary. Check the expiration date on FEI passports and remember the expiration date format on FEI passports is listed as day/month/year.

New passports and upgrades for breed passports: Review the Horse Passports 101 document before applying for a passport. Once you are ready to apply for a new passport or upgrade for a breed passport, the following scenarios may cause a delay:

  • Incomplete vaccination records or insufficient vaccinations.
  • Incomplete or incorrect horse description (i.e., whorls, snips, etc. not recorded as required).
  • Incomplete information for breed passport upgrades.

We hope you find this information helpful in navigating the USEF FEI Entry Portal. More information about qualifications can be found here. Contact Alison Lloyd at [email protected] with questions regarding qualifications. We wish you all the best for a successful 2023 Eventing season.