It’s official. The U.S. is getting its second 5-star eventing competition next year, making it the only country besides Great Britain to host two of the elite fixtures annually.
The Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill will be one of just seven events at that level in the world. Due to Covid, the only 5-star held in 2020 was October’s Pau, France, standard bearer, but with Fair Hill set for Oct. 14-17, it’s reasonable to hope that Covid will be behind us and the event can go full throttle following approval from the FEI for a five-year run.
The event’s organizing committee, an affiliate of the Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland, put on a test event in August at the new Fair Hill Special Event Zone in Cecil County. It is just a short hop from where the traditional Fair Hill competition was held for decades.
The new cross-country course is designed by British Olympian Ian Stark. The dressage and show jumping arenas are located in the infield of the refurbished turf racecourse.
“On behalf of The Fair Hill Organizing Committee and our partner Fair Hill International, we want to thank the FEI for their continued support,” said Jeff Newman, FHOC President and CEO. “This validation of the new Fair Hill Special Event Zone to host a five-star level event is yet another exciting step forward as we gear up for the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill next fall.”
The USA’s other 5-star is Land Rover Kentucky, which runs in April, the week before the Badminton event in England. Badminton’s organizers are hoping to be able to host spectators, though they have said they will stage the event even if fans can’t attend because of Covid. There are only seven 5-stars in the world. In addition to the U.S. events and Badminton. They are Burghley, another English event; Adelaide in Australia, Luhmuhlen in Germany and Pau.