October’s inaugural Maryland 5- star event at Fair Hill has been postponed for a year “due to health and safety factors, in addition to other challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic” and will take place October 14-17, 2021.
The decision, announced today after consultation with all the parties involved, was made because “not being able to guarantee the health and safety of everyone and producing the event in a limited capacity was not favorable for the Maryland 5-star at Fair Hill’s inaugural year.”
Event organizers and partners are now focused on producing the maiden event next year with a field of international competitors, as well as international spectators traveling to the event.at the newly constructed Special Event Zone at Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area in Cecil County, Maryland.
“It was a very difficult decision and we are very disappointed for the competitors, fans and Eventing community,” said Jeff Newman, president of the Fair Hill Organizing Committee.
“The Fair Hill Organizing Committee was created and tasked to plan and produce the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill as a world-class, international sporting event that includes an abundance of fan offerings drawing spectators from around the world to Cecil County and surrounding region.”
Newman added, “From the start of the pandemic until now, like many sports and entertainment properties, we’ve fully vetted out different scenarios ranging from a scaled back event with some fans, a competition-only event without spectators, or postponing the event to 2021. Ultimately, we felt that the uncertainties and risks that will remain throughout the year are too great to overcome. As a result, with the support of our sponsors and key constituents, postponing the inaugural event to 2021 best enables us to achieve our original goals and set the foundation for a tradition that will continue for many years.”
The Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill is the newest CCI5*-L Three-Day competition on the international eventing circuit. Fair Hill is one of only seven eventing competitions in the world, and just the second in the U.S. with the 5-star distinction. Six out of the seven 5-stars have been cancelled this year due to problems related to the pandemic. Pau in France, scheduled to run the weekend after Fair Hill, is still trying to present its 5-star.
Sponsors of the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill were notified of the decision this week and backed the postponement. Primary partners include host location Cecil County and its agencies, Brown Advisory, Quarry View Building Group, Taylor Harris Insurance Services, Dubarry of Ireland, W.L. Gore, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, FLAIR Equine Nasal Strips, Maryland Public Television (MPT) and The Sport Corp.
The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and United States Eventing Association (USEA) were also informed, supported FHOC’s decision, and confirmed the new dates on the schedule for the event in October 2021.
“We recognize the difficulty of the decision to cancel the 2020 Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill considering the excitement and positive momentum building towards the inaugural event in October. We look forward to working with the Organizing Committee to support a successful event in 2021,” commented USEF CEO Bill Moroney.
The 2020 USEF CCI3*-L National Championship, which was to run with the 5-star, will be reallocated to a new venu, with details announced in the coming weeks.
Mike Gill and Michael Hankin will remain as The Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill’s co-chairs. They said, “Ultimately, postponing the event to 2021 was the right move for the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill’s first year because health and safety must come first. Our goal from the start was to showcase Maryland Pride to attending fans from around the world while also delivering a top-class competition for the riders and horses. However, due to the incredible challenges and uncertainty resulting from the pandemic, that’s just not possible this year. We look forward to producing an incredible event in 2021 and providing an economic stimulus.”
Fair Hill’s newly built Special Event Zone serving as the venue for the Maryland 5 Star features a new Ian Stark-designed cross-country course, as well as new dressage and show jumping areas constructed in the infield of the historic turf track. The USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championships and USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championship will run concurrently with the CCI5*-L competition in 2021.