In 2017, US Equestrian (USEF) approved a recommendation to award a new CCI4* event to Fair Hill. After the FEI announced the changes to the star system in November of 2017, Fair Hill made the decision to wait until the specifications for the new five-star were finalized before moving forward with improvements to the facility. The Fair Hill four-star in 2019 is equivalent to the existing CCI3* and will be designated as a CCI4*-L. Working in partnership with the State of Maryland, Fair Hill plans to host their inaugural CCI5*-L competition in 2020. 

Ross Peddicord, Executive Director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, joins us first to discuss how the Fair Hill five-star is situated within the wider equestrian industry in Maryland and what the prospect of hosting a major international equestrian event means for the state of Maryland. Since Peddicord joined us on the podcast last year, he explains that things have really begun to fall into place and are now moving forward rapidly. He also provides a bit of a background on how this plan came together in the first place and all the different groups that have come together to make this new event possible.

Terry Hasseltine, Executive Director of Maryland Sports and the Vice President of the Maryland Stadium Authority, comes on the show next to get into the details of the operations that are playing out at Fair Hill to build out the infrastructure necessary for the new five-star. 

Click here for a detailed explanation of the new FEI star system.