Wayne Horse Trials

The first Wayne Horse Trials came into existence in the early `70`s as an adjunct to a Pony Club Rally organized by the Wayne DuPage Hunt Pony Club and staged in the Pratt Wayne Woods Forest Preserve which is owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. These Horse Trials have grown through the years, and today, they are considered among the "elite" of Eventing competitions in North America. In 1988, the organizing body for the Wayne Horse Trials was incorporated under not-for-profit status, (501(C) (3).

Upper level eventing made it`s debut in Wayne in 1981 with the American Continental Young Riders` Three Day Event Championships which attracted riders who came from virtually every corner of the United States and Canada. The following year, Intermediate was featured at the Horse Trials for the first time in the Midwest.

Thanks to the generosity of the Centel and subsequently Sprint Corporations, Wayne hosted the first Midwestern Advanced level division in 1991, and by 2004, entries in this division hailing from as far away as Virginia, British Columbia and Arizona competed. The Wayne Horse Trials remains the only competition in the United States Eventing Association`s Area IV to offer the Advanced level. In 2000, and again in 2001 thanks to the sponsorship of Supracor, the Horse Trials were awarded the privilege of offering the United States Advanced Horse Trials Championship for the LeGoff Trophy. In 2002, the Horse Trials featured the Martin Simensen Perpetual Trophy for the United States Eventing Association`s Intermediate Championship of the United States, and in 2003, thanks to the generosity of its new title sponsor, Maui Jim Sunglasses, Inc., the event hosted the Chronicle of the Horse Northern Adult Team Championship. In 2004, the Horse Trials served as the site of the final selection trial for the Athens bound Canadian Olympic team. In 2005, the United States Eventing Association has included Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials in its Gold Cup Series, designating it as one of the nine best events in the United States.

The Wayne Horse Trials is also regarded as a traditional "final prep" site for the North American Young Riders Championship which takes place annually in late summer. Additionally, since 1990, the Illinois Special Olympics Invitational Equestrian Competition has run concurrently with the final phase of the Horse Trials, show jumping. The Illinois-Wisconsin Search Dogs Organization and participating Special Olympic programs will again benefit from the Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials in 2005.

The following riders who have represented their countries at one time or another in International Three Day competition have made the long trek to Illinois to ride in the Wayne Horse Trials - Americans Mike Huber (Pan American Games Gold Medalist and World Championships), Torrance Watkins (L.A. Olympic Games Team Gold Medalist and World Championships), Jim Graham (World Championships), Ralph Hill (World Championships), Denny Emerson (Olympic Games), Peter Green (World Championships), Denise Rath (Pan American Games), Dorothy Crowell (World Championships), Becky Douglas, and Linden Wiseman (Sydney Olympic Games), Darren Chiacchia (Pan American Games Gold Medalist and Athens Olympic Games), Julie Richards, (Sydney and Athens Olympic Games), Stuart Black (who represented Canada internationally before becoming an American citizen in 2004), and John Williams, (Athens Olympic Games) along with Canadian Olympians Anita Nemtin Gilmour, Penny Rowland, James Atkinson, Ian Roberts, Hawley Bennett, Garry Roque, and Mike Winter..