United States Eventing Association

As a rider, coach, and designer, I think trusting your gut instinct is a key element to success! Do not be afraid to ask questions. Talk to your trainer, to the officials, and those around you. If you are unsure of the best approach for a line, or a particular obstacle continues to stand out in your mind, talk it through with someone until you become clear on your plan.

If your farm has the space to set up a cross-country schooling course, it can be to your advantage to have cross-country jumps available for schooling purposes. Safety should be the number one priority when designing and building cross-country jumps, and an expert should be consulted whenever possible.

Learn the dressage wrong test? Here is the established protocol. What happens if you start your dressage test and it is the wrong test? Current USEF eventing dressage test ‘A’s track left and test ‘B’s track right, so the judge knows within the first movement that you probably learned the wrong test.

The USEA Eventing Licensed Officials Committee will be writing a series of articles relating to current rules from the USEF Rules For Eventing and how they are interpreted and implemented. The committee feels that transparency is important, and want to keep everyone current on the rules and how officials are expected/required to implement them.

As the eventing community hunkers down to weather out the pandemic, everyone has been looking for ways to keep busy. FEI Level II and USEF “R” Eventing Judge Amanda Miller was feeling discouraged after three of her next judging gigs had been canceled due to the coronavirus.

Cross-country course designer Morgan Rowsell led a session on Friday evening at the 2019 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention about best practices for maintaining a cross-country schooling course.

We all have that "aha" moment when we see THAT HORSE. You know the one; the horse that shows off three lovely gaits in the dressage ring and demonstrates scope and a big ground-covering gallop as it smoothly and eagerly jumps its show jumping and cross-country courses. THAT HORSE takes our breath away; reminding us why we love horses and the sport of three-day eventing.

The USEA Training Program for Eventing Officials (TPEO) educates the next generation of officials and encourages members of the community to give back to the sport by becoming licensed officials, including judges, technical delegates, and course designers. Quality officials are vital to the safe running of competitions and ensure that all safety rules and precautions are followed to the letter. You can be a part of the next generation of officials!

I was very excited that the final exam for licensed officials would be held at the Kentucky Horse Park. Having never been to one of our sport's most important venues, I was eager to get on grounds and check everything out. The first morning we were required to go out and walk cross-country and give an evaluation of the Preliminary cross-country course. The courses were designed very smartly, taking into consideration that the courses needed to ask championship level questions per level.

The final exam for licensed officials is right around the corner! In preparation for the final exam during the USEA American Eventing Championships (AEC) in Lexington, Kentucky, I have been reviewing all information received from our training sessions as well as all of the rules that officials are required to be familiar with.