United States Eventing Association

Morgan Rowsell had just wrapped up organizing a successful Essex H.T. in Far Hills, New Jersey, on June 4, but as he turned his attention to his next show two weeks later, he was faced with challenges presented by the effects that wildfires from Canada are now having on equestrian sports in the Northeast. “The very next day, the smoke came in,” he said. “It looks like a warm, humid, hazy day, but it’s not humid, it’s not warm, it’s actually quite cool. There’s no air. There’s very little breeze. There’s a northeast wind coming out of Canada that is bringing all the Novia Scotia and Quebec smoke to us, and it smells like smoke.”

The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) Eventing Watch List ("Watch List”) program has undergone a review and, as a result, the process has been updated. The Watch List is comprised of USEF and/or USEA members competing in the U.S. who have been identified as displaying potentially dangerous or unsafe riding during warm-up or any phase at a USEF Eventing Licensed Competition, received an FEI Eventing Recorded Warning or Yellow Card for Dangerous Riding at any FEI event, been penalized at a national competition for Dangerous Riding, or received a Yellow Warning card for Dangerous Riding at a national competition. The goal of the Watch List is to improve rider safety and provide licensed officials (Technical Delegates and Ground Jury) the opportunity to observe athletes at future events.

Daina Kaugars and her fiancé, James Kersey, have embraced the challenges of what goes into running a USEA-recognized horse trial on their farm in Fort Collins, Colorado. “I’ve always wanted to do it; that’s why we bought the farm [in 2017],” Kaugars. “We found this property and said, ‘Well, this one has the terrain to do it.’ So, we basically purpose-bought it to run a horse trial. Then, the boarding facility was my way of making it work.”

The United States Eventing Association’s Area X of Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico will kick off its 2023 calendar of USEA-recognized horse trials in March with the vision of growing the SAzEA Horse Trials and returning the Coconino Horse Trials to their profile as a destination event following the effects of COVID-19 and then wildfires in the area.

The key to eventing’s success lies heavily in the organizers who put on our events. The USEA is proud to recognize each year the organizers who have made contributions to the sport through their organizational efforts. For 2021, the USEA Organizers Appreciation Honor Roll of Names honors nearly 200 organizers for five to 25+ years of service. The Blue Ribbon is awarded to those organizers with five to nine years of service, the Bronze Medal recognizes organizers with 10-14 years of service, organizers who have contributed 15-19 years of service are awarded the Silver Medal, those with 20-24 years of service will receive the Gold Medal, and a select few with 25 years or more of service as organizers are bestowed the title of Platinum Medal organizers.

To kick off the Organizers Open Forum at the 2018 USEA Annual Meeting & Convention, Robert Winter provided a report to the organizers in attendance on Xentry and invited organizers to provide feedback on some of the changes that have been implemented.

The following individuals received their USEF Eventing Officials License or were promoted by the USEF Licensed Officials Committee (LOC) at their meeting in April, 2018. The USEA is delighted to see new officials joining the eventing community and we encourage organizers to reach out to these officials for their future events.

“The good old days” have made a comeback through The United States Eventing Association’s (USEA) revitalization of the long format three-day event in the USEA Classic Series. Roads and tracks, steeplechase, vet boxes, formal horse inspections, and three phases taking place over three days are all adrenaline-pumping elements of USEA Classic Series events.

The Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Fairburn, Ga. (Area III) hosts six USEA recognized competitions a year offering Beginner Novice through Advanced levels and also hosts an international event every spring that offers CIC*, CIC2*, and CIC3* levels. Chattahoochee Hills also hosts several unrecognized schooling shows a year as part of their Southeastern Schooling Show Series.

Key to any organized event are the Organizer and Secretary. There is no licensing program to be an Organizer or Secretary, but these are jobs for which any candidate should be well prepared.